Brian Silverman

The Scratch Programming Language and Environment

Scratch is a visual programming environment that allows users (primarily ages 8 to 16) to learn computer programming while working on personally meaningful projects such as animated stories and games. A key design goal of Scratch is to support self-directed learning through tinkering and collaboration with peers. This article explores how the Scratch programming language and environment support this goal.

Digital manipulatives: new toys to think with

In many educational settings, manipulative materials (such as Cuisenaire Rods and Pattern Blocks) play an important role in children’s learning, enabling children to explore mathematical and scientific concepts (such as number and shape) through direct manipulation of physical objects. Our group at de MJT Media Lab has developed a new generation of “digital manipulatives”-computationallyenhanced versions of traditional children’s toys. These new manipulatives enable children to explore a new set of concepts (im particular, “systems concepts” such as feedback and emergence) that have previously been considered “too advanced” for children to learn. In this paper, we discuss four of our digital manipulatives-computationallyaugmented versions of blocks, beads, balls, and badges.

Scratch: A Sneak Preview

Scratch is a networked, media-rich programmingenvironment designed to enhance the development oftechnological fluency at after-school centers ineconomically-disadvantaged communities. Just as theLEGO MindStorms robotics kit added programmabilityto an activity deeply rooted in youth culture (buildingwith LEGO bricks), Scratch adds programmability tothe media-rich and network-based activities that aremost popular among youth at after-school computercenters. Taking advantage of the extraordinaryprocessing power of current computers, Scratchsupports new programming paradigms and activitiesthat were previously infeasible, making it betterpositioned to succeed than previous attempts tointroduce programming to youth.Our working hypothesis is that, as kids work onpersonally meaningful Scratch projects such asanimated stories, games, and interactive art, they willdevelop technological fluency, mathematical andproblem solving skills, and a justifiable self-confidencethat will serve them well in the wider spheres of theirlives.

Programmable bricks: toys to think with

In this paper, we discuss the applications and implications of the Programmable Brick—a tiny, portable computer embedded inside a LEGO ® brick, capable of interacting with the physical world in a large variety of ways. We describe how Programmable Bricks make possible a wide range of new design activities for children, and we discuss experiences in using Programmable Bricks in three types of applications: autonomous creatures, active environments, and personal science experiments.

Meme tags and community mirrors: moving from conferences to collaboration

Meme Tags are part of a body of research on GroupWear: a wearable technology that supports people in the formative stages of cooperative work. Conference participants wear Meme Tags that allow them to electronically share memes—succinct ideas or opinions—with each other. Alongside of the person-toperson transactions, a server system collects information about the memetic exchanges and reflects it back to the conference-goers in Community Mirrors—large, public video displays that present real-time visualizations of the unfolding community dynamics. This paper presents results from a proof-of-concept trial of the Meme Tag technology undertaken at a MIT Media Laboratory conference.

Some reflections on designing construction kits for kids

In this paper, we present ten guiding principles for designing construction kits for kids, informed by our experiences over the past two decades:* Design for Designers* Low Floor and Wide Walls* Make Powerful Ideas Salient -- Not Forced* Support Many Paths, Many Styles* Make it as Simple as Possible -- and Maybe Even Simpler* Choose Black Boxes Carefully* A Little Bit of Programming Goes a Long Way* Give People What They Want -- Not What They Ask For* Invent Things That You Would Want to Use Yourself* Iterate, Iterate -- then Iterate AgainWhile these principles apply especially to the development of construction kits, we believe that they could be useful for everyone who designs new technologies for kids.

GroupWear: nametags that tell about relationships

We have built a set of computationally-augmented nametags capable of providing information about the relationship between two people engaged in a face-to-face conversation. This paper puts forward criteria useful for the design of such interpersonal augmentation, experiences that inform the principles, and initial evidence of their success.

Scratch: a sneak preview [education]

Scratch is a networked, media-rich programming environment designed to enhance the development of technological fluency at after-school centers in economically-disadvantaged communities. Just as the LEGO MindStorms robotics kit added programmability to an activity deeply rooted in youth culture (building with LEGO bricks), Scratch adds programmability to the media-rich and network-based activities that are most popular among youth at after-school computer centers. Taking advantage of the extraordinary processing power of current computers, Scratch supports programming paradigms and activities that were previously infeasible, making it better positioned to succeed than previous attempts to introduce programming to youth. Our working hypothesis is that, as kids work on personally meaningful Scratch projects such as animated stories, games, and interactive art, they develop technological fluency, mathematical and problem solving skills, and a justifiable self-confidence that serves them well in the wider spheres of their lives.

Designing ScratchJr: support for early childhood learning through computer programming

ScratchJr is a graphical programming language based on Scratch and redesigned for the unique developmental and learning needs of children in kindergarten to second grade. The creation of ScratchJr addresses the relative lack of powerful technologies for digital creation and computer programming in early childhood education. ScratchJr will provide software for children to create interactive, animated stories as well as curricula and online resources to support adoption by educators. This paper describes the goals and challenges of creating a developmentally appropriate programming tool for children ages 5-7 and presents the path from guiding principles and studies with young children to current ScratchJr designs and plans for future work.

MetaCricket: a designer's kit for making computational devices

We present the design of a construction kit, for building computational devices, called MetaCricket. MetaCricket consists of a set of hardware modules and the integrated software, which runs both on a development computer and within the MetaCricket hardware. MetaCricket provides a flexible interactive development environment for trying out new hardware and behaviors. The underlying architecture makes it easy for designers to expand the basic construction kit themselves with minimal engineering effort. Through a few examples, we show how designers, enabled by MetaCricket to be engineers of their own tools, are rethinking and transforming the very character of design principles in the digital age. MetaCricket was originally designed for use by children, but has been adopted by professional designers who are not professional engineers. These designers have found it incredibly liberating to directly implement their ideas without depending on engineers for assistance.