Scratch, is a beginner-level programming environment. It was developed at the MIT Media Lab and shared as an open-source (and FREE) resource for people to dip their toes into the world of code. No computer science or coding experience is required just bring your imagination.  Participants will be able to create stories, games, and animations they can share with their family & friends or other like-minded people around the world. It can also be a great introduction or gateway to the theory and logic needed in more complex programming languages and environments. 

Introduction to Coding with Scratch | May 2 | 4:00pm-6:00pm

This workshop will go through the basic building blocks of code. We will go through the different types of coding commands and complete some basic exercises to visually understand what each of the commands does and how they can be combined together to make something cool. We will take a tour through the Scratch interface and review how to participate in the Scratch Community including highlighting some of the things that are allowed/not allowed. We will also go over Creative Commons Licensing including attribution and derivative works (plain language will also be used to explain these concepts) and participants will learn how that applies to their own creations, remixing in Scratch, and sharing or collaborating with the online community.

Art in Scratch | May 4 | 4:00pm-6:00pm

Additional exercises will be taught to practice coding with building blocks to create basic effects with online help to debug and opportunities to share.

Animating a Project with Scratch | May 9 | 4:00pm-6:00pm

This workshop will go through guided activities to build in the knowledge from Introducing to Coding with Scratch from the first workshop. In this workshop, we will review what animation is, and the elements required to turn a picture into something that appears to move. Traditionally, animation involves drawing several pictures, sometimes thousands, and then playing them in sequence to create the illusion of movement. Today, we have digital tools that help us create animations more easily by letting us control characters, backgrounds, and even sounds with code. We will apply these concepts and go through an exercise in order for the participant to turn static images (aka Sprites) into an animated project of the participant's own creation. 

Animating a Project with Scratch (Practice) | May 11 | 4:00pm-6:00pm

Additional exercises will be taught to practice animating skills with online help to debug and opportunities to share.

Basic Game Designing in Scratch | May 16 | 4:00pm-6:00pm

In this workshop, we will start with some game “theory”. What makes a good game and what are the different building blocks needed to create one? What are the different types of games and how those decisions might affect the game's target audience and the design tools needed? We will take your scratch animation and storytelling skills to the next level by applying these new ideas in order to build a basic interactive computer game.

Basic Game Designing in Scratch (Practice) | May 18 | 4:00pm-6:00pm

Additional exercises will be taught to practice game-designing skills with online help to debug and opportunities to share.

Music/Sound in Scratch | May 23 | 4:00-6:00pm

In this workshop, we will learn how to create, layer and manipulate sounds in scratch. We will consider basic sound design principles, review the controls and what they do in order to figure out how we can use them in our projects to best serve the audience. Does your sound create drama for your scene? Does it show off/recognize an achievement or victory? Does it help to convey your message, or provide a call to action? If we pitched up a character voice it may sound more like a woman or child, or if we pitched the sound down it may sound like a booming voice of a giant or a man. These are just a few examples of what we can do with sound in Scratch. 

Music/Sound in Scratch | May 25 | 4:00-6:00pm

Additional exercises will be taught to practice music and sound in Scratch

Navigating the APP Workshop | May 26 | 10-11am

Join Rabia from the Gateway to Digital Inclusion APP Team to learn how to navigate our APP. Together, we will explore all the different channels, participate in engaging activities, and meet other community folks!