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DOI:10.1145/3375546 and approaches—that is the big chal- While millions of students worldwide have lenge for the next decade. The expansion of coding in educa- enjoyed coding experiences over the last tion has been catalyzed by new types of decade, the next challenge is spreading programming interfaces (particularly educational values and approaches. block-based coding1), a proliferation of nonprofit initiatives supporting com- puter-science education (such as Code. BY AND NATALIE RUSK org, CSforAll, and Code Club), and a growing array of programmable devic- es that broaden the range of what stu- dents can code (such as micro:bit,20 ro- botics kits,9 and programmable toys23). Coding at Our own work on Scratch (Figure 1) has both contributed to and benefitted from this broader trend. When we started developing the Scratch pro- a Crossroads gramming language and online com- munity in 2002, our goal was not sim- ply to help children learn to code. We had a broader educational mission. We wanted to provide all children, from all backgrounds, with opportunities to learn to think creatively, reason system- atically, and work collaboratively. These THE EDUCATIONAL USE of coding in schools is at skills are essential for everyone in to- day’s fast-changing world, not just a crossroads. those planning to become engineers We are at a moment of extraordinary opportunity. and computing professionals. And A decade ago, our research group wrote an article these same skills are valuable in all as- pects of life, not just for success in the for Communications titled “Scratch: Programming workplace but also for personal fulfill- for All.”15 At the time, our subtitle was aspirational. ment and civic engagement.13 The use of Scratch has been growing Now, it is becoming the reality. School systems and rapidly throughout the world: in the past policymakers are embracing the idea that coding can year, more than 20 million young people and should be for everyone. Countries from Chile created Scratch projects (Figure 2). Scratch began with use primarily in homes and to England to South Africa to Japan are introducing informal learning settings,11 but use in coding to all students. schools has expanded to more than We are also at a moment of extraordinary challenge. half of all Scratch activity. Around the In many places, coding is being introduced in ways key insights

that undermine its potential and promise. If we do not ˽ In many educational settings, coding is think carefully about the educational strategies and introduced in narrow ways that focus primarily on teaching specific concepts, pedagogies for introducing coding, there is a major rather than supporting students in developing the creativity, collaboration, risk of disappointment and backlash. and communication skills needed to During the past decade, we have seen that it is thrive in today’s fast-changing world. ˽ For students to develop computational possible to spread coding experiences to millions of fluency and creative thinking skills, they children around the world. But we have also seen that need opportunities to create projects, based on their passions, in collaboration it is much more difficult to spread educational values with peers, in a playful spirit.

120 COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM | NOVEMBER 2020 | VOL. 63 | NO. 11 Figure 1. The Scratch website in June 2020. world, young people are using Scratch learning to code, they are coding to ˲ Too often, schools are introduc- in a wide variety of ways. For example: learn. They are not only learning impor- ing students to by ˲ middle-school students across sev- tant mathematical and computational teaching them definitions of words as- eral countries created Scratch projects concepts, they are also deepening their sociated with computing, without pro- illustrating their visions for how tech- understanding of ideas in other disci- viding them with opportunities to nological innovations would transform plines and developing a broad range of learn and apply computational con- society by the year 2050; problem-solving, design, collabora- cepts and practices in the context of ˲ thousands of young people created tion, and communication skills.7,16 meaningful activities. For example, Scratch animations against racism and Unfortunately, in many educational some school districts introduce com- in support of the Black Lives Matter settings, coding is introduced in much puting to elementary-school students movement; more limited and constrained ways, so by teaching them the definition of the ˲ an elementary-school teacher in that students do not have the opportu- word “algorithm” and the differences Mexico integrated Scratch into a sci- nity to experience the full conceptual between hardware and software, instead ence unit on butterflies, with students and expressive powers of coding. Here of engaging students in active learning creating animations of the butterfly life are some of the challenges: through computing activities, such as cycle and robotic models of butterfly motion, based on their observations of Figure 2. Projects shared in the Scratch . real butterflies; Scratch Projects Shared by Year ˲ students from around the world 12,000,000 created a studio called #ProtectOurEarth 10,000,000 where they shared hundreds of projects highlighting issues related to climate 8,000,000 change, including a game where you 6,000,000 Projects guide a polar bear across the melting 4,000,000 Arctic ice caps. 2,000,000 0 Opportunities and Challenges 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 In the process of creating and sharing Year projects like these, students are not just

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coding an animated story or program- consideration what the student’s pro- ming a robot to dance. gram is intended to do, how well it ac- ˲ Too often, coding is introduced complishes the student’s goals, wheth- by telling all students to copy the ex- er the code works as intended, whether act same code, rather than encourag- people are able to interact with it, or ing them to experiment, prototype, In our research, how the student’s thinking develops and debug. On the Scratch website, we have seen how over a series of projects. We see greater we once saw 30 identical projects potential in other research and evalua- shared at the same time. At first we coding becomes tion approaches, such as those that thought this duplication of projects most motivating document and analyze teachers’ facili- was a problem with the website, but tation practices and students’ learning then we noticed that each project had and meaningful trajectories over time.6,8 a different username, and we realized For coding initiatives to live up to the projects were all from a single for students their promise and potential, signifi- classroom, where 30 students had fol- when they have cant changes are needed in how coding lowed the same instructions to make is put into practice in educational sys- the same project with the same imag- opportunities tems around the world. es and same code. Although this to create classroom activity may have intro- Computational Fluency duced students to the basic mechan- their own projects In most educational coding initiatives, ics of coding, it did not provide oppor- and express there is a recognition that the goal tunities for creative thinking and should be broader than teaching spe- problem solving. their own ideas. cific programming techniques. Many ˲ Too often, schools allocate only a educational initiatives are framed brief period of time for learning to around the development of computa- code. Within this limited time, stu- tional thinking—that is, helping stu- dents might learn some basic terms dents learn computer-science con- and concepts, but they don’t have the cepts and strategies that can be used in opportunity to put the ideas to use in a solving problems in a wide range of meaningful way, and thus are unlikely disciplines and contexts.22 to be able to apply the ideas in other Computational thinking is certainly contexts and other subjects. And in sit- a worthy goal, but many initiatives focus uations where coding is allocated more too narrowly on teaching concepts out time, the curriculum often pushes of context or presenting students with teachers and students to shift from one problems that have a single correct an- coding tool to another, rather than pro- swer. In our research, we have seen how viding time for learning a tool well coding becomes most motivating and enough for designing projects, solving meaningful for students when they have problems, and communicating ideas. opportunities to create their own proj- One large-scale initiative introduced ects and express their own ideas.18 Scratch to fourth-graders for one hour Through these experiences, children each week, then abruptly shifted to a develop as computational creators as different coding language. After teach- well as computational thinkers. We use ers and students expressed frustration, the phrase computational fluencyto de- the curriculum was revised. scribe this ability to use computational ˲ Too often, researchers and educa- technologies to communicate ideas ef- tors are adopting automated assess- fectively and creatively. ment tools that evaluate student pro- Our ideas about computational flu- gramming projects only by analyzing ency have been informed and inspired the code, without considering the proj- by the long tradition of educational ect goals, content, design, interface, initiatives and research focused on en- usability, or documentation. For ex- gaging students in learning to write. ample, many are using an online Even though most students won’t grow Scratch assessment tool that gives stu- up to become professional journalists dents a “computational thinking or novelists, there is a strong consen- score” based on the assumption that sus that all students should learn to code with more types of programming write. Through writing, students devel- blocks is an indication of more ad- op their ability to organize, express, and vanced computational thinking. This share ideas—and they begin to see form of assessment doesn’t take into themselves differently. The Brazilian

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educator and activist Paulo Freire led Figure 3. Taryn’s Scratch project modeling the water cycle. literacy campaigns not simply to help people get jobs, but also to help peo- ple learn that “they can make and re- make themselves.”5 We see the same potential for cod- ing. Most students will not pursue ca- reers as professional programmers or computer scientists but developing flu- ency with coding is valuable for every- one. As students create their own sto- ries, games, and animations with code, they start to see themselves as creators, developing confidence and pride in their ability to create things and express themselves with new technologies. Some advocates of computational thinking downplay the value of coding. They argue that there are many other ways to develop computational think- ing skills. But we have found that cod- Figure 4. Taryn’s tutorial on how to use variables. ing can be a particularly effective way for students to become engaged with computational concepts, practices, and perspectives.2 When students code their own projects, they encounter con- cepts and problem-solving strategies in a meaningful context, so the knowl- edge is embedded in a rich web of as- sociations. As a result, students are better able to access and apply the knowledge in new situations. The Scratch and online community are designed specifically to support the develop- ment of computational fluency. Of course, it takes time for students to de- velop fluency. Many projects in the Scratch online community are very simple or poorly structured, created by students who are just starting to ex- plore the possibilities of coding. But when students have the necessary time Figure 5. One of Taryn’s Colour Divide animated stories. and support for developing their fluen- cy, we see how they can grow as both computational thinkers and computa- tional creators. As an example, we would like to share the story of a Scratch communi- ty member named Taryn, who was first introduced to Scratch at her school in South Africa when she was 10 years old. A few years later, in a science class, Taryn used Scratch to program an interactive simulation of the water cycle, including two sliders for con- trolling the evaporation rates over the sea and over the land. In all, Taryn cre- ated a dozen different variables for the project (Figure 3).

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Through working on this project, almost too scared to get something students develop fluency with language Taryn became inspired to help others wrong and type the wrong thing and be by writing their own stories (not just learn about variables. She decided to judged. But Scratch it’s like playing, it’s playing word games), students develop create a tutorial project called Ya Gotta like chucking things together, if they fluency with coding by creating projects ❤ Variables and shared it in the Scratch don’t work, that’s fine. And being able (not just solving puzzles). online community (Figure 4). As she ex- to make mistakes is part of the thing Increasingly, schools are shifting to plained in the notes that accompany that develops creative confidence.” a project-based approach to coding. In the project: “I love variables! They’re For us, Taryn’s work serves as an ex- one school, for example, fourth-grade extremely useful in programming, and ample of how students, through their students created Scratch projects about I wouldn’t have been able to make work on Scratch projects, can develop the book Charlotte’s Web, rather than most of my projects without them. as both computational creators and writing traditional book reports. In one However, they’re a bit tricky to under- computational thinkers. We have seen of the projects, a student programmed stand—that’s where this tutorial can many other students in the Scratch a pig to move within the scene. To make help you!” Taryn also encouraged oth- community go through similar learn- the pig look further away, the student ers to experiment: “Have fun playing ing trajectories. But many students programmed it to become smaller, ap- around and experimenting with vari- don’t receive the opportunities or sup- plying the art concept of perspective ables and booleans! The more you ex- port they need to become fluent with and using mathematical calculations periment (and fail!), the more you will computation and develop as creative to adjust the size of the pig. The project understand and the easier it will be thinkers. How can we help more stu- cut across the curriculum, integrating for you to use variables to make your dents experience the joys and possi- ideas from language, art, math, and projects awesome!” bilities of computational fluency? computer science. In other schools, Taryn became well known in the students have designed projects in Scratch community through a series Four Guiding Principles many different subject areas—creating of projects called Colour Divide, set in In our research group, we have devel- games about ancient Egypt in history a fantasy dystopian world where peo- oped four guiding principles for sup- class, modeling DNA replication in bi- ple are subjected to a test that deter- porting creative learning and computa- ology, and creating animations of hai- mines their place in society (Figure 5). tional fluency. We call these principles ku poems in language arts. Taryn collaborated on the initial Co- the Four Ps of Creative Learning: Proj- For teachers, it might be easier to in- lour Divide project with five other stu- ects, Passion, Peers, and Play.14 troduce coding through puzzles that dents who she met in the online com- These principles provide a frame- tell students whether they have correct- munity. For Taryn, the project was a work to guide the design of technolo- ly solved the problem or where they way to explore important social is- gies, activities, curriculum, communi- went wrong. Managing a project-based sues. When we interviewed Taryn, she ties, and spaces to support coding and classroom can be more challenging, explained: “Growing up, I’ve definite- learning. Here, we explore the Four Ps since different students will create dif- ly seen the scars that apartheid has of Creative Learning through examples ferent types of projects. Yet it is pre- left on my country and the people. I’m from the Scratch community. cisely this opportunity for developing really exploring that through the dif- Projects. Provide students with op- an idea from initial conception to ferent characters that are a part of portunities to work on meaningful proj- shareable project that enables young this story.” ects (not just puzzles or problem-solving people to develop as creative thinkers Taryn described the important role activities), so they experience the process and problem solvers.14 that collaboration played in the devel- of turning an initial idea into a creation Passion. Allow students to work on opment of Colour Divide. “I set it up so that can be shared with others. projects connected to their interests. They that other Scratchers could contribute To us, it seems natural to introduce will work longer and harder—and learn faces and voices and scenery and mu- coding to young people in a project-ori- more in the process. sic. It felt less like something that I ented way, so that they learn to express We designed Scratch to support a was making, more like something that themselves creatively as they learn to wide range of projects and interests— we were making together,” she said. code. But many introductions to coding from art, music, and animations, to “I’ve just been constantly blown away take a very different approach, present- games, stories, and simulations. We by the kind of support and collabora- ing students with a series of logic puz- also made sure students can customize tion and sharing that happens in the zles in which they need to program ani- and personalize their projects, by bring- community. That’s one of the main mated characters to move from one ing in their own images and sounds. things that keeps me coming back to location to another. When students suc- Why is this important? Different Scratch every day.” cessfully solve one puzzle, they can move children have different interests, come Through her work on Scratch, Taryn on to the next. Students undoubtedly from different cultures, and think in dif- has shifted the way she approaches learn some useful computational con- ferent styles. Supporting diverse path- learning. “I’ve become more confident cepts while working on these puzzles. ways into Scratch is important to ensure to try new things and express myself— But learning to code by solving logic puz- that all children, from all backgrounds, and more comfortable with taking zles is somewhat like learning to write by can work on Scratch projects that are risks and making mistakes,” she ex- solving crossword puzzles. That’s not relevant and meaningful to them. On plained. “In other languages, you are the way to become truly fluent. Just as the Scratch website, you can see a wide

124 COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM | NOVEMBER 2020 | VOL. 63 | NO. 11 contributed articles diversity of projects, everything from in- countries with the same interests kept teractive newsletters to dance tutorials me coming back to talk to them.” to historical dress-up games to musical Young people talk about multiple beat machines. That’s an indication reasons why the Scratch online com- that Scratch is supporting students with munity matters to them: a wide range of different interests and The online ˲ The community provides audience: passions. Similarly, when evaluating community When young people share projects they Scratch classes or workshops, we use di- have made, they get feedback, encour- versity of projects as a measure of suc- has grown into agement, and suggestions from peers cess—an indication that children are a dynamic space in the community. working on projects they care about. ˲ The community provides inspira- In an influential paper from the where young people tion: By looking at other projects on the 1990s, Sherry Turkle and Seymour Pap- website, young people get new ideas ert emphasized that encouraging di- collaborate with for their own projects. verse styles of thinking and program- one another, sharing ˲ The community provides connec- ming is essential for promoting equity tion: Young people make friends and and developing a more inclusive com- more than one meet others with shared interests from puter culture.21 As they wrote: million projects other cities and countries. “The computer is an expressive me- As a young person in the online dium that different people can make and posting community reflected: their own in their own way … The diver- more than three “When I used the website, I got in- sity of approaches to programming terested in the projects of others. This suggests that equal access to even the million comments is largely how I learned Scratch: most basic elements of computation each month. through remixing and sharing and cre- requires accepting the validity of mul- ating. I made many friends here, who tiple ways of knowing and thinking, an remix my projects, give comments, and epistemological pluralism.” have taught me new things.” We often refer to this idea with the As participation in the Scratch com- phrase “many paths, many styles.” munity has grown, young people have Some students make elaborate plans, collaborated in ways beyond what we others explore and tinker. Some stu- had originally anticipated. More and dents enjoy telling stories, others enjoy more young people have taken the ini- making patterns. Some students are tiative to connect, coordinate, and col- excited about animals, others are ex- laborate on projects and activities. cited about sports. To ensure coding is About a quarter of all projects on the for all, it is important to support these Scratch website are remixes, in which diverse entry points and approaches. students modify or add code to existing Peers. Encourage collaboration and projects.4 Some students form collab- sharing, and help students learn to build orative groups to create complex games on the work of others. and animations that none could have When our research group launched created on their own. Other students the Scratch programming language in have learned how to create projects 2007, we launched the Scratch online through crowdsourcing, asking others community at the same time. We want- in the community to contribute code, ed to support the social side of learn- images, or sound clips.17 ing, providing students with opportu- A few years ago, a college physics nities to learn with and from one professor told us his children had be- another. The online community has come actively involved in the Scratch grown into a dynamic space where community. We expected he would go young people collaborate with one an- on to tell us about the coding skills and other, sharing more than one million computational ideas they were learn- projects and posting more than three ing. But that’s not what interested him million comments each month. most. Rather, he was excited that his We have learned from Scratchers children were participating in an open just how important the online commu- knowledge-building community. “It’s nity is for motivating their ongoing par- like the scientific community,” he ex- ticipation.18 As one Scratcher explained: plained. “Kids are constantly sharing “I would’ve quit earlier, but then I made ideas and building on one another’s friends … Of course, I had friends in work. They’re learning how the scien- real life, but having friends in other tific community works.”

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Play. Create an environment where Putting the Four Ps into Practice students feel safe to take risks, try new From our observations of Scratch ac- things, and experiment playfully. tivities around the world over the past Scratch is designed to encourage decade, we have seen the value of Proj- playful experimentation and tinkering. ects, Passion, Peers, and Play in sup- As with LEGO bricks, it is easy to snap We have been porting the development of computa- together Scratch programming blocks encouraged to see tional fluency. But we have also seen to try out new ideas, and it is also easy that it is not easy to put these four prin- to take them apart to revise and iterate. a growing number ciples into practice within the realities Just click on a stack of Scratch blocks, of teachers and of today’s standards-based, assess- and the code runs immediately. There ment-driven classrooms. are no error messages in the Scratch schools are finding We have been encouraged to see a programming editor. Instead, many growing number of teachers and children learn new coding strategies by ways to integrate schools are finding ways to integrate playfully experimenting with different creative, expressive creative, expressive approaches to cod- combinations of Scratch blocks, see- ing into their classroom practices. In a ing what happens when their code approaches public high school in Tacoma, WA, for runs, iteratively revising their code, to coding into example, computer-science teacher and looking at code in other projects. Jaleesa Trapp wanted to provide her We view “play” not as an activity but as their classroom students with an opportunity to learn an attitude: a willingness to experi- practices. computational concepts in the context ment, take risks, and try new things. of projects that would be meaningful When we have interviewed long- to them. Jaleesa noticed that many of time Scratchers, we have found that her students enjoyed watching how-to many became engaged in coding by videos online, so she proposed that “messing around” with Scratch.16 For they use Scratch to create their own example, a long-time Scratcher ex- how-to tutorials. plained that he learned about variables, The students created a wide range of events, and other coding concepts “just projects: how to crochet, how to use a by experimenting.” Although it might 3D printer, and how to make a video seem more efficient to teach concepts game, among others. The students de- through direct instruction, we have signed their projects to make them ac- seen that many students become more cessible to users with diverse abilities. engaged and gain a greater sense of To create their projects, students need- agency and confidence when they learn ed to research their topics, develop pro- through playful experimentation and totype tutorials, test out their prototypes exploration. We do offer tutorials on with other students, revise their proj- the Scratch website, but the tutorials ects, and finally present their projects to are designed to encourage students to friends and family, as well as sharing incorporate their own ideas and make with a broader audience online. their own variations, not just follow This activity was well-aligned with the step-by-step instructions. four Ps, since students were working on The Scratch community guidelines projects based on their passions, in col- emphasize the importance of being re- laboration with peers, in a playful spirit. spectful and friendly, and clearly state But the activity was also well-aligned with that Scratch “welcomes people of all computer science and engineering stan- ages, races, ethnicities, religions, abil- dards, since it involved iterative design, ities, sexual orientations, and gender testing, debugging, and refinement of identities.”19 Respectful communica- computer programs.3,12 Students gained tion and inclusiveness have become an understanding of important computa- norms that experienced participants tional concepts and practices (such as us- communicate to newcomers and oth- ing control structures and improving us- ers.10 A respectful community is essen- ability) through working on their projects. tial for accomplishing our goals with Jaleesa also wanted an assessment Scratch. When people feel they are sur- method that would be meaningful to rounded by caring, respectful peers, the students. So, before they started they are much more likely to play— designing, she asked the students to that is, to try new things and take the help develop a rubric for evaluating risks that are an essential part of the their projects. They began by identify- creative process. ing the features of how-to videos that

126 COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM | NOVEMBER 2020 | VOL. 63 | NO. 11 contributed articles they valued and decided together dents in exploring, experimenting, and Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing (2016). ACM, New York, 1438–1449. https://doi. which criteria were most important to expressing themselves, so that stu- org/10.1145/2818048.2819984 include in the rubric. By contributing dents can develop the creativity, col- 5. Freire, P. Pedagogy of Indignation. Paradigm, Boulder, CO, 2014. to the criteria for assessment, the stu- laboration, and communication skills 6. Israel, M., Pearson, J.N., Tapia, T., Wherfel, Q.M., dents developed a shared understand- that are needed to thrive in today’s fast- and Reese, G. Supporting all learners in school-wide computational thinking: A cross-case qualitative ing of the goals, and they were invested changing world. analysis. Computers & Education, 82 (Mar. 2015), 263– in meeting them. These changes in structures and mind- 279; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2014.11.022 7. Kafai, Y.B. and Burke, Q. Connected Code: Why Jaleesa noted that many computer- sets will require efforts by many people, in Children Need to Learn Programming. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2014. science initiatives evaluate students many places, at many levels. There are al- 8. Ke, F. An implementation of design-based learning through based on how many different program- ready teachers, schools, and even entire creating educational computer games: A case study on mathematics learning during design and computing. ming blocks they use in their projects. districts that are implementing new, cre- Computers & Education, 73 (Apr. 2014), 26–39. Jaleesa worried that focusing on this ative approaches to coding and learning. 9. Khine, M.S. Robotics in STEM Education. Springer, 2017; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57786-9 metric might lead students to simply We need to build on these examples to 10. Lombana-Bermudez, A. Moderation and sense of add programming blocks to fulfill a re- support broader change. No individual community in a youth-oriented online platform. 2017; https://bit.ly/2NfpxEl quirement, without understanding the policy or individual school or individual 11. Maloney, J., Peppler, K., Kafai, Y., Resnick, M., and purpose of the different blocks. Instead, technology can bring about change on its Rusk, N. Programming by choice: Urban youth learning programming with Scratch. ACM SIGCSE Bulletin 40, the students in Jaleesa’s class used a own. We need a movement in which 1 (Mar. 2008), 367–371. wide variety of programming blocks in people in all parts of the educational 12. NGSS Lead States. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, by States. National Academies an authentic way. Because students ecosystem—educators, administra- Press, Washington, D.C., 2013. were designing how-to projects to sup- tors, researchers, curriculum devel- 13. National Research Council. Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and port accessibility, they naturally needed opers, toolmakers, and policymakers— Skills in the 21st Century. National Academies Press, to coordinate multiple events, incorpo- think about coding in new ways and Washington, D.C., 2013 14. Resnick, M. Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating rate multiple types of media, and re- think about learning in new ways. Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2017. spond to different types of user input. We are at a crossroads. Ten years 15. Resnick, M., Maloney, J., Monroy-Hernández, A., Rusk, from now, we hope we can look back N., Eastmond, E., Brennan, K., Millner, A., Rosenbaum, E., Silver, J., Silverman, B., and Kafai, Y. Scratch: The Next Decade and report on a decade of education- Programming for all. Commun. ACM 52, 11 (Nov. We are at a moment of great opportu- al change, in which schools have pro- 2009), 60–67. 16. Roque, R. and Rusk, N. Youth perspectives on their nity but also great challenge. Even as vided students with the time, space, development in a coding community. Info. Learning new technologies have flowed into support, and encouragement they Sci. (Apr. 2019); https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-05- 2018-0038 schools and as new coding initiatives need to become fluent with new tech- 17. Roque, R., Rusk, N., and Resnick, M. 2016. Supporting have been adopted, the core structures nologies, so that they can help shape diverse and creative collaboration in the Scratch online community. Mass Collaboration and of most educational institutions have tomorrow’s society. Education. U. Cress, H. Jeong, and J. Moskaliuk (Eds.) remained largely unchanged. If new Springer, Cham, Switzerland. 241–256; httpps://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-319-13536-6_12 technologies and new coding initia- Acknowledgments 18. Rusk, N. Motivation for making. Makeology: Makers as tives are to live up to their promise, we Many people have contributed to the Learners., K. Peppler, E. Rosenfeld Halverson, and Y.B. Kafai (Eds.). Routledge, New York, NY, 85–108. must break down structural barriers in design, development, and support of 19. Scratch Community Guidelines. 2018; http://scratch. the educational system. Scratch, particularly members of the mit.edu/community_guidelines/ 20. Sentance, S., Waite, J., Hodges, S., MacLeod, E., and We need to break down barriers Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the Yeomans, L. ‘Creating cool stuff:’ Pupils’ experience of the BBC micro:bit. In Proceedings of the 2017 ACM across disciplines, providing students MIT Media Lab and the Scratch Team at SIGCSE (Seattle, WA) 531–536. with opportunities to work on projects the Scratch Foundation. We are grate- 21. Turkle, S. and Papert, S. Epistemological pluralism: Styles and voices within the computer culture. SIGNS: that integrate science, art, engineer- ful to the National Science Foundation 16, 1 (1990), 128–157. ing, and design. We need to break for supporting the initial research and 22. Wing, J.M. Computational thinking, Commun. ACM 49, 3 (Mar. 2006), 33–35. down barriers across age, allowing development of Scratch, and to the Sie- 23. Yu, J. and Roque, R., A review of computational toys people of all ages to learn with and gel Family Endowment, LEGO Founda- and kits for young children. Int’l J. Child-Computer Interaction. (Jul. 2019); https://doi.org/10.1016/j. from one another. We need to break tion, and other supporters for making ijcci.2019.04.001 down barriers across space, connect- it possible to make Scratch available ing activities in schools, community for free for young people and educators Mitchel Resnick ([email protected]) is Professor of centers, and homes. And we need to around the world. Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. break down barriers across time, en- Natalie Rusk ([email protected]) is Research abling children to work on interest- References Scientist in the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT based projects for weeks or months, 1. Bau, D., Gray, J., Kelleher, C., Sheldon, J. and Turbak, F. Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Learnable programming: blocks and beyond. Commun. Cambridge, MA, USA. rather than squeezing projects into ACM 60, 6 (Jun. 2017), 72–80; https://dl.acm.org/ the constraints of a class period or citation.cfm?doid=3098997.3015455 2. Brennan, K. and Resnick, M. Using artifact-based Copyright held by author/owner. curriculum unit. interviews to study the development of computational Publication rights licensed to ACM. Breaking down these structural bar- thinking in interactive media design. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, riers is difficult. It requires a shift in Vancouver, B.C, 2012. 3. Computer Science Teachers Association. CSTA K-12 the ways people think about education Computer Science Standards, 2017; http://www. Watch the authors discuss and learning. People need to view edu- csteachers.org/standards this work in the exclusive 4. Dasgupta, W.H., Monroy-Hernández, A. and Hill, B.M. Communications video. cation not as a way to deliver informa- Remixing as a pathway to computational thinking. In https://cacm.acm.org/videos/ tion, but rather as a way to support stu- Proceedings of the 19th ACM Conference on Computer- coding-at-a-crossroads

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