CS50's Introduction to Programming with Scratch
A gentle introduction to programming.
A gentle introduction to programming that prepares you for subsequent courses in coding.
2-6 hours a week
What You'll Learn
An introduction to programming using Scratch, a visual programming language via which aspiring programmers can write code by dragging and dropping graphical blocks (that resemble puzzle pieces) instead of typing out text. Used at the start of Harvard College's introductory course in computer science, CS50, Scratch was designed at MIT's Media Lab, empowering students with no prior programming experience to design their own animations, games, interactive art, and stories. Using Scratch, this course introduces students to fundamentals of programming, found not only in Scratch itself but in traditional text-based languages (like Java and Python) as well. Topics include: functions, which are instructions that perform tasks; return values, which are results that functions provide; conditions, via which programs can decide whether or not to perform some action; loops, via which programs can take action again and again; variables, via which programs can remember information; and more. Ultimately, this course prepares students for subsequent courses in programming.
Scratch is developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. See scratch.mit.edu.
The course will be delivered via edX and connect learners around the world. By the end of the course, participants will learn:
- functions
- events
- values
- conditions
- loops
- variables
- abstraction
Your Instructors
David J. Malan
Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Computer Science, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Ways to take this course
When you enroll in this course, you will have the option of pursuing a Verified Certificate or Auditing the Course.
A Verified Certificate costs $299 and provides unlimited access to full course materials, activities, tests, and forums. At the end of the course, learners who earn a passing grade can receive a certificate.
Alternatively, learners can Audit the course for free and have access to select course material, activities, tests, and forums. Please note that this track does not offer a certificate for learners who earn a passing grade.