Scratch was developed by the MIT Media Lab as an educational tool. Scratch introduces students to the basics of game development through a color-coded drag-and-drop interface. The fragments of code are color-coded based on the purpose of the code, such as moving a character, changing the look of the game, or adding sound. Students can select the type of code they want to work with then drag it from the left-hand menu into the center coding column, and then test out their code by watching it run in the right-hand column, known as the stage.įigure 1: The Scratch interface with a pop-up tutorial video series at the bottom center of the screen.

I first discussed Scratch in my “ 7 Game Design Tools for the Classroom” post from December 2019, but its robust feature set makes it worth exploring in a blog post all its own. Scratch can be used to create language learning games for students to play or introduced into the curriculum so that students can learn to make their own games to share with the class.

Younger learners can still engage in the creative process of making games by using Scratch-a visual programming language for making games and animation. Welcome to another edition of the TESOL Games and Learning Blog! Last month we explored Twine, a text-based interface for creating interactive stories. Twine is a great tool for older students or more advanced language learners, but perhaps not the best choice for younger learners.

How to create your own game on scratch