Programming Languages and Scratch

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There are a number of machine language and programming languages one can learn about including Python, C and Java. Thankfully there are assembly languages so we can program and tell computers what to do in a manner which is much easier than reading thousands of lines of binary code of just zeroes and ones. There are a number of high level programming languages, such as JavaScript (or JS) that help run websites and the features of those websites that we view on our computers and smart phones each day. Another popular high level programming language is Python. Python has gained popularity in recent years due to its relative ease of use as well as availability. Before taking this course I have learned just a little about both Java and Python in a self-taught atmosphere and found python easier to use and learn. It just seems a little more logical to me than some of the other languages. One of the most simple programming languages that can be used is Scratch which is a free programming language offered by The Scratch Foundation. Scratch is a drag and drop type language that can build animations, digital stories or games with its simple drag and drop interface. Scratch is also great for children due to its ease of use. I showed it to my 12 year old and she also thought it was pretty neat and easy to use. The accessibility of Scratch is also key to its success and usability as it is always free to use and available via any web browser. When making my animation using Scratch, (see link below) I thought it was a fairly institutive programming language and the drag and drop interface made it simple to use. I did get stuck for a moment or two thinking about what animation I wanted to draw up and what characters but finally settled on a cat and taco travelling from the beach to outer space and back.

Link to Scratch animation 
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/714290403/


Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2019). Computing technology for all. ZyBooks. 

Scratch (Links to an external site.). (n.d.). https://scratch.mit.edu/ 

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