Chapter 1. Welcome to Scratch!

Learn how to create animations, interactive stories, and games the drag-and-drop way using the computer programming language Scratch. Scratch provides an intuitive interface that makes learning to program fun, easy, and well-suited as an educational tool for our children and students.

We don't need to artificially restrict Scratch to the classroom though it makes a fantastic teaching tool. Anyone with a desire to learn a programming language can use Scratch as an introductory language. Perhaps you've tried other languages, such as Ruby, PHP, Java, or Python and had trouble getting started for one reason or another. Even if you can barely create a presentation using PowerPoint or OpenOffice.org, you'll find comfort in Scratch's building-block approach to programming.

After using Scratch, programming will make sense. It will seem easy. It will bring a smile to your face.

Whether you want to improve your digital literacy skills by learning to program or you want to learn a new tool to help you teach your students, here's to happy Scratchin'.