Embedding Scratch in the Classroom
The Scratch programming environment is a computer programming language designed for 8-12-year-old children to learn how to program and create multimedia applications and games with ease. This paper documents one example of using Scratch in the classroom as part of the information and communications technology (ICT) curriculum for seven- and eight-year-old children in a primary school in the United Kingdom. A case is made for Scratch becoming a core element used to teach digital literacy in schools. Scratch offers a creative environment to empower children to program computers and could thereby extend the ICT curriculum beyond the teaching of basic office skills. Scratch could also play a role in helping to embed the use of computers in the classroom and throughout the curriculum as part of everyday class activities.
