Thank you for your previous support of the Alice project.
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• Thank you for your previous support of the Alice project. • Let’s see what you’ve helped make possible….
description
Thank you for your previous support of the Alice project. Let’s see what you’ve helped make possible…. Alice. Getting students interesting in computing again PI: Randy Pausch [email protected] Carnegie Mellon University. For more information…. www.alice.org. For the last 25 years…. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Thank you for your previous support of the Alice project.
• Thank you for your previous support of the Alice project.
• Let’s see what you’ve helped make possible….
Getting students interesting in computing again
PI: Randy [email protected] Mellon University
Alice
www.alice.orgFor more information…
For the last 25 years…• We have taught computer programming the same
way:– Students types his/her program with the keyboard– There is a frustrating need to get the syntax correct– The program produces textual output
• 25 years ago, producing textual output was cool; it isn’t now.
The Java Program:class HelloWorldApp {
public static void main(String[] args) { System.out.println("Hello World!");}
}
Prints Out:Hello World!
We have lost over 50% ofCS majors in the last 7 years
• http://www.cra.org/CRN/articles/march06/vegso.html
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The Alice System (www.alice.org)
• Allows students to learn computer programming more easily– Drag-and-Drop editor for creating programs– Programs are 3D movies or games
• Alice has been formally shown to improve learning and retention in college students
• The approach of “telling stories with 3D movies” has been formally shown to motivate middle school girls
• Provided free (open source) by Carnegie Mellon
• Runs on Windows, Mactinosh, and Linux
Live Demo
We steal from the best…
• Walt Disney Imagineering’s “Player” for interactive 3d content
• Alan Kay/Squeak for the drag-and-drop interface
Alice has always been free.Alice will always continue to be free.
Pedagogically: Why Alice Works
1. No syntax-based frustration
2. Data is visible; changes are animated; you can see what is happening
3. Highly motivating
Seven textbooks have beenwritten based on Alice.
Roughly 10% of US Colleges Already Teach With Alice
• Highest penetration at Community Colleges (where need is greatest)
• Primarily Used for “CS1”, “pre-CS1”, and “computer literacy” courses.
Last 12 months, at www.alice.org
• 3.5 million page views• 528,000 unique visitors• 158,000 IP addresses performed 440,540
downloads of the system.• (this excludes CD/textbook distribution)
linux1%
windows90%
macintosh9%
Alice helps at-risk CS majors
Declared CS majors at Ithaca College and St. Joseph’s University
CS1 Grade Take CS2?
No Alice Class
Prior to CS1C 47%
Alice Class
Prior to CS1B 88%
Alice helps at-risk CS majors
Declared CS majors at Ithaca College and St. Joseph’s University
CS1 Grade Take CS2?
No Alice Class
Prior to CS1C 47%
Alice Class
Prior to CS1B 88%
M. Moskal, D. Lurie, and S. Cooper, Evaluating the Effectiveness of a New Instructional Approach. In Proceedings of 2004 SIGCSE Conference, (Norfolk, VA).
Java Code Alice Code (Java Mode)
Alice is “real programming”
Alice and Middle School Girls
• Recent Ph.D. dissertation by Caitlin Kelleher (starting on faculty this fall at Washington U. in St. Louis!)
• Present programming as a means to the end of storytelling.
• She measured the benefits of this storytelling approach
Evaluation with Girls Scouts
But we believe the approach works for both genders and all ages.
Formative: ~250 usersSummative: 88 users
Formative: Storyboards
“D kneels down to see if they were ok”
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Summative: Three Activities in Alice
1: Scene Layout
2: Editing Programs
3: Running Programs
Users of Storytelling Alice spend 42% more time programming (as opposed to doing scene layout)
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Generic Alice
Storytelling Alice
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Storytelling Alice motivates reluctant programmers
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Time on task is a strong predictor of learning
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What’s Next?
• We have made inroads in college and high school
• Caitlin Kelleher’s work shows the way forward
Production Values Matter
Best Selling PC Games of all time:1. The Sims (16 million) 2. Myst (9 million) 3. Starcraft (9 million) 4. Half-Life (8 million) 5. Age of Empires II (7 million) 6. World of Warcraft (5 million) 7. The Sims 2 (4.5 million) 8. Diablo II (4 million) 9. Doom (3 million) 10.Half-Life 2 (3 million) 11.StarCraft: Brood War (3 million) 12.Warcraft II (3 million) 13.Warcraft III (3 million) 14.Age of Empires (3 million) 15.Diablo (2.5 million) 16.Civilization III (2.5 million) 17.Quake (1.8 million) 18.Battlefield 1942 (1.5 million) 19.Civilization IV (1.2 million)
Best Selling PC Games of all time:1. The Sims (16 million) 2. Myst (9 million) 3. Starcraft (9 million) 4. Half-Life (8 million) 5. Age of Empires II (7 million) 6. World of Warcraft (5 million) 7. The Sims 2 (4.5 million) 8. Diablo II (4 million) 9. Doom (3 million) 10.Half-Life 2 (3 million) 11.StarCraft: Brood War (3 million) 12.Warcraft II (3 million) 13.Warcraft III (3 million) 14.Age of Empires (3 million) 15.Diablo (2.5 million) 16.Civilization III (2.5 million) 17.Quake (1.8 million) 18.Battlefield 1942 (1.5 million) 19.Civilization IV (1.2 million)
And more female than male players!
Production Values Matter
The Future: Alice v3.0
• Available in 2008.
• Goal: Alice as the system to teach introductory programming.
• Driven by Caitlin Kelleher’s findings about storytelling – Students are motivated to make movies (or videogames)
• Electronic Arts (EA) has given us $300,000 and permission to use the characters and animations from “The SimsTM 2” in Alice v3.0
• Heinz Foundation has given us $200,000
• Alice v3.0 will us Java as the student language– Drag & drop interface *or* typing code (whichever you prefer)
We have already done the hard engineering: this scene uses Sims II characters, and is
rendered in an early prototype of Alice v3.0
Live Demo
