Scratch does contain a [point towards (mouse-pointer or another sprite)] block.


In Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, a test of a learner's 'comprehension' of a concept is the ability of the learner to 'rephrase’ or ‘restate' the concept in as many different ways as possible. For several years I have been interested in using standard mathematics curriculum as a source of computer coding exercises in which students ‘rephrase’ math concepts. Geometry is an especially rich source for computer coding projects. In this post we use computer code to explore the scalene triangle concept.
Where to begin?
Scalene triangle: A triangle with three unequal side lengths and three unequal angle measures
The definition tells us how to recognize a scalene triangle if we know the lengths of the three sides. But the definition is static, not dynamic. Typing the definition into computer code will code the individual letters (ASCI II) but the code simply displays the definition as text, not as a figure of a scalene triangle.
This is often a point of frustration with beginning programmers as they may know a ‘concept’ as a set of words or symbols but become frustrated when trying to code the concept.
To code a scalene triangle in Scratch is not a trivial exercise.
To begin, I’ve created a starter project that has a mouse as sprite 1. You can click on this link to download the project or create your own starter.
Scalene Triangle Mouse Starter
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/170195620/
The completed project can be downloaded by clicking on the following link.
Scalene Triangle Mouse I
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/463821115/
I am in the process of writing a detailed tutorial describing the coding of the Scalene Triangle Mouse I project. A free PDF file of this document that might be useful to both teachers and students can be obtained by emailing me at grandadscience@gmail.com
The following projects are in the same spirit as each project codes a math concept.
Radian Mouse
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/465028285/
Perpendicular Mouse
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/20186064/
Parallel Mouse
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/21653980/
Angle Mouse
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/16793255/
Robotics is a hot component of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) movement. Several companies offer robotics hardware and software that supports educators and students.
One of the problems robotics educators face is that there is not an agreed upon sequence of knowledge requirements and a sequence of skill development as there is, for example, for mathematics and science education.
Years ago I watched a video on educational TV that was my introduction to robotics as a topic for educators. The program featured a mechanical engineering professor at MIT describing a project assigned to his freshman engineering students. Each pair of students were given a box of electric motors, gears, wheels and other small parts. The task was to build a robot controlled by a joystick. Students were shown in the machine shop drilling, grinding and wiring their robots. The project culminated in a King of the Mountain competetion. Students robots fought each other to stay at the crest of a hill for a given amount of time.
Along with the mechanical engineering standards he taught he also wanted his students to understand that every engineering task was always constrained by a least three limiting factors.
1. Time to complete the engineering project is not unlimited.
2. There is always a limit on the amount of money available to complete the project.
3. There is always something new that has to be learned.
Great information for men and women looking to become engineers
A teacher in east Russia has rekindled my interest in educational robotics and is the
inspiration for this blog post. As a teacher, Andrei is interested in Scratch and robotics.
Scratch is complete and free but robotics hardware is expensive. Most teachers do not have
the financial support to equip a classroom with several robots. Many teachers have just one
robot, often purchased with their own funds, to demonstrate to students.
In researching the latest robotics hardware and software I found a company, www.vex.comthat was new to me. Vex understands that not all teachers have the funds to invest in the robotics kits they sell. To help with this problem, Vex provides a' virtual' robot modeled after one of their hardware robots. The code used to control the virtual robot is the same code used to control the real robot.
Students that are working with one of the Vex hardware robots at school can now program at
home and test their code on the virtual robot. Students without a real robot can still program the virtual robot. Click on the following link to go to the Vex Virtual Robot.
In the following picture the top-down view is displayed.
Here are two Scratch-blog posts that have robotics as a theme.
Spirolaterals in Scratch
http://www.scratch-blog.com/search/label/spirolateral
A Line-following Robot in Scratch
http://www.scratch-blog.com/search/label/robot
Mark Johnson has the following videos on Youtube that are worth watching.
VEX VR Variables (VR Series Part 2)
VEX VR Functions (VR Series Part 3)
VEX VR Basketball Drills (VR Series Part 4)
VEX VR Color Disk Transfer (VR Series Part 5)
VEX VR Dynamic Maze (VR Series Part 6)