Witty.ca - Graham's Professional Archives

I happen to think that Scratch is "the best thing since sliced bread".  This software is awesome for students who have never programmed a computer before (be they 8 or 18 years old).

That being said, my students have managed to find a number of ways to take my awesome amazing  "bullet-proof" instructions and say:

• "Why isn't this working?" 
• "I followed your instructions and got this!" 
  
• "Where did all the words go?"
• "When I press Enter, this happens!"

And so, I humbly submit the following warnings for teachers.

I call these "The Weirdness of Scratch".

I hope this helps you to pull out less hair as you learn to teach something new!  

  

When Scratch crashes, the window stays open, but many of the words disappear, especially variable names and the top menu "File Edit View ...".

However, the options themselves are still there, just invisible.  So, you can still click on the save icon (the Floppy Disk) and it will save your work.

Or, if the student's network folder is full, you can click where the word "File" used to be, go down to the fourth invisible option ("Save As..."), click the student's Desktop, and enter an invisible file name.  Even though it is weird, the file has always saved for me!  Strange but true.

EASY SOLUTION:
Let's assume that you've already saved your work once, but now Scratch has decided to crash.

The easiest way to save is to click on the save icon (the Floppy Disk).  Wait for the notification blocks (they flit across the window.)

HARDER SOLUTION:

However, if you've never saved the file before, then you need to work with the invisible options!  Weird but true!

Let's assume that the problem might also include that the student's network folder is full (a common problem).  Therefore, we want to save to the student's Desktop.

1. Click where the word "File" word used to be.  It will highlight but the word "File" will remain invisible.
2. Move your mouse down four options to the invisible "Save As...".
3. Click the Desktop button.
4. Click in the "filename" area, and type in a file name.  It will move the cursor along, but the letters will be invisible.
5. Click the Save button (that may be invisible).
6. Check the student's Desktop to see that the file appears.

Strange but true!

There are many reasons why your script might not work.  Here are the most common.

Dragging blocks on top of each other DOESN'T guarantee that they are connected.

When blocks ARE connected, the white line appears, like this.

When blocks AREN'T connected, they might look like this.

When blocks need to go inside other blocks, they look like this.

When those blocks are not working, they often look like this.

Question: When is an "IF" not an "IF"?    
Answer:  When the second "IF" is inside the first "IF"
                 (and it shouldn't be!)

The video here is one that I made for the students.

Here's what they are supposed to do.

And here's what you'll often find.