Post #1- " A Programmer in the Making"

 





My First Programming Experience with Scratch


This week, I created my very first program using Scratch, a beginner programming platform developed by the world-renowned MIT. At first, I was completely clueless on what to do. I’ve built a career working in pest control for years, and now I’m diving into tech!! What was I thinking!!The Scratch platform actually helped me to understand a little bit better and made it easier than I thought.


I was able to build a simple animation where my character (called a sprite) moved across the screen, changed costumes, and responded to user input. I actually creating a soccer themed animation!! The drag-and-drop blocks helped me understand basic programming concepts like motion, loops, and events. I was able to learn that the order of blocks matters even if they’re out of place, the program won’t work right. I had to test and fix things until everything ran smoothly. That process of trial and error taught me a lot about problem-solving.


One of the biggest takeaways was how programming is really about thinking clearly and breaking tasks into steps. Honestly programming terrifies me, but the Scratch platform helped me practice sequencing putting commands in the right order, repeating actions, responding to clicks or keys. These are skills I’ll need as I move into more advanced coding.


Compared to other languages we learned about in the textbook like Python, C++, and SQL, the Scratch platform was the easiest to start with. It removed the stress of facing something new and let me focus on logic and creativity. This assignment gave me confidence and showed me that I can learn to code, even with no prior experience. Yikes!!!



References:

TestOut Corp. (2024). CertMaster Learn Tech+. http://www.testout.com

ScratchLinks to an external site.. (n.d.). https://scratch.mit.edu/

Ben Arfa Rabai, L., Cohen, B., & Mili, A. (2015). Programming Language Use in US Academia and Industry. Informatics in Education, 14(2), 143–160.


Scratch Project:

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1205702920/



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