At the moment in some Primary schools and Coder Dojo clubs there is raised interest in the new version of Scratch; this version can be a
ccessed online at scratch.mit.edu. The new version has lots of wonderful features however the one major fault with is is that it is extremely difficult to use it on an iPad. Yes! There are several browsers that will allow the user to work online with the new Scratch but it is not an enjoyable experience. Enter Hopscotch!
Hopscotch is a free iPad app that lets students drag and drop coding blocks in a Scratch like fashion. Scratch has proven that not only is learning to code not difficult it can also be great fun! Hopscotch continues this trend in a colourful drag and drop coding experience.
Tapping on a character opens up the programming code blocks associated with that character. Additional blocks can be added from the five main sets – Motion, Lines, Controls, Looks and Operators. iPad features such as tilt and shake can also be controlled from within Hopscotch!
There’s an interesting character list available, plenty of strange and wonderful creatures!
Simply tap on a character, hold and drag on to the project screen.
Properties of the various code blocks can be changed with a simple tap on either a colour palette or numeric type keypad.
At the moment there are quite a few features, including very basic ones such as copy and paste, that are not available. Also not available at this time are programming blocks such as “if” and “while”. Projects can be saved or shared and all work can be stored on the iPad.
I have only begun to use Hopscotch to any great extent over the last few weeks and the jury is still out on whether or not it is a viable alternative to the tried and tested Scratch experience.