Volume 4

7 pages 424 K bytes

Using Alice in a Computer Science Survey Course Jill Courte Miami University Hamilton Hamilton, OH 45011 USA Elizabeth V. Howard Miami University Middletown Middletown, OH 45042 USA Cathy Bishop-Clark Miami University Middletown Middletown, OH 45042 USA

Abstract: Students in an introductory computer science survey course for non-majors used the 3-D interactive programming environment Alice for their programming module. With Alice, students create animated worlds using a variety of objects and easily accessed programming constructs. Alice has previously been used successfully to provide a gentle introduction to computer programming in a fun and enjoyable way, and has been shown to increase retention in computer programming courses. However, use of Alice appears to be limited as there is little to be found in the literature regarding its use in information technology courses. This lack of data prompted a study to determine if Alice is a suitable tool to introduce computer programming to non-majors in a friendly and inclusive way. This paper reports on the use of Alice with approximately 100 students enrolled in a non-majors computer science course. Students were surveyed about their attitudes toward computer programming before and after using Alice. Descriptive data indicate that Alice does increase student enjoyment and promote positive attitudes toward programming.

Keywords: Alice, pair-programming, attitudes, introductory programming

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Recommended Citation: Courte, Howard, and Bishop-Clark (2006). Using Alice in a Computer Science Survey Course. Information Systems Education Journal, 4 (87). http://isedj.org/4/87/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2005: §2133. ISSN: 1542-7382.)