How To Get Scratch

How To Get Scratch

How to get Scratch

We will be using the Scratch programming tool in this course. For the homework problems, you will only have to run programs in Scratch. You can do this through a web browser.

However, if you want to play with Scratch programs while you are not connected to the internet, or if you want to modify our Scratch programs or write your own, you will need to run Scratch locally. This page provides directions about how to do that.

Scratch can be downloaded from external link: http://scratch.mit.edu/pages/download and can be run on your home computer or any lab computer running Windows.

At Home

If your home computer runs Windows, download the file "ScratchInstaller1.3.1.exe" from the above website. Double-click the file when it's downloaded and follow the install instructions. If you click "Next" all the way through, you should end up with Scratch open, and a workspace with a picture of a cat in the top-right corner. You can open Scratch later through Start -> Programs -> Scratch -> Scratch.

If your computer runs Mac OSX, download the file "MacScratch1.3.1.dmg" from the above website. Once it's finished downloading, double-click it and you should get a window with two folders: "Scratch 1.3.1" and "Application alias". Click and drag "Scratch 1.3.1" onto "Application alias" and you should be on your way. Once everything is copied, run Scratch by clicking Spotlight (Apple-Space or the magnifying glass in the top-right) and typing in "Scratch". It should appear under "Applications".

In the labs

For Windows computers in the public labs, download "WinScratch1.3.1.zip" (it's the second, smaller link under "Windows" on the download page above). This is an archive containing everything needed for Scratch to run, but it will not install it. When the file is downloaded, double-click it and you will be able to view the contents of this file. It should contain one folder called, unsurprisingly, "Scratch". Drag this folder to the desktop, and once it's there, you can open it up and run "Scratch.exe".

IMPORTANT - SAVING YOUR WORK: When you are working in the pubic labs, make sure you save your projects either to a USB memory stick or to your own folder on Eden. If you save anything to the desktop of these computers, it may not be there when you come back the next day or try to work at a different computer.