Program it from Scratch

All Grade 4 to 6 pupils are invited to participate in this year’s Scratch Day at the Weltevreden Methodist Church, where children will learn computer programming.

Scratch Day is an annual international event, where Scratch volunteers host over 200 events around the world to introduce and promote the learning of Scratch.

Scratch is a graphics-based, drag and drop, computer programming language specifically designed to introduce young minds to the world of computer programming. It is easier to learn, use and understand than traditional programme languages but covers theory and principles that are used in original programming languages. It was developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab and is supported by the likes of Lego, Google, and Microsoft.

Introtech will host its third Scratch Day event, free of charge on 14 May. The event will run from 9am to 12.30pm. Three sets of identical one-hour sessions will be held on the day, which will start at 9am, 10.15am and 11.30am.

Scratch allows children to program their own interactive stories, games, and animations, which can then be shared online with the Scratch community. This program is meant to strengthen a young individual’s creativity, systematic thinking and team work.

Dieter Lauder, co-founder of Introtech, said, “In May each year, an international, volunteer-based Scratch Day event is held. The aim of this event to raise awareness of Scratch and the value of computer programming for young pupils in general. Last year, Introtech hosted a limited invite Scratch Day due to venue restrictions. This year we have an unrestricted venue so that we can extend an open invitation to all interested learners.”

Details: Dieter Lander, info@introtech.co.za or 082 885 7298.