What Is Scratch and Where Can You Use It?

Scratch is a programming learning tool developed by the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Media Lab, used by children around the world. Instead of writing complex code, you create programs by combining colorful blocks.

Where to use it: Simply visit scratch.mit.edu — no registration needed to start right away. It works better in a computer browser than on a smartphone (easier to operate). It's completely free.

What you can create: Animations, games, interactive picture books, music players, and much more. You can start from "making a cat move and make sounds" and gradually build more complex games.

Why it suits children: It supports Japanese (and many other languages), there are no error messages when code goes wrong so frustration is minimal, and children can view and "remix" other users' projects to learn. All of this contributes to sticking with it.

With over 100 million users worldwide, Scratch is one of the most widely used tools in school programming classes. Young elementary school students can enjoy it, and middle schoolers can create surprisingly complex projects.