Using Alice to develop Introductory Programming Skills

1
Using Alice to develop Introductory Programming
Skills
G. Eccleston, G. Brindley, R. McDermott School of
Computing The Robert Gordon University Aberdeen,
UK ge_at_comp.rgu.ac.uk
2
Plan of Talk

• The Context
• The Problem
• Module Desiderata
• Alice
• Assessment
• Evaluation
• Conclusion

3
The Context

• CM1010 First Programming Module in School of
  Computing at RGU
• Policy of Java as first language
• Semester 1 introductory programming module taken
  by all students
• Followed by second OOP module in semester 2
• Initial stress on correct syntax
• Subsequent emphasis on structured programming
• Not much OOP per se
• Assessed by individual coursework submission
• Introduction of new route, BSc Computing for
  Graphics and Animation

4
Programming How hard can it be?

• A Very Simple Java Program

// A simple Java program to display some output
on the screen. import javax.swing. public
class HelloWorld public static void main
(String args) JOptionPane.showMessageDial
og(null, "Hello World!")
5
Problems

• Relatively high module failure rate
• Mitigated by progressively diminishing module
  expectation
• Student disengagement with the subject at an
  early stage
• Major implications for subsequent learning
• The Programming Problem
• Emphasis on the algorithmic aspects of
  programming
• Not suitable for our student cohort
• Didnt make useful contact with their prior
  experience
• Too mathematical
• What to do?

6
Module Desiderata

• Should be engaging (graphics, animation?)
• Conceptual model must make contact with students
  prior experience in a positive way
• (metaphor vs paradigm).
• Should be syntactically forgiving
• Should allow observable skill progression
• Should introduce basic OO vocabulary, e.g. class,
  instance, method,
• Should allow smooth transition to more
  conventional code-based development environment
  (BlueJ)

7
Assessment Objectives

• Should allow assessment that was consonant with
  the above framework
• Should facilitate open-ended, divergent
  assessment
• Students should be able to negotiate aspects of
  assessment
• Should reduce the assessment burden
• Portfolio-based, from weekly lab exercises
• Group Project

8
Alice 2.0

• Microworld-type environment developed by Carnegie
  Mellon University
• Users create objects in a virtual 3D world
• Code assembled using mouse to select program
  building blocks
• Then drag-and-drop them into place
• Prevents students from making syntax errors.

Textbook by W. Dann, S. Cooper, R. Pausch Also
work by C. Kelleher R. Pausch Ideas on metaphor
9
Alice 2.0

• Facilitates a change of programming metaphor from
  algorithmic execution to that of storytelling and
  control
• Scenarios and storyboards
• Program run as an animation
• provides immediate feedback.
• straightforward to see the impact of a
  programming statement.
• And its FREE!!!

10
Advantages of Alice 2.0

• 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
• Alice is highly motivating for students
• Provided free (open source) by Carnegie Mellon
• Runs on

11
Creating a new world

• Create a new world
• File ? New
• Choose template

12
Techniques and Tools

• Mouse is used to
• approximately position objects in the scene
• Camera Navigation is used to
• set the camera point of view
• Drop-down menu methods are used to
• resize objects
• more precisely position objects in the scene
• Quadview is used to
• position one object relative to another object

13
Objects

• An "object" is
• any thing that can be identified as unique
  from other things
• How is an object unique?
• has a name
• has properties
• width, height, colour, location
• can perform actions (methods)
• associated actions it can perform
• tasks it can carry out

14
Objects are more real
15
Three Basic Activities in Alice

• 1. Scene layout 2. Editing programs
• 3. Running programs

16
Tutorials in-built
17
(No Transcript)
18
The Work Area
19
Objects

• Objects come equipped with
• Standard Properties
• colour, opacity, vehicle, texture,
• Standard Methods
• move, turn, roll, resize, say, think, play
  sound, move to/toward/away from, orient to, turn
  to face,
• Standard Functions
• Proximity functions, size, spatial relations,
  point of view,
• User can create own functions, variables,
  methods, for objects
• Inheritance (sort of!)

20
Adding Objects
21
Program Blocks

• Alice has Program Action blocks
• Do In Order sequential execution
• Do Together concurrent execution
• If/Else selection control structure
• Loop definite loops
• While indefinite loops
• For All In Order sequential iteration through
  list/array
• For All Together concurrent iteration through
  list/array
• Wait delays execution
• Print text output
• // comments

22
Design and Implementation

• Stages
• The Scenario
• The Storyboard of Scenes Subscenes
• graphical
• textual
• Stepwise refinement to pseudocode
• Implementation (code assembly)
• Testing
• running the animation
• checking appropriate interactivity

23
The Assessment

• Portfolio
• Group Project
• Based on a user-specified story e.g. adaptation
  of a film, music video, computer game, fairytale
  or own story.
• Assessment specified each individual scene had to
  contain
• Separate sub-scenes,
• A user-created class
• At least 2 user-created methods
• At least 1 user-created function
• Variables, parameter passing, and keyboard- or
  mouse-driven interactions,

24
Evaluation

• Much greater student engagement
• Storytelling metaphor did indeed resonate with
  students more than the more formal idea of an
  algorithm
• Clear development of proficiency over semester
• Students did more design prior to coding
• (though still not enough!)
• Evidence of testing
• Introduced to OO vocabulary and limited
  application

25
But

• By the end of the module, students were operating
  at limits of software operation
• Software bugs
• Concurrency slowdown
• Transition to semester 2 Java-based IDE (BlueJ)
  has been challenging.
• Students seemed to cope well with syntax
  requirements
• Problems with the Alice object model
• Alice is Prototype-based Language rather than OO
  Language
• Leads to some confusion about OO concepts

26
Conclusions

• Good engaging, empowering experience for
  students
• Positive end-of-module feedback from Students
• Higher module pass rate
• Especially good for at-risk students
• Basic understanding of storytelling metaphor by
  students
• Lack of code-writing facility problematic
• Still run up against the algorithm problem in
  follow-up module.
• The Alice trial has been successful but further
  work needs to be done on the transition to
  (BlueJ) Java

27
Future Development

• Integrated Foundation year
• Group work
• Supplementary work in other modules to support
  programming module
• More managed control of group project/portfolio
• Preparation for new version of Alice
• due January 2008?
• Develop link to BlueJ

28
Look more closely at the java codeAlice code
Java code
29
Alice 3.0 Sims

• Being developed by Electronic Arts and Carnegie
  Mellon University
• Based on Sims characters

30
(No Transcript)