We’ve been waiting several years for an update to Scratch, and this is the big one we’ve been hoping for! Scratch 1.4 was released in the mid-2009 and Scratch 2.0 will go live May 9, 2013. There are many reasons to be excited about this update:

• You can program directly in your web browser without requiring a download. This might not seem like a big deal, but allows for students to access their projects from any computer. It also means educators can quickly and easily introduce Scratch to a whole classroom without any setup.
• The ability to create your own blocks. This really means you can create functions with inputs, which is an important concept in programming. It also allows you to limit code reuse and keep your Scratch projects much more organized.
• Cloud variables to store information amongst all the people playing your game. One of the most common use cases of this will be to record the high score of everyone who has played the game, but there are many creative uses as well.
• Cloning sprites. This is the first step towards object-oriented programming, which is another crucial concept for programmers to learn. Essentially you make one blueprint of an object and you can make as many copies or clones of that object as you’d like.

Unfortunately there are several things I wish they did differently. First, the fact that it is a flash website means that you can’t program in Scratch 2.0 on an iPad. I also think there are some features in Tynker that Scratch should have. The good news is that the Scratch team will be able to make updates much more quickly now that it is in the browser. I look forward to them continuing to make improvements!

The Scratch website will be down for a couple days during the transition, but after May 9th, go over to scratch.mit.edu to see Scratch 2.0 in action!

I have heard the following question many times in the last month – will Breakout Mentors have a summer camp? Unfortunately the answer is no, we will not be offering any summer camps this year. Considering so many parents are looking for this format, why isn’t Breakout Mentors going to have one?

The focus of Breakout Mentors is to provide a depth in kids computer programming education that isn’t available anywhere else. We strive to provide curious students the opportunity to pursue the subject as far as they are interested. The ideal format for this is a year-round 1-on-1 programming mentor to personalize the material and promote each student’s creativity.

Summer camps can be a great way for kids to try out new things, but are less than ideal for making significant progress (and can even promote a shortsighted approach). Their main benefit is to generate interest in a subject. Of course Breakout Mentors would love to help hundreds of kids first become interested in programming, but with our limited resources, our first priority is to help all students already interested but unsure how to keep advancing.

Our preferred format for stimulating interest in programming is hour and a half small group classes. Camps can attract kids that aren’t necessarily curious about computers – there are working parents that need something for their kids to do all day during the summer and enroll them in many camps. Hour and a half classes ensure a better student fit and promote approaching programming as a subject that can be continued throughout the year. With three to five students we are also able to make sure everyone receives the attention they need.

We set up and run private small classes for groups of friends that are interested in learning together. We also occasionally have spots open for other kids to join (like this beginning Java class in San Mateo). If you are interested in this format, please contact us for more information and stay tuned for more class openings announced in the future.
 
 
 

Hack the Future is headed back to the Peninsula after holding their last couple events in San Jose. Come Saturday April 20th at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View for a full day of kids building with technology!

There are many different stations set up which kids 5th through 12th grade can explore at their own pace. The diversity of the stations is impressive – various types of computer programming, electronics with soldering and circuits, and design fundamentals. Hack the Future is an excellent way to get exposure to many different areas in a fun, non-intimidating environment.

To claim a ticket, please head to the event page. For more information about Hack the Future, please visit their website.

Tynker is a new kids programming environment that is currently in a limited release. Their team is coming to the Silicon Valley Coder Dojo to lead the April sessions – sign up for the waitlist here to be alerted when more tickets are available.

I have been using Tynker with a couple Breakout Mentors students and believe it’s going to be extremely successful. I’m not at liberty to share details, but here is what they say on their website:

Tynker is a new computing platform designed specifically to teach children computational learning and programming skills in a fun and imaginative way. Tynker is inspired by Scratch from MIT. It is a completely browser-based implementation written using Open Web standards such as Javascript, HTML5, CSS3 and does not use Flash.

Tynker’s language extensions, built-in physics engine, character editors and other tools make it fun and easy for kids to unleash their creativity. Schools love Tynker because it offers them an easy to use cloud-hosted system for delivering a customized Computer Science course across multiple grades with a ready to use curriculum, classroom management and more. Tynker is the platform of choice at many leading schools – see what educators are saying.

If you request an invite, I’m sure you’ll be the first to know when Tynker is officially released. I’ll share more details then!

It can be difficult to communicate the amount of programming complexity that can be introduced in Scratch. There are several advantages to teaching the concepts in Scratch rather than a traditional programming language. First, they don’t have to worry about typing. If typing isn’t second nature (when you have to look at the keys) it distracts from the concept they are trying to learn. Then there are syntax requirements like semi-colons to worry about (explored here). A concept learned in Scratch transfers well to a more traditional language later because Scratch still contains scripts that flow top to bottom.

This is best illustrated with an example. Intermediate students might make a script like this one to make a spaceship move:

Not bad. It uses a repeat until so the loop knows when to stop. It changes the y-position only because gravity makes the spaceship fall straight down. But is this really how the spaceship would move? Does it look realistic?

(If you are reading in email, click here to view videos)

Gravity should accelerate the spaceship so that it moves faster and faster as it drops. Here is an example of a script that does just that:

Rather than changing the y-position of the spaceship by a constant number, the amount it is changing is changing! That’s exactly what acceleration is. Here is a video of this movement, does it look better?

(If you are reading in email, click here to view videos)

From there it’s not difficult to add the spaceship’s thrust, which is really another acceleration like gravity:

(If you are reading in email, click here to view videos)

Now you have fun controls you can turn into a game! This is just one example of how a programming mentor can take the student’s current understanding of a concept and help them take it even further. Please contact us to learn more about how a programming mentor can help!

In the past we’ve touched on the trendy buzz for “learning to code” and how people as diverse as Michael Bloomberg and will-i-am have jumped on the bandwagon. If you have people that are wildly successful in other disciplines (like business, politics, and music) that are spending their valuable time learning to program, it begs the question, should everyone learn to code?

Ben Werdmuller had a great answer to this question on Quora that I’d like to share with you:

 
 
I’m not the biggest advocate of adults learning to code late in life unless it is something they really want to do. Otherwise life will get in the way and it’s likely they will quit before seeing any real benefits.

But it’s incredibly important for children. They have the curiosity and the time. They are still developing their problem solving and logical reasoning skills. They will become adults in a world that will be even more computer-oriented than today.

This brings up an even more important question – what are you doing to help your student pursue their interest in computers?

Berkeley is a first year PhD student at Stanford and works with some of Breakout Mentors’ most advanced students. With his extensive experience he is perfectly suited for introducing computer science topics to students that have been quickly advancing their programming expertise. For example, one middle school student he mentors is creating his own programming language! Let’s hear more from Berkeley:

When did you start programming?

In second grade I was curious to know how computer software worked, and got started with the QBasic programing language. I loved the idea of specifying instructions that a computer could follow perfectly logically. Later I learned to build user interfaces in Visual Basic, and then moved on to Real Basic and Java.

Why is it important for kids to start programming when young?

Programing is a new literacy. To be able to program is empowering, and it transforms challenges of “why doesn’t the computer work?” into the question “what can a machine do for me?” Beyond the practical advantages, programing opens realms of intellectual discourse, encouraging kids to think creatively, not just logically. I imagine programing will become a basic skill in the new world, not far more advanced than reading and arithmetic — and it’s best to start young!

What advice to you have to kids learning how to program?

The most important rule is to never give up. Often you will find a seemingly insurmountable challenge, but the best thing is to keep going. There is a world of resources at your disposal to learn more — and the more you face challenges the more you learn!

While I might have taken will.i.am out of the video and cut the minute that felt like recruiting for startups, I think it is extremely well done and an important message. One of the most powerful parts was hearing the first programming experiences of these big wigs. We put these entrepreneurs on a pedestal, but they all began with a curiosity and interest in making something of their own. Every journey starts with a simple first step, which we often lose sight of this considering how far they have come since then.

I hope Code.org is successful in their mission to spread the word about the current shortage of computer programming education. They are also attempting to create a database of all computer programming classes available. It’s slowly populating with data, but will be an excellent complement to our Bay Area Kids Programming Events Calendar.

I’ll leave you with a quote from the video about the immense power of a programmer:

To be able to actually come up with an idea and then see it in your hands and then be able to press a button and have it be in millions of peoples hands. I think we’re the first generation in the world that has had that kind of experience.
-Drew Houston, Founder of Dropbox

Silicon Valley Coder Dojo tickets go almost as fast as Taylor Swift’s. I’ve stopped sharing upcoming events with Breakout Mentors email subscribers because of mounting frustrations of never being able to obtain a spot.

Today I bring you some good news – there are still tickets available for this Saturday’s event. It is a kids hackathon using the Khan Academy JavaScript platform – no experience is required and it is a great opportunity for students new to programming. The students will be able to move at their own pace and have access to mentors from Khan Academy.

The event is this Saturday 3/2 at Microsoft in Mountain View from 2 to 4:30 pm. For tickets and more information, please visit the Eventbrite page.

Kevin is a Stanford sophomore studying Computer Science and a Bay Area native. Like many of our mentors, he started programming in high school and enjoyed it so much he decided to keep with the subject through college. With Breakout Mentors he weekly guides two middle-school students through the fun process of learning to program in Java. Let’s hear more from Kevin:

When did you start programming?

I started programming during my junior year of high school, when I took my first programming course in Java. My strong interest in math made computer science a perfect fit for me, and I was immediately amazed by its power and practicality. My strong interest in video games didn’t hurt either.

Why is it important for kids to start programming when young?

Learning to program helps to develop useful problem-solving and analytical skills. These will be invaluable for any student, and will be even more beneficial for his or her future if developed while young. I honestly wish that I myself had started to learn about programming a few years earlier.

What advice to you have to kids learning how to program?

The best advice I can give is to work on some projects of your own. If you have an idea for something creative and cool, just try it! You’ll have a lot more fun, you’ll be much more motivated to do a good job, and you’ll come away with much more knowledge and experience than before.