SCRATCH BEGINNERS In this course, students ease into object-oriented programming concepts with Scratch , creating stories and interactive adventures with stackable code blocks!  Students master the intuitive user interface of Scratch and learn the functions of the most important blocks, which beneath their friendly appearance represent important computer programming functions.

Kids are encouraged to think creatively and learn how to program their own stories, games, and animations, as well as how to share their creations on the web. This course relies on a series of fun-filled projects.  For example, your student may use Scratch to animate a character, tell a story, write a song, or even design a simple video game.  There’s equal emphasis on the mastery of tools and the expression of imagination.  Each student’s instruction is differentiated according to his or her interests, learning style, and pace.

 

SCRATCH INTERMEDIATE After an introductory course in Scratch, students should feel comfortable with the basic blocks and the ability to visualize their game progress from the initial concept to its final product. ​This course is designed to introduce more advanced Scratch coding concepts and custom blocks to the students, as they start designing and implementing more complex games and projects. Many of the projects for this level focus on more real-world topics and functions and tend to involve more math and logic. Some of the projects will require students to work with less direct instruction which encourages more problem solving and critical thinking. We are beginning to dive into the world of programming with real-world applications with an allowance for artistic freedom in their game design.

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SCRATCH ADVANCED  This course is recommended to students who have completed our Scratch Intermediate course but need more practice with mastering Scratch coding  prior to moving up to the Expert (Machine Learning)course or our other programming courses. This course is designed around the following fundamental computer science concepts: Variables, Logic, Loops and Conditional Statements. The lessons focus on introducing the concepts and then mastering them through coding exercises and project step. Students work at their own pace and supported by an instructor. Each lesson is available as a professionally produced video for review by students outside of class. The final part of the course is devoted to a Capstone project where students demonstrate their mastery by building their own unique game.

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SCRATCH EXPERT (MACHINE LEARNING)  In this advanced level class, students will be learning how to apply their Scratch coding skills that they learned in previous courses to create more advanced coding projects. 

Students will learn how object-oriented programming truly works by identifying an object's behavior and attributes and figuring out how to represent that in Scratch. Throughout the course each time they learn how to create a new object, students are challenged to create a project (game or animation) that showcases that object. Objects/techniques include Dice Generator, High Score Techniques, User Input, Card Generator, Animated Start screens, Scrolling, Quiz Game, Mastermind Game (figuring out the right sequence).

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This course will also introduce machine learning to students. Through a series of projects that students will create, they will learn how to train machine learning models to recognize text, numbers, images, or sounds by using Scratch!  Our Machine Learning with Scratch curriculum will provide hands on exposure and will allow students to experience how ML systems are trained, how they are used, and some of the real-world implications of AI applications.