Creating simple animations using Scratch

Scratch is used to teach programming in a friendly environment

• graphical user interface
• drag-and-drop commands
• sprites - change appearance
• movement across background
• sound, text, colour...

Scratch interface

Design components

drag-and-drop constructs

• motion
• looks
• sound
• pen
• control
• sensing
• operators

Some changes between version 1 and version 2...events start activities

Sound commands

Motion commands

Looks commands

Control constructs

Pen commands

Sensing commands

Operators on left - costume on right

scripts

• implement constructs
• manipulate sprites

Script on right

sprites

• costumes - change appearance

Different costumes for a single sprite

Scratch sprites

Standard sprites are available

Sprites can be 

• edited
• uploaded
• exported

Butterfly

Box

Button

Magic carpet

Use of visual tools

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words 

This term which means a story told by pictures as well as a vast amount of descriptive text comes from the quotation 'One picture is worth ten thousand words', 

Frederick R. Barnard in Printer's Ink, 8 Dec 1921 retelling a Chinese proverb. 

http://www.idiomsite.com/a.htm

Scratch in use - creating an animation against an imported background

Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day. 

Teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime. 

Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day.

Teach him to use the Internet, and you won't see him for weeks! 

...using Scratch is fun!

Although Scratch is used for teaching programming concepts, it is particularly useful for creating animations to support other contexts.