Introduction



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Welcome to your first step into your journey of programming. Scratch serves as a good building block on the way to using traditional programming languages, so is best considered as an introduction to coding, rather than a “professional” programming language.It is the world’s largest coding community. A coding language with a simple visual interface that allows young people to create digital stories, games, and animations. Scratch is designed, developed, and moderated by the Scratch Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

Scratch is a safe and playful learning environment that will engage your thinking creatively, reasoning systematically, and working collaboratively— all essential skills for everyone in today's society.

This project will help you develop an understanding how coding is used in the agricultural industry and the importance of technology in the farming sector. 

How does Scratch work? In Scratch, the way you interact with your program is through sprites. Sprites are objects within your program that you can interact with – you can change the way they act using scripts. In the template you have been given, many of the sprites have already been given basic scripts, such as the buttons

Scratch promotes computational thinking and problem solving skills; creative teaching and learning; self-expression and collaboration; and equity in computing. Please explore the video 'INTRODUCTION TO SCRATCH PROGRAMMING' to help you learn the basics of Scratch. It is easy to learn and use. It provides an interactive environment to create programs by dragging blocks of code.

Task



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In this example we will code a project which replicates the running of a farming or agricultural business software.

This project will help you develop an understanding how coding is used in the agricultural industry and the importance of technology in the farming sector. After completing the project you should be able to:

  • Show produce list
  • Show the equipment list
  • Show fields available for planting
  • Show fields occupied
  • Be able to harvest fields and make them available for replanting
  • Calculate profit from crop yield

 At the Beginner Level, first we are going to program the buttons that show all of the produce and equipment that the farm has. These are the first 2 buttons at the menu stage, in bold above.

Process

In order to complete this task, you are required to watch the video in the resources section and also follow the instructions in the document titled 'Farming and Agriculture Software - Beginner' in the resources section. The instructions start from slide 5.

Though Scratch is a fairly easy programming language, the time required to learn it depends on the one who is learning. For some, it may take as little as a month to three months and for some, it may take up to six months or more. In this time you will learn to use your lived expereinces and skills to implement the language, andmake it reflective of you. As it allows you to:

  •  integrate creativity in storytelling, games, and animation. Kids can collaborate on projects through the use of Scratch, and share their projects online.
  •  develop 21st century skills through the use of technology.
  •  create and share resources via scratch.
  •  access and utilise Scratch for both personal and academic use.

You may find the link to 'Girls Who Code' useful to explore as you go throughthe varous Quests on your journey to learn Scartch, the link will introduce you to examples of projects and tutorials created entirely by females.

 

Conclusion

Congratulations!

You have completed the beginner section of the farming and agriculture management software.

By the end of this lesson, your project should look like this https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/649272936/  (Use this if you get stuck).

Please continue to the intermediate level.

Participants gain confidence to use Scratch and IT equipment.They will learn to think creatively, communicate clearly, analyse systematically, use technologies fluently, collaborate with each other effectively, design ideas iteratively, and learn continuously.

Please see link to the report titled The Future of Skills: Employment in 2030 which maps out how employment is likely to change in the future – including the implications for skills – and anticipates a number of new occupations, including Coding. To better prepare you for the future.

Learning Objectives

  • Develop an understanding of how coding and technology is used in farming
  • Design a software that show all of the produce and equipment that the farm has.
  • Learn Scratch coding
  • Gain experience in using Scratch
  • Gain Inquiry-Based Learning
  • Enhance problem-solving skills
  • Learning time management
  • Gaining organisational skills
  • Understanding accountability
  • Understanding connection between their life and coding
  • Begin journey of curiosity