Scratch Archives - First Coding

Happy Hens

Mar 12, 2019adminBlog, ScratchHappy Hens, Scratch, Web Design

After learning that one of our young pupils recently bought some chickens for her garden, we set about designing a web page to advertise the eggs she was going to sell. The nice thing about Scratch 3 is that you can embed your projects really easily and this is exactly what we did here.

By designing an interactive Scratch project to introduce everyone to her new pets, Elsie was able to embed it into her website. You can see the finished result here.

Elsie's Happy Hens

Half Term Certificates

Feb 22, 2019adminBlog, Events, ScratchCertificates, Workshops

It’s been back to back workshops this half term. For all the younger coders I hand out little certificates for a job well done. Some of the games that are being built are really impressive.

Young Coders’ Course

Jan 17, 2019adminBlog, Events, ScratchYoung Coders Course

NEW FOR 2019 – NOW INCLUDES LEARNING TO CODE WITH MINECRAFT

First Coding will be running its popular Young Coders’ course once again! Ideal for children aged between 7 and 10 years with an interest in computers and games, pupils will learn how to create colourful and amusing animations and build fun interactive programs, all whilst learning important concepts and gaining confidence in computer programming via the popular game of Minecraft and through the visual language of Scratch.

The cost of the course is £75 and starts on Saturday 2nd February between 2pm-3pm, running for four weeks.

For more information regarding the course, please check out the website: http://www.firstcoding.co.uk/young-coders-course/

Covert Scratch Projects into Android Apps

Dec 7, 2018adminApp Design, Blog, ScratchApp Design, Scratch

As well as converting Scratch projects into standalone programs (see previous post), did you know that you can also take any Scratch project and turn it into an app for Android? We’ve written an easy to follow guide that walks you through the process of producing standalone executables and Android apps and it’s available via our subscription package.

The video below is of the rotating globe that was built in Scratch and was used to advertise one of the retro gaming workshops earlier this year. This Scratch project was packaged up as an app and installed on various Android devices to demonstrate what could be done.

Who’s Talking About Scratch 3?

Nov 11, 2018adminBlog, ScratchChatbot, Scratch, TTS

Whilst trying out Scratch 3, pupils have been giving their chatbots a voice. The responses are random to give the chatbots a bit of character. We’re going to look at ways to incorporate the Microbit next.

Southampton Coding Workshops

Sep 22, 2018adminBlog, Events, ScratchHalf-Term, Southampton, Workshops

Our creative coding workshops are coming to the Southampton area this October! First Coding will be running our popular Scratch game building workshop on Saturday 27th October at The Pavilion on the Park, Eastleigh, SO50 9LH.

A task will be set (based around a treasure hunting problem) and with guidance and help, pupils will build their solutions before going head-to-head at the end of the session to win a prize.

To book a place on the workshop please email: hello@firstcoding.co.uk

Southampton Coding Workshop

Online Teaching Resources

Sep 5, 2018adminBlog, Ideas, ScratchIdeas, lesson plans, Python, Scratch, Teaching, Teaching Resources

First Coding is very happy to reveal that after a summer of hard work our teaching resources are now online and available. Our resource packs are a subscription based online resource for primary and secondary school teachers as well as parents to aid in the teaching of computing within schools and the home. Not only does it provide teachers with classroom handouts, working project examples and PowerPoint presentations but subscribers have access to a monthly podcast of ideas for setting up coding clubs as well as a support forum and video seminars to help deliver great lessons.

First Coding Salisbury - Online Teaching Resources

A Musical Challenge

Jul 10, 2018adminBlog, ScratchMusical Challenge, Note Sequencer, Scratch

I set a challenge recently to see if pupils could make a simple note sequencer whereby you load notes into a loop and the Scratch programme cycles through the sequence, playing them one by one.

This is one of my favourite attempts. The variables at the top allow you to change the notes in the five note sequence. You can also amend the tempo up and down too. Really nice job.

The Scratch Chatbots

Jul 3, 2018adminBlog, ScratchChatbot, Scratch

I want to share one of the projects my group are working on at the minute. The task was to build a convincing chatbot in Scratch, homing in on particular keywords to give the impression that it understands the statements given to it. I’ve posted this in a couple of Scratch teaching forums and the response has been great. I can’t wait to share the comments with my pupils.

The Motor Control Kit

Jun 26, 2018adminBlog, Microbit, Raspberry Pi, ScratchCode, Components, Instructions, Microbit, Motor Control Kit, Raspberry Pi

The school talks I recently gave on electronic toy hacking highlighted a problem that motor control for the Raspberry Pi and Microbit could be made a great deal simpler (and cheaper) when you see what’s already out there. It only took two prototypes of my pack before I was happy. Each pack contains example code, components and creativity.

First Coding - Motor Control Kit for the Raspberry Pi and Microbit

I have made the component list, assembly instructions and sample Scratch block code available to download here: Motor control instructions for the Raspberry Pi and Microbit