Scratch: An On-Ramp to Programming

Learning to program computers in the traditional sense has many pitfalls that are barriers for newcomers. The future job market for programmers is bright and kids should be taught to control technology rather than only consuming it.

John talks about Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu), the visual programming language from MIT, and how he thinks it's the best "first" programming language for the next generation of developers. Scratch hits the sweet spot to overcoming introductory pitfalls and provides a safe environment for kids to learn, explore and share their digital creations.

Transcript

1. An on-ramp to programming
   

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2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF7EpEnglgk
   I opened by showing the below video.
   Watch before continuing.
   

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3. • Programming is a necessary skill
   • So you want to learn to program?
   • MIT Scratch
   • Why Scratch?
   • How can you help?
   

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4. Programming is!
   a necessary skill
   

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5. How is the demand for
   programming growing?
   

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6. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012)
   Occupation 2012 2022 Growth
   Software developers,
   applications
   613,000 752,900 22.8%
   Occupations with the most job growth,!
   2012 and projected 2022
   http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_104.htm
   

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7. Why is this demand
   here to stay?
   

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8. The forever recession

   (and the coming revolution)
   When everyone has a laptop!
   and connection to the world,!
   then everyone owns a factory.
   Seth Godin, Sept 2011
   http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/09/the-forever-recession.html
   

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9. HUMANS NEED NOT APPLY
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pq-S557XQU
   

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10. HUMANS NEED NOT APPLY
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pq-S557XQU
    ECONOMICS ALWAYS WINS
    

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11. HUMANS NEED NOT APPLY
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pq-S557XQU
    ECONOMICS ALWAYS WINS
    AUTOMATION ISN’T BAD
    

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12. HUMANS NEED NOT APPLY
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pq-S557XQU
    ECONOMICS ALWAYS WINS
    AUTOMATION ISN’T BAD
    IT’S INEVITABLE
    

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13. Robots, JavaScript, and Drones:

    Welcome to the Hardware Revolution
    Julia Grace, July 2014
    

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15. http://www.control4.com/blog/2014/03/the-internet-of-things-and-the-connected-home
    

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16. SOFTWARE

    IS EATING

    THE WORLD
    Marc Andreessen
    

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17. So you want to!
    learn to program
    

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18. Stages of Learning to Program
    

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19. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    

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20. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    

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21. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    3. Values have meaning
    

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22. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    3. Values have meaning
    4. Language and platform idioms
    

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23. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    3. Values have meaning
    4. Language and platform idioms
    5. Running the program
    

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24. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    3. Values have meaning
    4. Language and platform idioms
    5. Running the program
    6. Hey I made this thing!
    

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25. How did I

    become interested

    in programming?
    

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26. Stages of Learning to Program
    

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27. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    

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28. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    

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29. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    3. Values have meaning
    

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30. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    3. Values have meaning
    4. Language and platform idioms
    

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31. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    3. Values have meaning
    4. Language and platform idioms
    5. Running the program
    

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32. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    3. Values have meaning
    4. Language and platform idioms
    5. Running the program
    6. Hey I made this thing!
    

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33. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    3. Values have meaning
    4. Language and platform idioms
    5. Running the program
    6. Hey I made this thing!
    Find the hidden Triforce
    

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34. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    3. Values have meaning
    4. Language and platform idioms
    5. Running the program
    6. Hey I made this thing!
    Find the hidden Triforce
    Hours on my computer
    

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35. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    3. Values have meaning
    4. Language and platform idioms
    5. Running the program
    6. Hey I made this thing!
    Find the hidden Triforce
    Hours on my computer
    0x8111A834 == 30FF
    

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36. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    3. Values have meaning
    4. Language and platform idioms
    5. Running the program
    6. Hey I made this thing!
    Find the hidden Triforce
    Hours on my computer
    0x8111A834 == 30FF
    GeoCities HTML
    

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37. Stages of Learning to Program
    1. Desire and goal
    2. Typing accuracy and syntax
    3. Values have meaning
    4. Language and platform idioms
    5. Running the program
    6. Hey I made this thing!
    Find the hidden Triforce
    Hours on my computer
    0x8111A834 == 30FF
    GeoCities HTML
    F5 F5 F5 F5 F5 F5
    

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39. Learn programming today?
    

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46. Challenges learning to!
    program in 2014
    

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47. The state of programming
    is currently shackled to
    its previous success
    

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48. The current generation
    is inundated with visuals
    

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49. War of Attention
    

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50. It's too easy to
    CONSUME
    instead of create
    

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51. Popular programs
    are not
    open-source
    

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53. People get bored easily
    

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55. • January 2007
    • National Science Foundation grant,

    Lifelong Kindergarten group @ MIT
    • Designed for 8-16 year olds
    • Think creatively, work collaboratively and reason systematically
    

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58. • Games
    • Animated Music Videos (AMVs)
    • Cartoons
    • Drawing contests
    

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59. 12 @ 375,000
    

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61. Why Scratch?
    

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62. The state of programming
    is currently shackled to
    its previous success
    Scratch is fun and!
    gets you started right away
    

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63. The current generation
    is inundated with visuals
    Scratch is a!
    visual!
    programming !
    language
    

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64. War of Attention
    Scratch is online!
    and on the devices!
    kids care about
    

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65. Popular programs
    are not
    open-source
    Open-Source is built!
    into the Scratch ecosystem
    

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66. People get bored easily
    Scratch has an!
    ultra-fast feedback cycle
    

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67. How can you help?
    

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68. Learn Scratch
    http://scratch.mit.edu/
    Offline Editor
    http://scratch.mit.edu/scratch2download/
    Online Editor
    http://www.scratchjr.org/
    iPad App
    

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69. Teach Scratch
    For Educators
    http://scratch.mit.edu/educators/
    http://coderdojokc.com/
    

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70. Building Something!
    !
    Teach Someone
    

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71. John Kary
    @johnkary
    http://johnkary.net/talks
    Questions?
    

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