Program Overview

CS50's Introduction to Programming with Scratch

A gentle introduction to programming that prepares you for subsequent courses in coding.

Duration

May 1, 2021 - December 31, 2025

Price

Free*

Modality

Online

Course Details

• Duration: 3 weeks long
• Pace: Self-paced
• Subject: Computer Science
• Course Language: English
• Video transcript: English
• Difficulty:
  • Introductory
• Credit: Audit for Free
  • Add a Verified Certificate for $299
• Platform: edX
• Topics:
  • Computer Science
  • Algorithms
  • Programming

Associated Schools

Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

What you'll learn

• Functions
• Events
• Values
• Conditions
• Loops
• Variables

Course description

An introduction to programming using Scratch, a visual programming language via which aspiring programmers can write code by dragging and dropping graphical blocks (that resemble puzzle pieces) instead of typing out text. Used at the start of Harvard College's introductory course in computer science, CS50, Scratch was designed at MIT's Media Lab, empowering students with no prior programming experience to design their own animations, games, interactive art, and stories. Using Scratch, this course introduces students to fundamentals of programming, found not only in Scratch itself but in traditional text-based languages (like Java and Python) as well. Topics include: functions, which are instructions that perform tasks; return values, which are results that functions provide; conditions, via which programs can decide whether or not to perform some action; loops, via which programs can take action again and again; variables, via which programs can remember information; and more. Ultimately, this course prepares students for subsequent courses in programming.

Instructors

David J. Malan

Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Computer Science, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Related Courses

• CS50: Introduction to Computer Science
  • An introduction to the intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming.
  • Price: Free*
  • Duration: 11 weeks long
• CS50 for Lawyers
  • This course is a variant of Harvard University's introduction to computer science, CS50, designed especially for lawyers (and law students).
  • Price: Free*
  • Duration: 10 weeks long
• CS50's Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python
  • Learn to use machine learning in Python in this introductory course on artificial intelligence.
  • Price: Free*
  • Duration: 7 weeks long```