Young computer game designers unite at MIT
Max Winkler sat in the atrium of MIT's Media Laboratory, his fingers sliding over a laptop's mouse. He was demonstrating a new game he had programmed, featuring a cartoon smiley-face that chases coins.
"There are three levels," he told the group of onlookers around him. "The last level the coin gets really small and disappears quickly."
The game may not sound that complex, but give the inventor a break. He is only 7 years old.
Winkler was one of 120 children who gathered at the Media Lab on Saturday for Scratch Day, a meet-up event and workshop. Scratch is a simple programming language designed by a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology specifically for children. The free, open-sourced program allows them to program animation, music, games, and other media, which can then be uploaded to the Scratch website to be used by other "scratchers."
"I think it gives kids a voice in a realm that they're not used to being heard in," said Stephanie Gayle, an administrative assistant with Lifelong Kindergarten, the group that founded Scratch. "They can do incredible things with it, and it lends an opportunity for kids to become teachers to other kids."
More than 100 Scratch Days were taking place in 31 countries, Gayle said. The events featured workshops where participants could learn to make music, create their own greeting cards, and experiment with sensors and robotics. Outside workshops, scratchers collaborated with one another to create and problem solve.
"It's like they're learning through osmosis," said Sue Celentano, watching her children, 10-year-old twins Emily and Duncan Haywood, create birthday invitations. "They program things on my cellphone I didn't even know existed."
Joseph Gallagher, 10, said he learned about Scratch from a summer enrichment camp. Taking a break from working on the glitches in his game, titled "Macho Nacho," Gallagher talked about why he likes working with Scratch.
"It's the easiest programming language in the world," he said. "And it's made for kids."
Mitchel Resnick, LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research and Scratch's team leader, said more than 400,000 projects have been posted to the Scratch website. Resnick said he hopes educators start to use Scratch in the classroom, helping children to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.
"These are the three things that people need to learn to succeed today," he said. "The education system right now is not set up to do that in many ways."
Whatever the benefits, perhaps Winkler gave the best reason for why he likes Scratch.
"I like that you can do what you do," he said.
Correction: Because of a reporting error, several numbers about Scratch Day at MIT's Media Laboratory were incorrect in yesterday's Metro section. Scratch Day drew 223 participants, 121 of whom were under 16 years old. Additionally, 118 Scratch Day events were held in 43 countries.
