New Online Tool for Classroom Projects

I am a huge fan of students using websites to create classroom projects. It can be challenging, fun, engaging, and overall an exceptional learning experience. It is beneficial for students to interact with the Internet rather than passively exploring mind-numbing websites. Of course, students need parental guidance and supervision when working online.

A new site that I just encountered was Scratch and ScratchEd. The first link provides users with the program needed to create projects with Scratch.  The ScratchEd link allows users to learn about the Scratch program.  There are many resources for becoming a Scratch programmer.  Check out the following video to gain a better perspective of this web tool.


Intro to Scratch from ScratchEd on Vimeo.

This program is similar to the behind the scenes coding that is used for many websites. It reminds me of using Adobe Flash and working with its Action Script coding. Many online games using this program and its coding. So, students with a love for video gaming could benefit from this engaging online educational tool.

I'm not saying that it will be completely easy.  In fact, programing can be fairly difficult, but students adapt and problem solve surprisingly well when interacting with digital media.   Check out the stories tab to look at ScratchEd Story tab.  Another great resource for getting acquainted with ScractchEd can be found at the ScratchEd Webinar link, which was hosted by Megan Brennan. 

I encourage students to create and interact with a variety of web tools.  By the time your children graduate high school in 2019-2020, I can only imagine what they will experience in the future job market.