{"id":16979,"date":"2017-12-08T12:01:48","date_gmt":"2017-12-08T17:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=16979"},"modified":"2017-12-02T08:02:22","modified_gmt":"2017-12-02T13:02:22","slug":"hip-hop-coding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2017\/12\/hip-hop-coding\/","title":{"rendered":"Hip Hop Coding – Learning and Teaching about Scratch"},"content":{"rendered":"

In October 2016, members of the MIT Media Lab\u2019s Lifelong Kindergarten Group<\/a> came to my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio to offer a training on using Hip Hop as a gateway to coding with Scratch.\u00a0 They presented this two-day class with Progressive Arts Alliance<\/a> (PAA), a local organization that, as stated on their website, excites \u201cstudents, teachers, and the general public with dynamic arts-in-education programs that showcase the depth and scope of the contemporary arts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Scratching
Scratching on Turntables (Photo by Megan Barrett)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My library system has worked closely with PAA in the past and was allowed five coveted spots at this training, which brought in people who work with young people from all over the country.\u00a0 The two days were intense but fun, teaching participants not only helpful features of Scratch, but details about hip hop culture, including dance lessons and the opportunity to do that other kind of \u201cscratch\u201d\u2014scratching records\u2014on DJing equipment.\u00a0 My colleagues and I took what we learned and created a four-day, two-hour per day summer camp on Hip Hop Coding for Grades 4-8 that we presented at our branches over the summer.<\/p>\n

We recently had the opportunity to share some of the fun tricks we learned about Scratch with some of our Ohio Library peers, and I am excited to cast a wider net with this blog post.\u00a0 For those who are unaware or may only have a passing knowledge, Scratch (scratch.mit.edu<\/a>) is a free online coding software.\u00a0 A quick, very intuitive way to learn\u2014and teach\u2014Scratch is available online here<\/a>, with printable Scratch cards.\u00a0 Librarians will find 12 pretty much fully planned programs on this webpage, including helping kids code fashion dress up games, digital ping pong, and a virtual pet.\u00a0 The cards give instructions and guidance, but allow users to mix and match ideas to create unique codes.<\/p>\n

For even younger kids, Scratch has what they call Microworlds, areas creating with limited coding \u201cblocks\u201d for kids to use, centered around a theme.\u00a0 The two closely related to our Hip Hop Coding Camp were the Music Microworld<\/a> and the Hip Hop Dance Microworld<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Image
Magic Eraser (Photo by Becky Buryanek)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We also learned how to put ourselves into Scratch as a \u201csprite,\u201d or online character.\u00a0 The process is relatively easy.\u00a0 Take a picture in front of a white background (from experience, white works better than a green screen), import into Scratch, and then use their magic eraser tool to delete the backgrounds.\u00a0 The kids loved putting themselves into their project!<\/p>\n

\"MakeyMakey
MakeyMakey Turntables (Photo by Maria Trivisonno)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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And finally, we learned how you can use Makey Makeys<\/a> to enhance Scratch fun.\u00a0 We made \u201cturntables\u201d using electrical tape and foil, paper plates, Makey Makeys and Scratch.\u00a0 You can program Scratch to make music and then connect it to the Makey Makeys.\u00a0 When we did the camp, I found the kids enjoyed using Play-Doh, which is a great conductor, instead of electrical tape.\u00a0 They LOVED it!\u00a0 And so did we.<\/p>\n

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\"Head
Maria Trivisonno (photo courtesy of guest blogger)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maria Trivisonno is a Children\u2019s Librarian at the Warrensville Heights Branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library<\/a>, and can be contacted at mtrivisonno@cuyahogalibrary.org<\/a>.\u00a0 She loves being an aunt, reading and discussing kids\u2019 books, and all things Star Wars.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to write a guest post for the ALSC Blog, please contact Mary Voors, ALSC Blog manager, at\u00a0alscblog@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In October 2016, members of the MIT Media Lab\u2019s Lifelong Kindergarten Group came to my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio to offer a training on using Hip Hop as a gateway to coding with Scratch.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[134,38,414],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guest-blogger","category-programming-ideas","category-stemsteam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16979\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}