Back to: Scratch Programming
What is Scratch?
There are many different programming languages. Some of the most popular programming languages include Python, JavaScript, and C++. We are going to use a language called Scratch to learn the basics of programming and game design. Scratch is a toolkit that combines computer programming with graphic design tools to allow users to create games, animations, and other interactive programs.
To start, all you need is a desktop computer or a laptop, internet connection, and some motivation. Scratch programs are created in a website using the Scratch Development Environment. To start, we will visit https://scratch.mit.edu and register. Registration allows us to save our work, edit it later and share it with our friends so it’s a requirement for using Scratch. Click on Join Scratch to begin.
You’ll be asked for a username and password, your location (Australia), some basic personal information and your email address (just use your school one).
Once complete, you’ll need to check your email and “Confirm your Scratch Account” by clicking the button or link sent to your email address.
Read through the community rules, Scratch is a place to share and collaborate in a respectful way.
We now have a Scratch account and are ready to create our first project.
Start by clicking the folder icon in the top right of the screen which will hold “My Stuff“:
Click the option to +New Project:
You should now be on the Scratch Project Editor Dashboard showing your first Scratch Project. The Scratch project editor is where all of our coding, designing, and creating will take place.
- Stage – Here you will see the output of your project as you’re building it.
- Sprite Menu – Sprites are all characters and objects in our projects. Here you can control what sprites are in your project, and the name, position, visibility, and size of those sprites. Add more sprites by clicking on the blue circle with the cat face in the bottom-right of the menu.
- Backdrop Menu – Backdrops are backgrounds for our projects. Add and manage backgrounds here. Add a new backdrop by clicking on the blue circle with the mountains at the bottom of the menu.
- Tool Select Tabs – Choose between Code, Costumes, and Sounds tools. Switching between these tabs will change what tools are available in the sections below.
- Block Palette – Here you can see all of the available code blocks. Code blocks are separated into color-coded categories, like Motion, Events, Sound etc…
- Coding workspace – Here you can write your programs by connecting blocks from the block palette. Note that each sprite will have its own programs.
- View Options – Here you can switch between different view modes for the project editor.
- Backpack – The backpack allows you to transfer code, sprites and backdrops between Scratch projects.
- Project Options – Here you can save your project, add a title, share your project (which makes it public), change the language, and other options.
- Account Options – Here you can access your other projects and other account settings.