Scratch gets students into computer programming
An interactive tutorial for improving Spanish has won the senior animation category in the national Scratch competition, which gives primary and secondary school students the chance to learn how to use computer programming.
2nd year students Eleana Skelly and Kate Campbell from Alexandra College Dublin were declared winners for their project ‘Learn Spanish’.
Returning winner Abdullah Mohammed from Carrigaline Community School Cork was declared winner of the Scratch Competition National Finals Senior Games Category. His 2012 winning entry is a multi level maths tutorial game.
This annual competition is run by Lero (the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre), sponsored by the Irish Computer Societyand hosted in IT Tallaght.
The finals were held on Scratch Day, a worldwide network of gatherings, where people come together to meet other Scratch programmers, share projects and experiences, and learn more about Scratch. The 19 finalists demonstrated their projects to judges and the general public before the winners were announced.
Jim Friars, CEO of the Irish Computer Society, said: “We believe students don’t appreciate how interesting and creative a career in computing can be, because they are not getting the chance to experience it. The Scratch project empowers students to make more informed college and career choices.”