Sharing with Scratch: Episode 3 - Remixing

What does it mean to share with Scratch?

Sharing with Scratch is a video webseries designed for Scratch Educators to encourage thought and conversation around the ways in which Scratch can promote cooperation and collaboration in the classroom. Brought to you by ScratchEd interns, Aaron Morris and Vanessa Gennarelli, each video episode will introduce a new strategy for helping you facilitate sharing in your classroom, including: brainstorming, remixing, checking in with a neighbor, publishing online, giving and receiving feedback, and group work. Join our cast of characters (both live action and animated in Scratch) as we present the benefits and tackle the challenges of Sharing with Scratch

Each Sharing with Scratch episode is meant to serve as a conversation starter. We invite you to check out an episode and then share you experiences and thoughts in the comments below. We look forward to learning from you and your experiences. Thanks for sharing!

 

 

Benefits

• Remixing gives students the chance to build on the ideas, knowledge, and creations of other Scratchers
• It reinforces interconnectedness and the ways in which we influence and inspire each other
• Teaches that creativity and orginality are not synonymous

Obstacles 

• Students are concerned that others will mess up their work
• Concerns surrounding plagiarism and having ideas stolen
• The code in downloaded projects can be too difficult to understand
• How do you assess remixed work? How do you know if students are learning and not just copying?

Strategies

• Have students save multiple versions of their projects
• Highlight how the Scratch site gives credit for remixes and originals.
• Have a class discussion about what it means to remix, build on others ideas, and reappropriate ideas using examples from culture (see everything is a remix link below)
• Break complicated code into manageable chunks
• Have students explain their work, what their projects do, and how they utilized/remixed others work.

 

A Monkey and a Stick Figure: Stories of Remixing and Social Creativity - CSCW (2012)

A video by Frances Yun and Andrés Monroy-Hernández about Remixing in Scratch   

 

 

Tell us about your remixing experiences! How do you introduce, discuss, and utilize remixing?

Contribute to the conversation in the comments section below!