ScratchJr: Coding for Kindergarten #makereducation
ScratchJR – a new coding app for kids, is now available for the iPad!
Coding is the new literacy! With ScratchJr, young children (ages 5-7) can program their own interactive stories and games. In the process, they learn to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively on the computer.
Can children learn to code at the same age they’re learning to tie their shoes?
That’s the idea behind ScratchJr, a free iPad app released this week by researchers at the MIT Media Lab, Tufts University, and Playful Invention Company (PICO).
With ScratchJr (scratchjr.org), children ages five to seven can program their own interactive stories and games. In the process, they learn how to create and express themselves with the computer, not just interact with it.
“As young children code with ScratchJr, they develop design and problem-solving skills that are foundational for later academic success,” said Marina Umaschi Bers, professor in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts, and director of the Tufts’ Development Technologies research group, which co-developed ScratchJr. “And by using math and language in a meaningful context, they develop early-childhood numeracy and literacy.”
Scratch – Skill badge, iron-on patch: You are learning Scratch! Adafruit offers a fun and exciting “badges” of achievement for electronics, science and engineering. We believe everyone should be able to be rewarded for learning a useful skill, a badge is just one of the many ways to show and share.
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Each Tuesday is EducationTuesday here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts about educators and all things STEM. Adafruit supports our educators and loves to spread the good word about educational STEM innovations!