Product Information
Snap! learning and teaching resources
This blogpost will show you teaching and learning resources available for the Snap! visual programming language.
Snap! is free, open source and developed at SAP together with UC Berkeley. It invites learners to creatively implement ideas and experience computer science in a playful and experimental way. What makes Snap! special is its audacious claim not to compromise on expressiveness despite a low entry threshold.
Fun with Snap! Banner showing different Snap! projects in instant camera images.
You want to learn Snap! in detail or want a comprehensive guide through introductory programming and Snap!? Our openSAP courses are exactly what you’re looking for:
- Get Coding with Snap! (EN / DE): Get to know Snap! and programming in general in 11 games, artworks and other fun activities.
- From Media Computation to Data Science (EN): An introduction to computing with Media Computation. Get to know basic (and advanced) programming ideas while exploring, analyzing and modifying images, texts and sounds.
- Exploring the world of AI (EN / DE): An introductory journey through AI covering theoretical backgrounds around traditional AI and Machine Learning in a playful way with board games and Snap!
Or take a look at Snap!’s signature curriculum “The Beauty and Joy of Computing” from UC Berkeley and EDC.
- The Beauty and Joy of Computing (BJC) (EN) is an introductory computer science curriculum developed at the University of California, Berkeley, intended for non-CS majors at the high school junior through undergraduate freshman level
- BJC Sparks (EN) is a middle school and early high school curriculum focusing on a functional approach to programming, emphasizing the flow of information through functions — rather than emphasizing iteration and commands — and including exciting projects in graphics, data, and media.
You’re running a workshop and look for easy to use resources?These are our recommended, tried and trusted workshop ideas for different programming levels. If you’re looking for more, check the end of this document.
Workshops for for beginners:
|
Pointillism |
Pointillism is an art form, where differently colored dots are applied in patterns to generate an image. In this project, you can become an artist by redrawing a photograph with just dots. |
|
|
Magic Mirror |
This simple starter project also works with very young programmers. You use Snap!’s built in graphic effects and camera capabilities to create a digital hall of mirrors. |
|
|
Time Lens |
This starter project literally takes a closer look at climate change. You’ll program a lens that lets you look back in time to compare the ice shield of glaciers today and 100 years back. |
Workshops for intermediate programmers:
| Grand Gestures | This teaching resource is part of IT2school goes AI (other modules here). You’re going through the whole process of programming, training, testing, refining and applying and AI, in this case a single-stroke gesture recognizer to animate stories. | Zip: EN / DE |
| Raycaster | Did you know, that the early first person 3D games are nothing but bar charts? In this workshop you’ll learn how to build your own 3D maze using a technique called “Raycasting” | currently under development |
Other Snap! extensions:
|
Turtlestitch lets you bring your Snap! code to the real world. It’s a version of Snap! made by Andrea Mayr-Stalder and Michael Aschauer that lets you export files for digital embroidery machines. |
|
|
Physical computing with Snap!. This Snap! version allows tethered programming of Arduino and Arduino-like boards. You can only run the programs while the boards are connected to your computer but can enjoy the live programming and parallelism that Snap! provides. In case, you rely on an autonomously running board, check out MicroBlocks. |
|
|
Check out Snap!’s extension page for more interesting Snap!-based programming environments. |
Other workshop resources:
| Lernkarten Staatsgalerie | 12 projects around art made for an event at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. Explore computing by experimenting with spatial perspective, geometric shapes, animation, color and self-portraits. | beginner, intermediate | PDF DE |
| Virtual Flower Field | Grow a virtual flower field using turtle geometry and Snap!’s “stamp” block. | beginner | PDF EN / DE / PT / IT / FR / ES |
| Winter Holidays | 3 projects around winter and Christmas. A digital greeting card, a virtual snow bowl and a snowflake generator get you in the right mood for the cold season. | beginner, intermediate | |
| Ice! – The Game | A frogger like game using Snap!’s nested sprite feature. | intermediate | PDF EN / DE |
| Snap! Art Primer | 12 activities around computer art exploring the pen category and graphic effects ranging from introductory to advanced level. | beginner, intermediate | PDF EN / DE |
| Sparkle of Computer Science | Using Snap!’s ability to clone sprites to program a bubble animation. | beginner | PDF EN / DE / PT / IT / FR / ES |
| Whack Alonzo | An introductory game loosely based on the arcade classic “Whac-a-mole”. | beginner | PDF EN / DE / PT / IT / FR / ES |
| Climate Change Slider | A reusable project building a slider. | intermediate | PDF EN / DE |
| Art and Code – an exploration of “Schotter” |
“Schotter” (German for gravel) is an iconic piece of early computer art that was created by German computer scientist Georg Nees. It’s made from a grid of squares that’s getting increasingly disorganised. In this activity, you’ll recode your own version of Schotter and remix it with new ideas to create a beautiful artifact. |
beginner, intermediate |
Video EN PDF EN Presentation EN |