CS50's Introduction to Programming with Scratch

Offered By

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Available now till 2024-12-31
12.00 Educational Hours
Beginner
Language :
English
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About this Course

An introduction to programming using Scratch, a visual programming language via which aspiring programmers can write code by dragging and dropping graphical blocks (that resemble puzzle pieces) instead of typing out text. Used at the start of Harvard College's introductory course in computer science, CS50, Scratch was designed at MIT's Media Lab, empowering students with no prior programming experience to design their own animations, games, interactive art, and stories. Using Scratch, this course introduces students to fundamentals of programming, found not only in Scratch itself but in traditional text-based languages (like Java and Python) as well. Topics include: functions, which are instructions that perform tasks; return values, which are results that functions provide; conditions, via which programs can decide whether or not to perform some action; loops, via which programs can take action again and again; variables, via which programs can remember information; and more. Ultimately, this course prepares students for subsequent courses in programming.

Scratch is developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. See scratch.mit.edu.

Instructors

David J. Malan
David J. Malan
David J. Malan is Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Computer Science at Harvard University in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences as well as a Member of the Faculty of Education in the Graduate School of Education. He teaches Computer Science 50, otherwise known as CS50, which is among Harvard University's largest courses, one of Yale University's largest courses, and edX's largest MOOC. He also teaches at Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, Harvard Extension School, and Harvard Summer School.
Brian Yu
Brian Yu
Brian is a Senior Preceptor in Computer Science in the Division of Continuing Education at Harvard University. He received his A.B. in Computer Science and Linguistics from Harvard in 2019.