Scratch: another tool for the development of e-contents

In a previous blog post we talked about H5P which is a tool that allows its users to create, share, reuse and modify interactive e-contents easily and intuitively. Scratch is another tool for the development of e-contents that can be added to the toolbox of teachers, students, healthcare professionals who are trying to find new ways to promote and disseminate knowledge about health.

Scratch is a project of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab and it is free of charge. It is a free programming language that allows users to create and share e-contents which are primarily simulation-like, i.e., interactive stories, games and animations.

Scratch’s programming language is not based on code but it is based on blocks. Thus, users do not need to know how to code and to write a single line of code to create e-contents. Coding takes place by using different LEGO-like bricks or programming blocks that can be snapped together and “bring life” to elements added to the program (characters, backgrounds, etc.) (Figure 1). The programming blocks are organized in different categories (Motion, Looks, Sound, Events, etc.) so users can easily find the blocks that they need.

Figure 1: Example of a Scratch program with programming blocks

Users can develop their own e-contents with the Scratch programming blocks on the Scratch website or by using the Scratch app without an internet connection on their own device (with Windows 10+, macOS 10.13+, ChromeOS or Android 6.0+).

assist. prof. Patrik Pucer, Ph.D.
UP Faculty of Health Sciences, Slovenia

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