ABOUT THIS COURSE

Learn the basic concepts, tools, and functions that you will need to build fully functional projects with the visual programming language, Scratch.

Build a strong foundation in Scratch and visual programming with this tutorial for beginners to intermediate learners.

• Building code using command blocks

• Using the coordinate system

• Programming fundamentals

• Real-life project examples

Content and Overview

Suitable for students age 7+, teachers, and parents who want to teach the fundamentals of visual programming to their children. Each section includes exercises, so you’ll be able to put your newly learned skills to immediate use. This is NOT a lecture about every single block in Scratch with a boring explanation! It challenges the user by going through real-life examples.

Starting with the installation of the free Scratch program and Adobe Air, this course will take you through the basic understanding of the coordinate and rotation system, motion and sensing, and character (sprite) manipulation. With the basics mastered, the course moves on to more advanced subjects including logic controls (if/then/else and forever loops), serial and parallel processing and dynamic interaction between sprites. By creating detailed projects, you’ll establish a strong understanding of programming concepts and how they work in Scratch. Upon completion of the course you will have the knowledge to create your own video games, educational tutorials, and presentations using Scratch. This is great for students who want to create powerful visual aids to complement an oral presentation or book report.

Why take this course instead of another?

Most importantly, my extensive programming background and knowledge of Scratch means that I know a LOT about the subject. And my teaching background means that I am able to pass this knowledge on to you in an easy-to-understand format.

This course contains more content and goes deeper into practical examples than others. It’s a great combination of practice and theory to help get you off and running your own project right away.

The step by step examples are key to understanding programming fundamentals – I don’t just teach you how to use Scratch, I teach you how to understand what you need to know to program on your own.

Unlike all the other Scratch videos available, this is NOT just a screen recording – this course contains detailed notes and diagrams within the video to enhance your learning and to help you remember key points throughout the course.

Who is the instructor and how knowledgeable are they?

Hi, I’m Santanu Das and I’ve been programming for over 25 years in C++, C, FORTRAN, Java, and others. As a teaching assistant, I taught C++ at MIT (where Scratch was created) to some of the most brilliant students in the world while getting my degree in engineering. Currently, I manage over 800 software developers at one of the largest private software companies in the world. Over the past few years, I have been teaching a Scratch class to 3^rd graders at my son’s elementary school so I have firsthand experience on common stumbling blocks while learning Scratch. I teach Scratch because I want to encourage young people to improve their logic and decision making skills, to encourage STEM in the classroom, and to help people understand the creation of the video games that they play. I believe that programming builds a solid foundation for many other disciplines, including music and liberal arts, as well as science, technology, engineering and math. I DON’T teach the class for additional income. The course fee goes to producing more Scratch tutorials and funding local STEM Grant programs for schools throughout the US. Whether you want to be an engineer, a doctor, an accountant or an educator, Scratch strengthens your decision making, organizational and math skills at any level.

WHAT'S IN THE COURSE?

• Over 27 lectures and close to 2.5 hours of content

• Explains the fundamentals of programming, command blocks, and the coordinate system, essential knowledge you will find makes it much easier to create your projects

• I explain how to overcome common obstacles that users encounter, by making mistakes as we go and going back to fix them as you follow along.

• You will have a great understanding of how to use both basic AND advanced programming blocks and commands

• Contains 4 great project examples that can be used to build almost any type of video game/app

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Students must have a PC or a Mac. Scratch is not yet supported on tablet devices.

Install the free Scratch software onto your computer and you are ready to go. Adobe Air (a free plug-in) is also required, and installation instructions are provided.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This class is not just for people who are interested in computer programming – it’s for anyone who would like to sharpen their logic and decision-making skills.

Of course, if you are interested in computer programming and want to learn the fundamentals, take this course! It is geared for ages 7+ (second graders and up). It is a great introduction to programming/coding for students of all ages.

This course is also a great primer for teachers who would like to teach programming and have their students submit Scratch projects as part of their curricula. Includes example of how kids can use Scratch to create a unique ‘visual aid’ for a classroom project. This course is used at local elementary schools to teach students Scratch.

Perfect for kids who want to learn how to create their own video games, and parents who want to learn how to assist their kids in building their programming and coding skills.