Volume 7

16 pages 1571 K bytes

Alice and the Introductory Programming Course: An Invitation to Dialogue Daniel V. Goulet University of Wisconsin Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI 54481 USA Donald Slater Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA

Abstract: Alice, a 3D visual graphics environment, represents a breakthrough in teaching object-oriented computing by making objects visible. The object-oriented paradigm, though intuitive in its general form, is, for most students, a new way of thinking. The question is: How can we, as educators, make the most of Alice’s unique teaching environment, and what can we do to enhance student learning? The objective of this paper is two fold: (1) to create a dialogue about innovative and effective ways to use Alice as a teaching and learning tool, and (2) to exhibit an approach for relating the activities (features) of Alice to the teaching and learning requirements of the object-oriented paradigm.

Keywords: Alice, Introduction to programming, Object-oriented paradigm, Pedagogy, Introductory programming course, CS1

Download this issue:   ISEDJ.7(50).Goulet.pdf   (Adobe PDF, 16 pages, 1571 K bytes)

Preview the contents:   Goulet.j.txt   (ASCII txt, 28 K bytes)

Recommended Citation: Goulet and Slater (2009). Alice and the Introductory Programming Course: An Invitation to Dialogue. Information Systems Education Journal, 7 (50). http://isedj.org/7/50/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2007: §2723. ISSN: 1542-7382.)