Scratching Beyond the Surface of Literacy: Programming for Early Adolescent Gifted Students

Abstract

Digital technology offers new possibilities for children to play, express themselves, learn, and communicate. A recent development in online practice is a shift toward youth engaged in computer programming online communities. Programming is argued to be the new literacy of the millennium. In this article, I examine the use of Scratch, an online programming community, as a means to support digital literacy for early adolescent gifted, talented, and creative students. In addition, I share the experiences of an early adolescent gifted student with Scratch and consider the use of Scratch to promote interdisciplinary curricular concepts.