A free programming tool that allows anyone to create their own animated stories, video games and interactive artworks has been developed.

Primarily aimed at children, Scratch does not require prior knowledge of complex computer languages.

Instead, it uses a simple graphical interface that allows programs to be assembled like building blocks.

The digital toolkit, developed in the US at MIT’s Media Lab, allows people to blend images, sound and video.

“Computer programming has been traditionally seen as something that is beyond most people – it’s only for a special group with technical expertise and experience,” said Professor Mitchel Resnick, one of the researchers at the Lifelong Kindergarten group at MIT.

“We have developed Scratch as a new type of programming language, which is much more accessible.”  

Read all about Scratch and see how easy it is to use

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6647011.stm?lsm

Download Scratch for free

http://scratch.mit.edu/

Find out how to use Scratch

http://scratch.wik.is/Support

If you are interested in using it with pupils please tell your HIAS ICT Team, we would love to hear from you.

dsmith.havering@lgfl.net

The University of Washington human computer interaction and design centre have launched a new, simple to use animation application for Tablet PCs. Making use of the touch sensitive screens used in Tablet PCs, K-Sketch allows users to draw simple pictures and then create motion paths to create animations. The freeware application is intended to aid presentation and education by allowing presenters to quickly create simple rough animated explanations of concepts in response to questions.http://www.cs.washington.edu/