Testing Scratch 3.0 with children at Andoversford Primary School

Scratch 3.0 has landed, and the pupils at Andoversford Primary School in Gloucestershire have been testing it out with their volunteer Laura Sach, who’s one of the educators at Raspberry Pi .

With the arrival of Scratch 3.0 comes the option to use the much-loved programming tool on a tablet. At Andoversford Primary School Code Club, the children helped us test out our updated Code Club projects on the school’s bank of iPads. The club normally uses laptops, but last term’s participants worked through the Code Club Scratch module 1 using the beta version of Scratch 3.0 on iPads, and they gave us their feedback.

“As someone without a background in tech, I found the new interface much easier to use, and found myself coding alongside the pupils.”
– Rachel Bradley-McKay, Head Teacher

Why Andoversford Primary School accepted the challenge

Head Teacher Rachel Bradley-McKay who runs the Code Club told us: “We decided to trial the beta version of Scratch 3 as our iPads are often more reliable than the laptops in school. Plus, the children were thrilled to be involved at this test stage!”

The testing went really well

The children had no trouble finding the Scratch 3.0 code blocks and tools they needed — even the ones that have moved or look slightly different to their Scratch 2.0 counterparts.

“I have been really impressed with how the children have been able to develop their problem solving skills, adapting project instructions to suit the new platform.”
– Rachel Bradley-McKay, Head Teacher

Code Club volunteer Laura said: “The children have really enjoyed using Scratch 3 on the iPad, and our projects now certainly contain more roars and ghostly howls recorded by the children themselves! They have found the interface changes very straightforward to get to grips with, and they can’t wait to tackle more of the projects next term.”

The children loved it

We had some really positive and enthusiastic feedback from the children:

• “I think that Scratch 3 is a lot easier on the iPads, and it is a lot quicker.” – Jake
• “The new Scratch has improved a lot compared to Scratch 2 — I really enjoyed testing it. I also found it much easier to use. I think Scratch 3 is amazing!” –Chris
• “Scratch 3 on the iPads is so much easier — the sprites are infinitely better, and it is much more advanced while being easier to use.” – Elliott

Laura’s top tips for using Scratch 3.0 on tablets

• Make sure you’ve installed the latest updates on your tablets before you start.
• The Scratch 3.0 interface looks a little different: you will now find the Stage to the right-hand side. Print out our free guide to the new interface and put it up in your club space.
• Remember e-safety! Tablets make it very easy to take pictures and record your voice to make an extra cool project, but make sure the children aren’t giving away personal information.
• If you have iPad minis, use them in landscape mode to fit everything you need onto the small screen.

Try it out for yourself today

We’ve updated all the free Code Club Scratch projects to make them compatible to Scratch 3.0 — you’ll find them on our projects page. Why not try one out on a tablet and share your creation with us via Twitter or Facebook? We’d love to see what you make!