1.1 Scr0310: getting started with scratch 2.0  (Page 2/3)

However, if you can access the Scratch website but you are unable to run any of the projects, you may need to download andinstall the Adobe Flash Player .

Screen size requirements

Quite a lot of space is needed for all of the items in the project development screen . You probably need to have your browser set to full screen on a 1024 x 768 monitor in order to see everything without the requirement to deal withhorizontal and vertical scroll bars on the edges of the browser window.

For a 1024 x 768 monitor, you also need to click the little triangle immediately below and to the right of the stage to reduce the size of the stageand free up more space for other items.

Create a new project

Click the Create link at the top of the main Scratch web page to begin creating a new project. When you do, the Step-by-Step Intro pane shown in Image 1 will probably appear on the right side of your browser window.

(If the Step-by-Step Intro pane doesn't appear automatically, click the question mark on the far right side ofthe browser window to cause it or the Tips pane shown in Image 2 to appear. If the Tips pane appears, select the Step-by-Step Intro link beneath the Getting Started label to get back to the pane shown in Image 1 .)

Figure

Image 1. step-by-step intro.

Follow the steps

Follow the steps provided on the Step-by-Step Intro pane to create your first Scratch 2.0 project.

Examine the Tips

When you have completed your first project, click the Tips link at the top left of Image 1 to expose the Tips pane shown in Image 2 . The links on the Tips pane will take you to a wealth of information regarding the use of Scratch 2.0.

When you are finished with the Tips pane, click the X-button in the upper-right corner of Image 2 to dismiss it. You can get it back by clicking the question mark that will appear on the right edge of the browserwindow.

Figure

Image 2. the tips pane.

View the tutorials

There are many tutorials scattered throughout the web explaining various aspects of programming with Scratch v1.4. Those tutorials are still usefulbecause most of what you do to create Scratch projects hasn't changed with the release of Scratch 2.0.

Once you are comfortable with the material that you can reach from the links shown in Image 1 and Image 2 , I recommend that you viewevery Scratch tutorial that you can find beginning with the tutorials at (External Link) .

I have listed several tutorials in Resources . Some are pretty good and some are not so good, but regardless, it would probably be useful for you towork through them all if you have the time available.

I also recommend that you run and pay particular attention to the Scratch explanatory video from MIT.

Will concentrate on the fundamentals

I doubt that you will find many (or any) Scratch tutorials that cover the fundamental programming concepts that I plan to cover in these modules. Most of the available Scratch tutorials tend to ignore the fundamentals and jump immediatelyinto the higher-level features of Scratch such as playing music or viewing an image through a fisheye lens. That's not all bad. It is thosefeatures that are most likely to keep today's students engaged long enough for them to learnthe fundamentals and go on to bigger and better things.