Scratch Experience
This was the first
time I had heard about or used the Scratch program. Kte’pi (2020) describes
Scratch as a free program developed by MIT that allows users to become familiar
with a beginner’s programming language and create visuals, animations, and
games. It took me a little while to figure out how the directions correlated to
the programming. I had difficulty figuring out how to stack the blocks to get
the Sprite to do what I was working towards while getting the background to
change. It took me a while to figure out that you must stack all the blocks
together and not separate them throughout the grid. I still have difficulty
getting what I want out of the program, but I feel I will improve as I work
with it. After playing around with the Scratch program for about an hour, I was
able to create a little slideshow-type movie about where I live, Montana. Through
Switch, I was able to better my understanding of how the different commands
work together to create one whole program.
I felt it was easier for me to figure out how to work
with Python than it was for me to work with Scratch. I learn better when I can
see how what I’m doing correlates to either being right or wrong and when you
don’t do something correctly with Python, it is easier to see because it either
will not work or the result is incorrect. With Scratch, it was a little more
challenging to see where I was going wrong. If something on Scratch didn’t work
the way I wanted, I had difficulty figuring out what I needed to do to fix the
issue. Vahid and Lysecky (2019) explain, “Python is a high-level programming
language, increasing in popularity due in part to being easy to learn, to being
freely available, and to having powerful high-level data-processing operations”
(p. 20). I happen to agree that it seems to be straightforward. Kte’pi (2020)
explains that Python got its name after Monty Python, a British comedy troupe.
I find this to be a fun and interesting fact.
The different computer languages are just different ways
for us to input information that is processed in the Central Processing Unit
(CPU) and stored for later use in the hard drive. Binary is the 1’s and 0’s
that the computer understands and is the most basic language. In contrast,
assembly language refers to text words we know that correspond to binary code
the computer understands. High-level programming languages are developed to
allow users to create more in-depth programs. I was able to understand assembly
language better than high-level languages. I know Excel well, and the formulas
used within that program and assembly language reminded me more of an Excel
formula. However, I believe the more experience I get with the high-level
programming languages, the more I will become comfortable with them. I would
use binary for the most straightforward programming to allow computation of
simple math problems and assembly language for more complex math problems. High-level
programming language can be used for more complex programs, such as websites
and software.
References
Kte, pi, B. M. (2020).
Python (programming language). Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science.
Kte, pi, B. M. (2020).
Scratch (programming language). Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science.
Vahid, F., & Lysecky,
S. (2019). Computing technology for all. zyBooks.
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