Learners' perspectives on block-based programming environments: code.org vs. scratch
Johannes Krugel, Alexander Ruf · Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education · 2020
We report from a comparative study regarding two popular block-based programming environments for the introduction of algorithmic concepts, namely Code.org and Scratch. A quasi-experiment was conducted with five classes (grade 7) from two secondary schools (n = 122). To investigate the effects of both learning environments, the students were divided into two groups.Following a mixed-methods research approach, we use quantitative and qualitative methods to gain a comprehensive understanding of learner's perspectives and skills. We measure the learners' perceived self-regulation and intrinsic motivation. The learners of Code.org show a higher intrinsic motivation compared to the Scratch group. Qualitative analyses of answers to open-ended questions reveal positive and negative aspects of the learning environments. With Code.org, the learners in particular like the fun and the challenges, while for Scratch, they like the feeling of actually programming something and the very free environment.