Recently I came across Scratch, one of the ICT teachers at the local Grammar school mentioned it as a great way to get children interested in programming and I have seen many posts on Twitter about it.
It is fantastic. Scratch is a programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art and share your creations on the web through their website. The program is free to download. My ICT technician was able to install it on to our network as there is a great support section.
Currently the Year 6 teachers are using Scratch and the children love it. Following on from the Lego League club that we had for the tournament, the children who did the programming still meet and are working with children from one of the local Grammar schools to improve their programming skills.
I am looking forward to using it with my Year 5′s and will draw on the expertise from the Year 6′s who have even downloaded it to use at home!
