Howardism: 2. Overview - What is Scratch Good For?

2. Overview - What is Scratch Good For?

When I switched on my first computer, I was confronted with an empty TV screen and a little blinking box. If you wanted it to do something, you had to tell it what to do by programming it.

New computers now come loaded with lots of software applications, like word processors and games, and most people don't even think about making up their own. Scratch is a great way to start getting your computer to do what you want. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking of the possibilities.

Animated Jokes

What do you get when you cross a cat with a parrot? Give up? How about a carrot! Not the funniest joke, I realize, but it is fun to render a joke with a little artwork and a bit of animation to make it less… er, boring.

With Scratch you can record your own voice telling the joke, and then change the art as the joke progresses. I often add a laugh-track just so my audience knows when it is safe to laugh.

Example of me telling a joke to my class

Greeting Cards

We've all received an online greeting card complete with cheesy music. Well, now you can make your own.

Don't worry if you don't know how to play the piano, with Scratch, you will program the notes of the melody, pick the instruments and even change the tempo. Add a little animated artwork (perhaps your own mugshot), and you've got the makings for a greeting card that doesn't make you sick to your stomach… well, at least not as much as others.

Here's the greeting card that my kids and I put together with the tune of Jingle Bells. We even added a bass line and gently falling snow.

Example of a Holiday Greeting Card

Creating Designs

As a kid, I was enthralled with my Spirograph kit. With it you draw complex designs and patterns by pushing a colored pen in a plastic disc and rotating it within a larger ring.

You can do similar designs in Scratch (technically known as hypotrochoids and epitrochoids). You may assume some of those designs you made as a kid would require a lot of math, but Scratch makes it quite simple. In the Getting Started chapter, I will show you some of the basics of these designs, and then in a later chapter, show you how to do some advanced designs.

Example of a story that comes to life.

Telling Stories

Younger kids may not be willing to spend the effort required to animate their characters, but can still tell a good story.

Scratch provides an environment that allows you to draw each "page" of the story and flip to each one as the story is told. You can record your voice telling the story, or even get some friends for the voices of some of the characters.

Example of a story that comes to life.

Animated Movies

At the University of Colorado, Trey Parker and Matt Stone created a roughly animated movie that caught the attention of the Comedy Central cable television channel. The series they produced was the hugely popular South Park. Their original movie was painfully produced by hand. However, after they had secured a contract series, they converted their production to computers, which made their animated movies much easier to make.

While not a dedicated system for making animated movies, Scratch is a good platform for making simple ones. An advantage of using Scratch is that the animated characters can also be interactive with the viewer.

Example of a movie I made using Southpark Studio.

Writing Games

When I was a kid, my brother gave me a book on Basic Programming on our father's TRS-80 computer, and said, "Learn to program Asteroids so that we don't have to waste our quarters at the arcade." Well, I was never able to program Asteroids, but I did program a lot of games for him to play.

Example of a race game that we will make later.

Games are still the biggest draw for a lot of people to learn to program, and Scratch will give you a good introduction for making computer games. Part 4 of this book contains information on making games.

Example of a game that you can make yourself.

Summary

Obviously, I could not list all the things that can be done with a programming environment such as Scratch, but I hope I've whetted your appetite and given you some ideas of what you can invent and create.

Go to the next chapter and get Scratch installed on your computer, or return to the book's introductory chapter.

Tell others about this article:

Click here to submit this page to Stumble It


	1. Introduction 3. Downloading and Installing Scratch 4. Concepts and Overview of Scratch 5. Getting Started with a First Project 10. Making Music 11. Moving Sprites Around 12. Interacting Sprites 13. Passing Messages with Broadcasts Read other entries in Book...	By looking at the way children learn in Kindergarten we developed what I call the "creative learning spiral." In many of the best creative thinking experiences you start with imagination, you come up with an idea, you create something based on your idea, you play and experiment with that idea, you share it with others, you talk about it with them, they try it out, and they give you feedback. Based on that experience, you reflect upon your idea, you think about what happened, and that gives you new ideas. Then you're right back again at the beginning with imagining; at which point, you keep on spiraling out with new ideas based on this concept of "imagine, create, play, share, reflect, and imagine." –Mitch Resnick, creator of Scratch 2. Overview - What is Scratch Good For? When I switched on my first computer, I was confronted with an empty TV screen and a little blinking box. If you wanted it to do something, you had to tell it what to do by programming it. New computers now come loaded with lots of software applications, like word processors and games, and most people don't even think about making up their own. Scratch is a great way to start getting your computer to do what you want. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking of the possibilities. Animated Jokes What do you get when you cross a cat with a parrot? Give up? How about a carrot! Not the funniest joke, I realize, but it is fun to render a joke with a little artwork and a bit of animation to make it less… er, boring. With Scratch you can record your own voice telling the joke, and then change the art as the joke progresses. I often add a laugh-track just so my audience knows when it is safe to laugh. Greeting Cards We've all received an online greeting card complete with cheesy music. Well, now you can make your own. Don't worry if you don't know how to play the piano, with Scratch, you will program the notes of the melody, pick the instruments and even change the tempo. Add a little animated artwork (perhaps your own mugshot), and you've got the makings for a greeting card that doesn't make you sick to your stomach… well, at least not as much as others. Here's the greeting card that my kids and I put together with the tune of Jingle Bells. We even added a bass line and gently falling snow. Creating Designs As a kid, I was enthralled with my Spirograph kit. With it you draw complex designs and patterns by pushing a colored pen in a plastic disc and rotating it within a larger ring. You can do similar designs in Scratch (technically known as hypotrochoids and epitrochoids). You may assume some of those designs you made as a kid would require a lot of math, but Scratch makes it quite simple. In the Getting Started chapter, I will show you some of the basics of these designs, and then in a later chapter, show you how to do some advanced designs. Telling Stories Younger kids may not be willing to spend the effort required to animate their characters, but can still tell a good story. Scratch provides an environment that allows you to draw each "page" of the story and flip to each one as the story is told. You can record your voice telling the story, or even get some friends for the voices of some of the characters. Animated Movies At the University of Colorado, Trey Parker and Matt Stone created a roughly animated movie that caught the attention of the Comedy Central cable television channel. The series they produced was the hugely popular South Park. Their original movie was painfully produced by hand. However, after they had secured a contract series, they converted their production to computers, which made their animated movies much easier to make. While not a dedicated system for making animated movies, Scratch is a good platform for making simple ones. An advantage of using Scratch is that the animated characters can also be interactive with the viewer. Writing Games When I was a kid, my brother gave me a book on Basic Programming on our father's TRS-80 computer, and said, "Learn to program Asteroids so that we don't have to waste our quarters at the arcade." Well, I was never able to program Asteroids, but I did program a lot of games for him to play. Games are still the biggest draw for a lot of people to learn to program, and Scratch will give you a good introduction for making computer games. Part 4 of this book contains information on making games. Summary Obviously, I could not list all the things that can be done with a programming environment such as Scratch, but I hope I've whetted your appetite and given you some ideas of what you can invent and create. Go to the next chapter and get Scratch installed on your computer, or return to the book's introductory chapter. Tell others about this article:
	2009, Howard Abrams Some rights reserved	Originally written on 28 November 2008. Updated on 8 January 2009.