Introduction to Programming using Scratch

Have you ever wondered how you get those recommended videos in YouTube or how the “woman voice” inside your mobile phone understands what you are saying or why you see new posts every-time you reload your Facebook feed? That’s because someone wrote certain lines of code to perform those specific tasks. That someone wrote a program so that whenever you say “Ok Google!”, you hear a voice, “Hi, how may I help you?”, as if it could solve all the problems in your life.

So what actually is “Programming”? Simply, it is the process of telling a computer how to perform a task. It is the art of translating a set of ideas into a program – a list of instructions a computer can follow. You can use programming for almost everything. Humans made it to the moon because someone at NASA wrote a program that can perform huge amounts of calculations in a very small interval of time. Program control robots, self-driving cars, planes, the phone you are holding right now or the computer you are using. Programs help researchers to solve complex problems by providing a huge amount of related data. Well it doesn’t stop there. Programs can make some really fun games like temple run, candy crush or that classic snake game. Programs are behind the apps and websites you use and visit everyday. All those awesome visual effects you watched in Avengers or Interstellar was made using some program. Cool, isn’t it?

Computer programs are written by the help of various programming languages like Python, C, JavaScript, C++, etc. Whatever language you use, the idea you express is the same. Programming languages are just tools of communication with the computer to solve problems. Anyone who is new to the world of computer programming might find it daunting to write weird codes at first. “If only there was a fun way to learn the concepts of programming!” Well it turns that you don’t need to know the actual codes to write a program. You can write them using Scratch, a visual programming language.

Scratch is an online community targeted primarily to programming newbies. This service is developed by the MIT Media Lab, has been translated into 70+ languages, and is used in most parts of the world. You needn’t worry about remembering all the weird codes. You can simply drag and drop a block of code onto the editor, sit back and see the magic happen. You can make a dog bark or a car move, create an interactive game or tell your favorite story, all of this with just some blocks of visual code. With scratch, you can program your own interactive stories, games and animations. It helps you to learn to think creatively and the fundamentals of computer programming.

It might be quite hard to see how making a dog bark relates to a program that can make space travel possible. But every computer program uses the same fundamental concepts. Once you understand the fundamentals of programming using scratch, you’ll be able to learn other programming languages much more easily. FOSS Pulchowk Community is organizing an introductory program about the basics of programming using Scratch to help those who are new to the programming.

Free or Open Source Software ( FOSS ), Pulchowk Campus is a community that aims to flourish concept of free and open source movement in the campus by strengthening its root through active participation of technological enthusiasts. FOSS Pulchowk community is aiming to give a brief introduction to the concepts and essentials of programming. So, lets embark on this amazing journey to the world of computer programming where counting begins at 0.

Disclaimer: Please note that we target students who have no programming background. To participate in workshop we are conducting on December 1, 2018 please fill form we have published at link to form.

The detailed installation guide is provided here.