I have zero experience with Scratch, so this assignment was tough to start but was a fun experience. My program was built around a cat who sees a balloon at the beach, but it floats away and pops before he can get to it. The drag-and-drop blocks made building this program run smoothly once I figured out how to piece the blocks together. It was cool to see everything come together and be able to use the different motions, sounds, and speech bubbles without even having to write a single line of code.
I
learned a lot about programming during this assignment. One insight was that
having clear instructions to give to a computer makes things happen seamlessly if
you have a step-by-step process. Even though Scratch looks simple and easy to
use, I still found myself writing notes on when to move the cat, how fast to
make the balloon float, and the timing of when to place the sounds and how long
they need to play. A more significant challenge was making everything reset
back to their places because I had to write down each starting point on the x
and y axis for each object and letter and then again on where I wanted them to
stop. Breaking problems into smaller steps makes programming an easier task to
tackle.
I
only know of programming languages through this course so far, besides having
only heard of them. Section 10.1 of our book discusses them, including
compiled, interpreted, assembly, and query languages. Again, having little work
experience with any programming, Scratch was beginner and kid-friendly, and its
popularity and userbase make it one of the predominant ITC tools to start
teaching computational thinking (CT) to students from a young age (Montiel
& Gomez-Zermeño, 2021). For this assignment, simple programming
environments like Scratch encourage users to think creatively, reason
systematically, and work collaboratively, all of which are key skills in
computer science (Resnick et al., 2009). Since this is a visual language, I did
not have to worry about typing errors. Using C++ would be more complex to run
since it requires writing and compiling code to tun. JavaScript and Python are
more flexible as they are interpreted languages but also require typing and
understanding syntax. Since it is so low level, assembly language would be the
most complex for me to fully understand since it is close to how computer
hardware works. Scratch is the easiest since we worked with it for this
assignment. As a beginner in this field, it can show how programming logic
works without writing or using confusing code. Scratch allowed me to focus on
programming logic without worrying about technical errors, so it is recommended
as an entry-level platform for new programmers (Resnick et al., 2009).
To summarize how each
type of language might be used:
Scratch is
the perfect program for beginners to learn the basics and for those who want to
build games or animations.
Compiled language is
better for building powerful programs like video games. Examples of these are
C++ and Java.
Interpreted language
speed and flexibility override performance here for data analysis using Python.
Assembly language
is used when building a desktop, for example, when complete computer hardware
control is required.
Query language
– mainly used for database queries, no pun intended, SQL being one of the most
common.
I
created an animation using Scratch that tells a short story about a cat and a
balloon at the beach. You can view the project here: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1161029317
References:
Montiel,
H., & Gomez-Zermeño, M. G. (2021). Educational Challenges for Computational
Thinking in K–12 Education: A Systematic Literature Review of “Scratch” as an
Innovative Programming Tool. Computers, 10(6), 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/computers10060069
Resnick,
M., Maloney, J., Monroy-Hernández, A., Rusk, N., Eastmond, E., Brennan, K.,
Millner, A., Rosenbaum, E., Silver, J., Silverman, B., & Kafai, Y. (2009).
Scratch: Programming for all. Communications of the ACM, 52(11), 60–67. https://doi.org/10.1145/1592761.1592779
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