Misconception: Students transitioning from Scratch to AppInventor are often surprised to not have a wait block. Share Misconception: Students transitioning from Scratch to AppInventor are often surprised to not have a wait block. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students transitioning from Scratch to AppInventor are often surprised to not have a wait block. with Twitter
Misconception: Students incorrectly believe that variables passed into a block in Snap! will get modified; however, a copy of the passed-in variable is what the block receives and modifies. Share Misconception: Students incorrectly believe that variables passed into a block in Snap! will get modified; however, a copy of the passed-in variable is what the block receives and modifies. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students incorrectly believe that variables passed into a block in Snap! will get modified; however, a copy of the passed-in variable is what the block receives and modifies. with Twitter
Use sounds in Scratch to make it clear when particular lines of code are being executed because it can be really hard for students to figure out the order of execution. Share Use sounds in Scratch to make it clear when particular lines of code are being executed because it can be really hard for students to figure out the order of execution. with FacebookShare Use sounds in Scratch to make it clear when particular lines of code are being executed because it can be really hard for students to figure out the order of execution. with Twitter
Transition from one language to another closely related language to help students develop understanding of key abstract ideas programming languages concepts. Share Transition from one language to another closely related language to help students develop understanding of key abstract ideas programming languages concepts. with FacebookShare Transition from one language to another closely related language to help students develop understanding of key abstract ideas programming languages concepts. with Twitter
Use Snap! as a more advanced alternative to Scratch in an introductory programming course. Share Use Snap! as a more advanced alternative to Scratch in an introductory programming course. with FacebookShare Use Snap! as a more advanced alternative to Scratch in an introductory programming course. with Twitter
Assign students to draw a dodecagon in Scratch before introducing repeat blocks so that once you introduce the repeat block, it is clear that it is a time-saving block. Share Assign students to draw a dodecagon in Scratch before introducing repeat blocks so that once you introduce the repeat block, it is clear that it is a time-saving block. with FacebookShare Assign students to draw a dodecagon in Scratch before introducing repeat blocks so that once you introduce the repeat block, it is clear that it is a time-saving block. with Twitter
Have students use simple functions in Scratch to create games and stories to share with their classmates in order to learn Scratch’s functionality. Share Have students use simple functions in Scratch to create games and stories to share with their classmates in order to learn Scratch’s functionality. with FacebookShare Have students use simple functions in Scratch to create games and stories to share with their classmates in order to learn Scratch’s functionality. with Twitter
Use Scratch to teach programming to students with neurodiversity because the visual nature of this language can make CS concepts more accessible. Share Use Scratch to teach programming to students with neurodiversity because the visual nature of this language can make CS concepts more accessible. with FacebookShare Use Scratch to teach programming to students with neurodiversity because the visual nature of this language can make CS concepts more accessible. with Twitter
Have students write Knock-Knock jokes in Scratch by making a conversation between sprites to motivate the introduction of broadcast blocks. Share Have students write Knock-Knock jokes in Scratch by making a conversation between sprites to motivate the introduction of broadcast blocks. with FacebookShare Have students write Knock-Knock jokes in Scratch by making a conversation between sprites to motivate the introduction of broadcast blocks. with Twitter
Introduce the playnote block in Scratch by having students experiment with different arguments for the block and creating melodies. Share Introduce the playnote block in Scratch by having students experiment with different arguments for the block and creating melodies. with FacebookShare Introduce the playnote block in Scratch by having students experiment with different arguments for the block and creating melodies. with Twitter
Emphasize that Scratch is REAL coding; this lets students know that programming in educational languages like Scratch or Python is valuable even though these languages aren’t commonly used in industry. Share Emphasize that Scratch is REAL coding; this lets students know that programming in educational languages like Scratch or Python is valuable even though these languages aren’t commonly used in industry. with FacebookShare Emphasize that Scratch is REAL coding; this lets students know that programming in educational languages like Scratch or Python is valuable even though these languages aren’t commonly used in industry. with Twitter
Suggest that students use the “when green flag clicked” block when creating clones in Scratch to avoid exponential cloning. Share Suggest that students use the “when green flag clicked” block when creating clones in Scratch to avoid exponential cloning. with FacebookShare Suggest that students use the “when green flag clicked” block when creating clones in Scratch to avoid exponential cloning. with Twitter
Encourage students to use Create Your Own Block to store procedures in Scratch to help ease debugging. Share Encourage students to use Create Your Own Block to store procedures in Scratch to help ease debugging. with FacebookShare Encourage students to use Create Your Own Block to store procedures in Scratch to help ease debugging. with Twitter
Use the "'build your own block'" feature in Scratch 2.0 to teach "bottom-up" or "top-down" processes for breaking up problems. Share Use the "'build your own block'" feature in Scratch 2.0 to teach "bottom-up" or "top-down" processes for breaking up problems. with FacebookShare Use the "'build your own block'" feature in Scratch 2.0 to teach "bottom-up" or "top-down" processes for breaking up problems. with Twitter
Teach the concept of a variable’s scope in Scratch by explaining the difference between “For this sprite only” and “For all sprites.” Share Teach the concept of a variable’s scope in Scratch by explaining the difference between “For this sprite only” and “For all sprites.” with FacebookShare Teach the concept of a variable’s scope in Scratch by explaining the difference between “For this sprite only” and “For all sprites.” with Twitter
Have students simulate programming in Scratch in a pair activity where one student is the Controller and the other is the Code. Share Have students simulate programming in Scratch in a pair activity where one student is the Controller and the other is the Code. with FacebookShare Have students simulate programming in Scratch in a pair activity where one student is the Controller and the other is the Code. with Twitter
Use Droplet, a blocks-based text editor, to help bridge students’ learning gap between blocks and text. Share Use Droplet, a blocks-based text editor, to help bridge students’ learning gap between blocks and text. with FacebookShare Use Droplet, a blocks-based text editor, to help bridge students’ learning gap between blocks and text. with Twitter
Misconception: Students think you can use the “item (any) of (list)” block in Snap! and Scratch to check for every item in a list, but this block actually returns a random item. Share Misconception: Students think you can use the “item (any) of (list)” block in Snap! and Scratch to check for every item in a list, but this block actually returns a random item. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students think you can use the “item (any) of (list)” block in Snap! and Scratch to check for every item in a list, but this block actually returns a random item. with Twitter
Misconception: Students who are familiar with writing code in block-based languages like Scratch still need support transitioning to text-based languages like Java. Share Misconception: Students who are familiar with writing code in block-based languages like Scratch still need support transitioning to text-based languages like Java. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students who are familiar with writing code in block-based languages like Scratch still need support transitioning to text-based languages like Java. with Twitter
Create a handout that translates code in Scratch to code in Logo in order to show students that they are capable of writing text-based code because they already program in Scratch. Share Create a handout that translates code in Scratch to code in Logo in order to show students that they are capable of writing text-based code because they already program in Scratch. with FacebookShare Create a handout that translates code in Scratch to code in Logo in order to show students that they are capable of writing text-based code because they already program in Scratch. with Twitter