Scratch Coding & the Engineering Design Process (Beginner, Flex)
This 6-week flex class will enable students to learn basic skills in MIT's Scratch coding program. This course is intended for students who have never used Scratch before!
Afifa Saleem
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(39)
What's included
Class Experience
In this course, students will learning basic coding in MIT's Scratch platform (https://scratch.mit.edu/) while also learning about the iterative engineering design process. This process involves identifying the problem, brainstorming solutions, prototyping, testing solutions and critiquing them. Students will be able to put their 'engineering hard hats' on to think systematically, logically and consider a variety of factors when choosing design solutions for their Scratch project. Each week, students will learn to use and experiment with new elements on the Scratch interface. Each lesson will involve a tutorial of the element uses, experimentation and a mini-project applying these elements. The schedule for each week is as follows: Week 1 - Sprites & Costumes [Project: a self-portrait] Week 2 - Backdrops [Project: story-telling] Week 3 - Motions [Project: a dance routine] Week 4 - Sensing [Project: simple catch game] Week 5 - Variables [Project: soccer game] Week 6 - Speaking & Thinking Project: autobiographies] My role in this class will be to enable students to apply their creativity in a productive way - while also learning key skills in design thinking, such as brainstorming, prototyping and communicating design solutions. In addition, as an engineer, I will take a small portion of the class to discuss potential career options in engineering - and where engineering design would be applied in these career options. Each week, students will be asked to: 1. Post their weekly Scratch project link in the classroom. 2. Add a constructive comment or question to a fellow student's project post. Students will be given a mark and weekly feedback on their assignment work as well as a cumulative course mark. ***NOTES*** This class is for beginners who have little or no in-class experience with Scratch. For intermediate and advanced classes, please check out my other courses. This is a flex class with no live meetings. That being said, I will be holding weekly office hours on Saturdays, at a time most suitable for all learners in a section. The time will be decided on a per section basis. On the last Saturday of the course, an optional Scratch Exhibit will be held, to allow students to present their work and share their knowledge of Scratch with their fellow students.
Learning Goals
Students will learn how to code using Scratch.
Students will learn and apply the engineering design process.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Dear Parents & guardians,
This class uses 1 External Platform, Scratch, which requires parental consent before use by children under the age of 13. Please ensure you review the privacy policy here: https://scratch.mit.edu/privacy_policy.
In order to ensure we make the best of the class, I would like to request that your child (1) has a new Scratch project open and ready at the start of class and (2) is comfortable with spelling, using the mouse & keyboard and the Zoom Screen Share feature. Scratch can be accessed here: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/editor/?tutorial=getStarted.
This course is designed such that each week focuses on a new project and does not depend on the previous week. However, students like to save their work and view it again. Saving Scratch projects will not be taught in the class - if you would like to save your child's work, please ensure this is done before or after each class. There are 2 ways to do this:
1. Download the project each time. This one is difficult for students as they would have to find it in the downloads folder and use the same device each time. This is also limited to desktop.
2. Create a Scratch account. This one automatically saves new projects, and students don’t have to worry about saving their projects each time. It would be necessary, however, to login to the scratch account each week before class.
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.
Best regards,
Afifa
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Joined April, 2020
5.0
39reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Hello there! My name is Afifa Saleem. I enjoy covering topics and skills in Sciences, Coding and Math for all ages - especially while integrating engineering design thinking within these topics. I help prepare students for a potential career in engineering that is intentional, self-empowering and socially conscious. I also love to talk about my personal experiences as a female engineering student of colour and bring this energy to my classes!
I have completed a Masters in Biomedical Engineering, after a Bachelors in Engineering Science, both at University of Toronto. I have been tutoring and teaching formally and informally for over 10 years. My earliest experiences include one-on-one tutoring in STEAM topics, while my most recent and ongoing experiences include teaching week-long STEM camps and being a Teaching Assistant at University of Toronto. I am excited to be sharing relevant knowledge and my experiences in research with my students!
In my classes, I encourage students to ask questions that drive the learning process. Asking questions and trying to solve them as a group brings about confidence in students to tackle larger issues, and also allows for me to gauge student interests and understanding. I appreciate when students leave my classroom with new curiosities and I often try to prepare them with the mindset, skills and resources to address these curiosities on their own.
When I am not teaching or doing research, you will find me practicing various art forms, riding a bike or spending time with my family and friends!
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Class Guidelines:
1. If a class does not meet the minimum enrollment requirements, I will contact the parents and learners to confirm they want to continue class 24 hours before class is scheduled to begin. I will teach the class unless the parent or learner requests otherwise.
2. Classes will begin 5 minutes past the start time, unless all learners are present earlier.
3. If no learners are in the classroom, I will wait 10 minutes before exiting the classroom. In this situation, I will contact the families after I have left the classroom to transfer learners to a new section, if needed.Reviews
Live Group Class
$12
weekly or $72 for 6 weeks6 weeks
Completed by 1 learner
No live video meetings
Ages: 8-11
