‘Mem your game’ wins at Scratch National Finals


25 May 2011

A game based on the brain training model created by students from Carrigaline Community School in Co Cork has won the gaming category in the Scratch National Finals.

Scratch is a programming language developed by the MIT Media Lab, allowing students to create and share their interactive stories, animations and games, etc, on the web.

The awards are co-sponsored by the Irish Computer Society (ICS) and Lero, the Irish Software Research Centre, and hosted by the Institute of Technology Tallaght.

Entries were nationwide and the finalists were chosen from 100 Scratch projects. ‘Mem your mind’ is the name of the winning game from Carrigaline Community School, created by Abdullah Mohammed and Fiachra Hurley.

Judges deemed it outright winner in the gaming category due to its professionalism and high-spec production-ready software.  

Winner in animation category

‘Les Conquetes de Napoleon’, the winning animation from Alexandra College Dublin, created by Harriet Walsh, is an educational game allowing students to have fun through French and to learn about Napoleon.

This winning animation was chosen based on its ability to demonstrate the potential of blended learning in schools using IT tools, such as Scratch.  

“Scratch is really taking off in schools. The students are writing code and building very exciting and original Scratch projects. The Scratch Competition allows students to channel their creativity and technical ability,” said Clare McInerney, education and outreach officer with Lero.

Scratch Day is an international event held simultaneously in 120 locations worldwide to share projects and learn more about Scratch.  

“New ideas are being explored each and every year by the students, and Scratch enables them to present their creations in a completely different format, allowing them to use their creativity and technical ability in a team-based project,” said Jim Friars, CEO of the ICS.

All projects are available to view here.