Issue 2 of Hello World, the computing and digital making magazine for educators is published today! This issue celebrates ten years of MIT’s pioneering block-based programming language, Scratch. Scratch is an amazing, accessible programming language that has helped millions of people learn more about computing programming. It’s also by far the most popular coding language for our Code Clubs in the UK and around the world.
As well as an exclusive interview with Mitch Resnick, leader of the Scratch team at MIT, the magazine’s latest edition is packed full of news, features and activities, including on:
- Details on expanding the age range of Code Clubs to 9- to 13-year-olds
- Safeguarding children online, by Penny Patterson
- Embracing chaos inside and outside the classroom with Code Club’s Rik Cross, Raspberry Jam maker-in-chief Ben Nuttall, Raspberry Pi Certified Educator Sway Grantham, and CPD trainer Alan O’Donohoe
- Incredibly useful lesson guides on programming graphical user interfaces (GUI) with guizero, simulating logic gates in Minecraft, and introducing variables through storytelling.
- Exploring computing and gender through Girls Who Code, Cyber First Girls, the BCSLovelace Colloqium, and Computing At School’s #include initiative
Want to get your hands on a copy? Hello World is available as a free Creative Commons download from the Hello World website. Additionally, thanks to the very generous support of our sponsor BT, we are able to offer a printed version of the magazine to serving educators – including Code Club volunteers – in the UK. Remember to subscribe to receive your free copy, posted directly to your home.
Did you know you can also contribute to Hello World? Share your experience and ideas by emailing: contact@helloworld.cc
Libraries are all about reading and learning, including about the use of technology, and one of the Libraries NI objectives is to help bridge the digital divide. With this in mind, I thought we were a perfect location for offering local children access to what is essentially taking words (code) and creating a story (program), whether an animation or a game.
I have to say this is one of the quietest children’s clubs I have ever hosted, as they are all so absorbed by the code, except for occasional outburst of joy at creating something new or of despair at the project not working. When the latter happens it is usually enough to remind the children to check that they have followed the steps in the worksheet – success is in the detail – and there is always another club member to help if someone needs it. Anyone who finishes a project early either moves on to a new project or goes back over the project they have completed and tweaks it to make it their own, choosing new sprites, stages and conversations. At the end of the term each club member receives a certificate as proof of their accomplishment.
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