Installing on your own computer

If you’re in the class at Old Zion Hill, the computer provided to you already has everything you need. You don’t have to install anything.

But maybe you want to:

• Practice at home on a family laptop.
• Keep working on your projects when school’s out and your class computer isn’t with you.
• Show a friend how Scratch works.
• Eventually use Python on your own machine, on Linux, on a Chromebook with Linux enabled, or on something else entirely.

This appendix tells you how. It’s organized by phase — start at the section that matches where you are in the curriculum.

Phase 1: Scratch

Scratch has two ways you can use it:

Option 1: In a web browser (easiest)

Go to scratch.mit.edu in any modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge). Click “Create” at the top. You’re in.

That’s it. No install. Works on Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook — anything with a browser and internet.

You can save projects to your computer (File → Save to your computer) or, if you make a free account, to the Scratch website.

Limits:

• Needs internet to start (once it’s loaded, you can usually keep working without internet, but saving requires reconnection).
• Can be slow on really old computers.

Option 2: Scratch Desktop (works offline)

Download from scratch.mit.edu/download. Available for Windows and macOS (and through other channels for Linux).

Once installed, you can use Scratch with no internet. Your projects save to files on your own computer.

Limits:

• Doesn’t auto-sync with the website.
• Updates come a little slower than the web version.

Which to pick?

If you’re not sure, use the web version. It’s the same Scratch either way. You can switch later.

Phase 2 onward: Python

Coming with Phase 2.

When the class moves to Python (Phase 2), you’ll need to install Thonny, the Python editor we use in class. The short answer: download it from thonny.org for any computer (Windows, Mac, Linux). Thonny includes its own copy of Python, so you don’t have to install Python separately.

Detailed instructions for getting Thonny set up — including how to verify it’s working, what to do if it’s already installed, and how to handle the Linux Mint version that ships preinstalled — will be added here when Phase 2 begins.

Phases 5 onward: customtkinter, Pygame, Flask

Coming with each phase as it begins.

Each later phase introduces a Python library you’ll need to install on top of Thonny. Instructions will be added to this appendix as each phase starts. The general pattern is the same: open a terminal, type pip install <library-name>, and you’re done.

For now: don’t worry about it. The class machines have everything preinstalled. This appendix grows as you grow.

A note about your class machine

The computer you got from the class is yours. You keep it. You can take it home, use it for whatever, install whatever you want on it. It already has Scratch, Thonny, and (eventually) every Python library the curriculum uses. You don’t need to install anything on it.

The instructions on this page are for other computers — a family laptop, a friend’s computer, a school Chromebook, whatever. The class computer is already set up.