A Scratch programming elective for second-graders will be introduced in some schools in the Vitebsk region
Scratch is a visual programming environment with a graphical interface created by the MIT Media Lab to make programming simple, understandable, and interesting specifically for children. According to the developers, Scratch helps boys and girls think creatively and work together. They don't write complex programs, but assemble them from ready-made command blocks, and in addition, they create their own computer games and animations.
This became possible thanks to the updated curriculum "Creative Activities in the Scratch Programming Environment" for primary school students. It was preceded by the republican innovative project "Implementation of a model for organizing extracurricular project activities of students in the I and II stages of general secondary education using the Scratch programming environment," in which 15 educational institutions of the Vitebsk and Grodno regions participated.
Lidiya Romanchuk, an IT teacher at the Glubokoye District Gymnasium (pictured), speaks with enthusiasm about the innovation and the benefits of these engaging classes. Since 1989, she has been the head of the district methodological association of IT teachers and one of the first to start working with students in grades 5-6 in the Scratch environment; she is among the authors of the updated program.
Eight years ago, she organized an inter-school elective. Gymnasians created animated postcards and mini-projects. The knowledge gained allowed the children to participate in an international distance Olympiad in the Scratch environment held in Russia. Almost all participants from Glubokoye took prize-winning places.
– I have been working with the Scratch program with second-graders since the second half of last academic year, – says Lidiya Anatolyevna. – And I came to the conclusion that before mastering Scratch, they initially need to have computer skills, internet skills, and learn to create simple algorithms. This will significantly facilitate their work with the Scratch programming environment and guarantee more effective task completion.
The experienced teacher's recommendations were heard, and several additional topics were included in the program. The total volume of educational material for the new program of elective classes in the second grade will be 34 hours.
– For example, in the first lesson this year, we talked about the rules of safe behavior in the computer lab, – continues Lidiya Romanchuk. – All this was done in a playful way, and it will be even more interesting further on. By the way, primary school students love to create bright greeting cards for their parents the most. Even at this stage, a child's creative abilities, logical thinking skills, and ability to create algorithms are revealed.
Currently, work is underway in the republic to create an educational and methodological complex for students in grades 2–4 and their teachers.
– The High-Tech Park held a two-day master class on learning Scratch, – notes Lidiya Romanchuk. – It was attended not only by computer science teachers, but also by foreign language and primary school teachers. In our Vitebsk region, many Scratch Olympiads and competitions are held, which is not yet the case in other regions.
For the second year in a row, the Glubokoye Gymnasium has been running a city-focused health camp for Scratch enthusiasts called "Young IT Specialist" for students in grades 2–7 during the summer holidays. The children went on an excursion to a robotics school established at the High-Tech Park. As a reciprocal gesture, in the coming days, it is planned to transfer several robots to the curious Glubokoye residents, which can be controlled using programs created by the schoolchildren.
There are many talented young people at the Glubokoye Gymnasium. A vivid confirmation of this is two former students of Lidia Romanchuk. Vladislav Lovtsevich and Vadim Rudak became finalists of the popular competition "100 Ideas for Belarus", having developed the first website in our country dedicated to the Day of Belarusian Written Language, and an educational mobile application for schoolchildren.
– Thanks to the High-Tech Park, many schools in the district have received new computers and laptops. Valuable gifts were also received by children who took prize-winning places in competitions and olympiads, – reports Lidia Romanchuk.
More than 400 schoolchildren in the district are studying Scratch. A quarter of them are gymnasium students and students of city secondary school No. 3, where Lidia Anatolyevna also teaches. Among them is an eleventh-grader, the winner of the republican competition Viktor Yakubenok, and a seventh-grader Evelina Shuran, whose humorous historical game "Adventures in the Principality of Polotsk" was recognized as the best in the region.
– Last year, I participated in the international Scratch conference in Budapest, – says Lidia Anatolyevna. – Professor Mitchel Resnick from the USA, under whose leadership the Scratch programming environment was created, was also present there. Evelina specially sewed a funny kitten from scraps of fabric for this event, which is the symbol of Scratch. Mitchel liked the toy, and he left his autograph on it.
And a few months later, Evelina met Mitchel Resnick in Orsha, where she came to participate in an olympiad. Moreover, she played several pieces on the saxophone for the world-renowned master. After all, Evelina Shuran is a prize-winner and winner of music competitions held in our country and abroad.