automated creation of Scratch accounts?
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Michael Katz
Member
February 06, 2014
I am teaching several Scratch courses. I am creating a Scratch account for each student with a name, password, etc. chosen by me. Currently, I have to create each Scratch account by hand. Do you know if there is a way that I can automate the creation of several Scratch account, either programmatically or by (for instance) uploading a spreadsheet with the various fields?
In an ideal situation ID/Authentication/authorization management would not be organized by teachers, but teachers could just use the school-assigned IDs.
For example: If a school happens to use Google-apps then the 13+ limit is irrelevant and you could share files to groups, and students could share back.
I do not think teachers should be asigning all these IDs because they need to keep their own administration of IDs outside of the school's central administration. Students should be connecting at a higher level and teachers should be using existing IDs.
Please note that I do not blame anyone for finding workable solutions, but I think it is just easier for teachers and better in the interest of the students to use IDs that are established elsewhere and just used by the teacher.
Just my opinion.
Yoast
Second, has anyone documented/implemented a workaround that a teacher can do to set up accounts for multiple students (can either be teacher effort, or student effort)?
For example:
1. create a username for each student, for username use [schoolName].[studentFirstName] and
2. For password: [studentLastName]
3. For email, use student.[studentFirstName]_[studentLastName]@[schoolDomain]
4. ?
According to Eric Schilling, students will need a valid email address for confirmation of new accounts.
http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu/discussions/news-and-announcements/scratch-update-email-confimation
Michelle's suggestion to use a teacher email or a class Gmail is necessary if students don't have their own emails.
Marianne
I really like this idea of collectively brainstorming a streamlined process for creating multiple accounts!
Two suggestions:
Regarding #3, one strategy I've heard from educators is to have students use the teacher's email or to create a shared class email (e.g., SchoolNameScratchers@gmail.com). That way, if a student posts any inappropriate content to the Scratch website, you will be notified.
Maybe a #4 step would be to create a class list by having students post their username and a password hint in a shared Google Doc, spreadsheet, or using Google Forms, for students who want to find and friend each other or if a student forgets their username/password. Another strategy for keeping usernames/passwords private is to have students write their username and password in individual sealed envelopes that you keep safe unless needed.
Thanks,
Michelle
My idea of creating "generic" email addresses for students was assuming there was a catchall for @schooldomain that can forward to a central e-mail to approve/confirm the accounts.
For a "shared" email to use for all students, wouldn't that confuse students and remove the individual projects/tasks or progress for each student? And it may allow students to alter other student projects, etc. ?
To be honest, I haven't yet explored the site in full as I'm hopefully waiting for the "student accounts" to get set up before exploring. I'm also wondering what would happen if I do move ahead with a workaround (create generic emails for each student) and then educator/student accounts is eventually enabled. Would there be a good transition to move to those accounts? Maybe there is an "ideal workaround" that is more seamless to transition to the educator/student accounts once enabled?
How is the MIT Scratch Team imlementation of 'educator accounts' coming?
Marianne
We are waiting to hear an update and I will post something as soon as I know. Thanks for your patience!
M
I am a primary school teacher in the UK looking to introduce Scratch into our school. I would really appreciate being able to create a class account or similar for use in school. There are around 200 pupils in the school who would benefit from using Scratch and less admin legwork means I am more likely to get the go-ahead from the top on introducing Scratch into our curriculum.
Thanks,
Rachel
The MIT Scratch Team is implementing "educator accounts" on the Scratch website, which will allow teachers to create and manage classroom accounts or multiple student accounts. However, this feature won't be available until later this spring.
In the meantime, one strategy is to have students create accounts at home with a parent or guardian providing an email, and educators will keep a master list of student usernames/passwords in case. This can be achieved by sending a note home with students about Scratch.
M