Inside MIT's Lifelong Kindergarten group area at the Media Lab

Programming as a game

June 21, 2017. An article in Edsurge, by Jenny Abamu, echoed by ACM Technews.

Coding curricula is sweeping into classrooms across the country, thanks to programs such as Code.org. According to the Education Commission of States, about 20 states now require that districts allow students to apply specified computer science courses toward completion of mathematics, science or, as a foreign language. But is coding preoccupying the hearts and minds of students after school hours? This is the question that researchers at the MIT Media Lab are asking.

Initially I was the one who questioned the word ‘community.’ I mean, they were posting projects and writing comments. How is that community? Natalie Rusk, MIT Developer and Researcher

It was there that one of the most popular learn-to-code tools, developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten group, was born in 2007. And while it has inspired a flurry of copycat offerings from other developers, Scratch has retained a loyal following: Today the platform claims over 100 million users around the world.

Read the full paper .