Online Beginner Scratch Coding and the Engineering Design Process Jan 2024
Class Description
Dates: Tuesdays, Jan 9 – Mar 26, 2024, 10:30am-11:30am EST
Location: OnlineThis 12-week class will enable students to learn basic skills in MIT’s Scratch coding program. This course is intended for students who have never used Scratch before!
In this course, students will be learning basic coding in MIT’s Scratch platform (https://scratch.mit.edu/) while also learning about the iterative engineering design process. This process involves identifying the problem, brainstorming solutions, prototyping, testing solutions and critiquing them. Students will be able to put their ‘engineering hard hats’ on to think systematically, logically and consider a variety of factors when choosing design solutions for their Scratch project.
Each couple of weeks, students will learn to use and experiment with new elements on the Scratch interface. Each lesson will involve a tutorial of the element used, experimentation and a mini-project applying these elements. After each live lesson, students will receive a homework sheet with practice and challenge questions to enhance their coding skills. The schedule for each week is as follows:
Week 1-2 – Sprites & Costumes [Project: a self-portrait]
Week 3-4 – Backdrops [Project: story-telling]
Week 5-6 – Motions [Project: virtual interactive zoo]
Week 7-8 – Sensing [Project: simple catch game]
Week 9-10 – Variables [Project: soccer game]
Week 11-12 – Speaking, thinking [Project: chatbot]My role in this class will be to enable students to apply their creativity in a productive way – while also learning key skills in design thinking, such as brainstorming, prototyping and communicating design solutions. In addition, as an engineer, I will take a small portion of the class to discuss potential career options in engineering – and where engineering design would be applied in these career options.
**Note: This class is for beginners who have little or no in-class experience with Scratch. For intermediate and advanced classes, please check out my other courses.**
*To inquire about registration for students that are older or younger than the age limit, please contact the educator.Learning Goals
Students will learn how to code using Scratch.
Students will learn and apply the engineering design process.
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saima_basith –
My son attended this class with no prior knowledge. He now knows all the basics of scratch and still continues to use the Scratch account. He creates his own projects teaches it to his cousin as well.
faaizu –
As my child says, “This class was very, very, verrry fun and I want to do it again!” (Add ten more “very”s to get the actual statement :))
Taking this online Scratch Beginner class was undoubtedly a valuable experience for my child, opening up an entirely new world of challenge and fresh skills. This teacher took the time to patiently explain concepts, incorporating students’ interests and natural pace. My own enjoyment at seeing my child’s rapt focus was an extra bonus! We eagerly look forward to more classes with Teacher Afifa in the future.