SOFTWARE & TOOLS: Scratch
Just got started with this about an hour ago. Drop-by friends that stay for a meal always take precedence over even the most anticipated computer playing, and I did go out and do more gardening this weekend.
The format is very user-friendly and inviting. As I suspected, the colors and even choice of font makes it appear more like a game than a serious animation program.
Though I downloaded Alice as well, I rather snobbishly felt that a program put out by MIT might be more sophisticated in the technical end, though it surprises me that Scratch is only a 35 mb download versus Alice’s 115 mb. It does appear that the average 8 year-old will have no problem with this program, especially if he follows the easy starter instructions. I realize now that it’s not always the program’s complexity that inhibits me; it’s the failure refusal to read instructions. It’s likely that a kid who knows enough to listen and learn will forever have that advantage over me.
That said, I’ve broken down and printed out the "getting started" tutorial and after playing and ending up with a motionless animation, will go through the easy example next. Nothing I can show you yet, but I do have a gradient-blue kitty walking and saying "hello!"
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology