Building from their previous coding work with the Daisy the Dinosaur app, this afternoon in the AT&T Classroom the CDC Kindergartners were introduced to a new coding tool, Scratch Jr.
Developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab, Scratch Jr. is designed to provide opportunities for children to use introductory programming language to create animations, interactive stories and games. Using the tool, children combine graphical programming blocks to animate characters to move, jump, dance, and sing. Children are also able to customize the characters using the paint editor, add their own voices and sounds, and insert photos of themselves. In addition to introductory programming and coding skills, Scratch Jr. also supports the development of skills related to sequencing and numeracy while also fostering children's creativity and critical thinking skills.
Also this afternoon, the Kindergartners explored Kid Pix 3D, a multimedia program that allows children to create animated stories and projects by drawing or painting with digital tools. The program offers access to multi-layered 3D backgrounds, 3D animations and 100 video backgrounds. Children are also able to add their own narration to their project. Free trial downloads and pricing plans are accessible at the Kid Pix/Mackiev software website.
