I recently had the good fortune to participate in this year’s Creative Computing workshop at MIT. The program, which ran from July 27-30, was organized by the MIT Media Lab in collaboration with Google’s CS4HS initiative. The four day workshop provided K-12 teachers with an opportunity to explore computational thinking and creativity in the classroom.
Over the course of four days, I met with teachers from around New England (and some even as far away as California) to experiment with new educational technologies and instructional strategies to engage students in creative design activities. The workshop focused on Scratch as the vehicle for cultivating creativity and problem solving. Scratch:
http://scratch.mit.edu/
a programming language geared for children and teens, was developed at the Lifelong Kindergarten Group
http://llk.media.mit.edu/index.php
at the MIT Media Lab and was created to provide children with the opportunity to learn how to design, create, and express themselves through technology. I saw the workshop as the ideal vehicle for me to develop lessons which will motivate my students to become creators, not just users, of the technology that permeates their world.
During the workshop, I experienced first hand the joy and wonder that Scratch brings to learning. We started the program by exploring three essential questions:
(1) What is Scratch?,
(2) What is Scratch good for?, and
(3) What is good Scratch?
My initial response to those questions was pretty straightforward. Obviously, I knew what Scratch was and I believed that I knew what Scratch is good for, and I definitely thought I knew what was good Scratch. But over the course of four days, as I built new computer programs with my colleagues, toured the Media Lab, and heard from a variety of experts, I came to realize that these three questions mean more than I had ever imagined.
I discovered that Scratch is much more than a computer programming environment. It is a community. Scratch is not only good for making computer games, animations, stories, and art. It is also good for making social connections. It is a place where today’s technologically savvy students can come together to exchange sprites, remix programs, and collaborate on projects with other Scratchers. The same experience of sharing and collaborating can be found at the educator’s website, ScratchEd
http://scratched.media.mit.edu
And good Scratch, well, that is what ever you want it to be. As a teacher, I feel that my students produce “good” projects when they are actively engaged in the learning process. For the most part, every time a student builds a Scratch program, engagement takes place. I can’t wait for the school year to begin so my students can start “scratching.”
Patrice Gans
CSTA K-8 Representative