Video: Hello World - Welcome to Sprite Lab

Hi! My name is Erin, and I'm a software engineer here at Code.org. I'm so excited, because I got to work on the tutorial that you're about to do! We call it "Hello World."

"Hello World" is a famous phrase in computer science, and displaying that phrase is a common first step in learning computer science. Over the next hour, you're going to get started with computer science by programming in Sprite Lab.

Sprite Lab is a tool you can use to build imaginative and fun projects. You'll see that your screen is split into three main parts. On the left is the play space. This is where your sprites will show up.

Sprites are objects on the screen that you can interact with, like a character or item in a story or game.

This middle area is the toolbox. New blocks of code will become available in this space as you go through the lesson.

The space on the right is the workspace. You can drag blocks out of the toolbox, and into the workspace to build your program.

The instructions for each level will be up here at the top of the screen. If you want a hint, click on the light bulb.

To start off, let's make a sprite! This block lets you give your sprite a costume and a location. Costume is the word we use to describe a sprite's appearance. To change the sprite's location, you can click the pin icon in the location block, and then click where you want it to go.

Now let's have the sprite introduce itself! To make the sprite say something, use this "Say" block, and add it to your program. Make sure that the costume selected in your "Say" block matches the costume in your sprite.

When you press "Run", the sprite will say whatever text you tell it to. Now it's time to get started with Sprite Lab, and see where your imagination leads you!