Scratch and Sense
Hussel Suriyaarachchi, Paul C. Denny, Suranga Chandima Nanayakkara · Proceedings of the 53rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education · 2022
Block-based programming environments are a popular way to introduce programming as they provide helpful visual cues and remove the complexities of syntax, allowing learners to focus on being creative. However, input to programs in block-based environments is often limited to the keyboard and mouse, meaning programs respond only to the direct actions of the user. Allowing programs to respond to changes in the physical environment may influence the types of programs students create and their motivation and interest towards learning programming. We explore this idea by integrating real-time sensor data into Scratch. With our platform, students simply connect a sensor to their computer via USB and use custom blocks, alongside conventional Scratch code, to read and react to the sensor data in real-time. We evaluated this approach using a field study involving 25 students with limited prior experience in Scratch. We found students were highly motivated by the sensors and expressed a strong desire to use them in future projects. Analysis of the created programs revealed that, compared to using standard input sources, students explored a wider variety of Scratch blocks when controlling sprites using the sensors.