Scratch Stories

This trimester, the keywords for the Institute of Play's Mobo Studio afterschool program are digital storytelling. The workshop or "pod" has been named Scratch Stories. Working with the popular programming language Scratch, students are working with the Mobo Studio team to explore digital media, graphic arts, programming and other 21st Century skills. These digital and computational media skills will be further developed in small groups with students applying their individual areas of expertise to collaborative team projects.

Last week, the Mobo Studio participants presented their works-in-progress, demonstrating games, graphics and sounds based on the theme "opposites attract." It was an impressive display of their burgeoning programming and design skills and an excellent opportunity for the students to practice articulating the decisions and motivations behind their practice. What's next? Students will continue to work in small groups on theme-based projects, by the end of the trimester, their work will come together as an interactive mural illustrating their experiences and stories exploring different New York City neighborhoods.