Programming education in Scratch and Snap! environments

Abstract

Scratch2.0 is educational, iconic, scripting programming environment focused on children in range of age from 8 to 16, and being developed by Lifelong Kindergarten group on Massachusetts technology institute (MIT). By composing graphical components in the form of various puzzle pieces we create scripts which individual maskots are acting on the scene and externalize our story. To this environment also exists alternative Snap! (previously called BYOB as modification of Scratchs' first generation), developed by Jens Mönig in cooperation with Brian Harvey, which is trying to remove deficiencies, barriers and poorer possibilities in programming by which Scratch is suffering. Thesis firstly introducing both environments in their major versions or generations (in order of development: Scratch1, BYOB, Scratch2; and Snap!), secondly comparing all of them based on chosen criterias, and finally describing new programming concepts and from them incoming possibilities and techniques, which can be in Snap! unlike in Scratch - and in some cases even in its predecessor BYOB - applied. Included are not only algorithmic examples, but also projects in Snap and ScratchN developed by author of this bachelors thesis. To understand this bachelor thesis is required to have experience with at least one of the environment Scratch1, Scratch2, or BYOB. This thesis was created by typesetting system TeX with usage of OPmac macros