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Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children

scratch.mit.edu

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Re: Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children

#211

Post by Wowfunhappy »

Retr0id wrote: post #131
distcs wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they all available as tiles to be dragged and dropped? Or can I type it out too with a keyboard?

The former. If you want text, other languages are available. If you really want to use a keyboard, Tosh exists, effectively acting as an alternative front-end for Scratch https://tosh.blob.codes/ If even using a keyboard is too much effort, I have a Python library for doing Scratch metaprogramming and code generation, with optional vscode integration: https://github.com/davidBuchanan314/boiga I've used it to write no…

> If you really want to use a keyboard, Tosh exists, effectively acting as an alternative front-end for Scratch https://tosh.blob.codes/

I really wish this was a bit more robust. I would like to use it as a bridge between Scratch and Python or Javascript, getting kids in the habit of typing things using syntax they are already intimately familiar with.

But the project is just a bit too buggy. I've had variables randomly not appear, sounds not import, etc.

This is in no way a criticism of the developer who created tosh as a passion project, it's just a lament. Tosh is so close to being a fantastic tool.

Re: Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children

#212

Post by insane_dreamer »

My favorite language for teaching kids to code and which I taught my daughter starting around 9 or 10, is Ruby. Expressive syntax, easy to read, good introduction to objects. Her first real program was a treasure hunt game in the terminal, using classes, inheritance, methods, and conditionals, etc.

It didn't have the cute graphics side of things, but she learned all the concepts well (she now has a degree in engineering and being paid to write code)

Re: Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children

#213

Post by easrng »

thesausageking wrote: post #101

My 8 yo loves Scratch. She's made over 30 apps with it and has had a great time. However, now that she's reached the limits of what it can do, I have been frustrated that there isn't a natural place for her to graduate to. And Scratch does get really limited quickly. There are unofficial forks like SheepTester's one which let you drop JavaScript into Scratch projects, but they're not easy to use. We've failed a few t…

Snap! has already been mentioned, but another scratch mod that has more extensions available (and is faster and has more options) is Turbowarp (https://turbowarp.org/)

Re: Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children

#214

Post by ansible »

ikesau wrote: post #204
overthrow wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

fyi, this comment is a copy/paste of a 4 year old comment from https://old.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/asqslg/if... I guess HN has karma farming bots now

What a bummer. Open, anonymous, and free forums are some of the most interesting places on the internet. this profit-motivated antisocial shit makes me so sad. edit: oh. most if not all of the comments are from reddit.

https://lobste.rs/ has an interesting mechanism to curb bots on the platform.

To join to website, you have to get a referral from another current user. And this referral is public information. So if someone you referred starts acting like an ass, then you can expect some concern being directed your way. People are rightly a bit cautious with giving out referrals as a consequence.

The topics on lobste.rs are more focused on programming and computers (stuff you'd likely also see on HN), and there's not really any political discussion. Traffic is light, expect maybe a dozen new links per day.

This comment, by the way, does not constitute an invitation to ask me for a referral. I don't really know too well anyone on HN, other than the most famous users (none of who know who I am), so if you ask me for a referral, the answer is very likely "no".

Re: Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children

#215

Post by isp »

dang wrote: post #193

Related. I'm a bit surprised there hasn't been more (most of these threads were small). Others? Ask HN: Alternatives to Scratch for a blind child? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34229502 - Jan 2023 (67 comments) Ask HN: is learning Elixir suitable for a kid who currently uses MIT’s Scratch? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32242897 - July 2022 (4 comments) Show HN: CodeStruct – Python programming enviro…

Linux Kernel Module written in Scratch (a visual programming language for kids) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31921996 - June 2022 (38 comments)

Re: Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children

#216

Post by ptd »

insane_dreamer wrote: post #212

My favorite language for teaching kids to code and which I taught my daughter starting around 9 or 10, is Ruby. Expressive syntax, easy to read, good introduction to objects. Her first real program was a treasure hunt game in the terminal, using classes, inheritance, methods, and conditionals, etc. It didn't have the cute graphics side of things, but she learned all the concepts well (she now has a degree in engineer…

Does she like her job? I only ask because you specified comp in a way that suggested that is what is most important to you(and her).

Re: Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children

#217

Post by dang »

overthrow wrote: post #197
ar9av wrote: post #103

Scratch gets a lot of hate with semi-experienced programmers (the kind to browse this sub) because of its simplicity, but it's actually really good. It teaches you basic programming concepts without all of the complexity of other programming languages. I remember back in school, some of the students in my computer science classes didn't understand the basic concepts of programming: variables, loops, functions, etc. a…

fyi, this comment is a copy/paste of a 4 year old comment from https://old.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/asqslg/if... I guess HN has karma farming bots now

Thanks. Banned.

All: if you ever notice anything like this and have a minute to let us know at hn@ycombinator.com, we'd really appreciate it. I only saw this by change.

Re: Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children

#218

Post by plttn »

cgk wrote: post #83

Full disclosure: Principal Software Engineer here on the Scratch backend... Scratch is not built to be a "teach your kid programming languages" system, it is based on the work and ideas of the Life Long Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab (the director of this group is Professor Mitch Resnick, the LEGO, Papert Professor of Learning Research). The Papert part is where the term Mindstorms comes from ( https://www.a…

Remembering back to when I was a kid, Scratch was absolutely fantastic, and definitely helped me put me on the path I am today. Fantastic work.

With that said (and apologies on using the power of HN here), I've been trying to get in touch with Scratch support to have an old account of mine deleted, but I can't ever seem to get a reply. Would you happen to know who to get in touch with, other than the contact form?

Re: Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children

#219

Post by dang »

isp wrote: post #215
dang wrote: post #193

Related. I'm a bit surprised there hasn't been more (most of these threads were small). Others? Ask HN: Alternatives to Scratch for a blind child? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34229502 - Jan 2023 (67 comments) Ask HN: is learning Elixir suitable for a kid who currently uses MIT’s Scratch? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32242897 - July 2022 (4 comments) Show HN: CodeStruct – Python programming enviro…

Linux Kernel Module written in Scratch (a visual programming language for kids) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31921996 - June 2022 (38 comments)

Wow great catch. Added above. Thanks!

Re: Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children

#220

Post by bitdivision »

qikInNdOutReply wrote: post #76
asciii wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I surprised her back when I did user-testing Wait till she gets tough PR reviews. This block is ugly, and our team does not like looking at it :P

Remember that robblox investigation, were they interviewed that 12 year old that already talked like a burned out developer, feeling cheated out of the revenue. The children yearn for the mines.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gXlauRB1EQ

The part in question: https://youtu.be/_gXlauRB1EQ?t=827
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