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Introduction to Programming: Java was involved in two projects. The beta test of Alice3 and Mr. Tom Lawuer’s PhD study for the CMU Robotics department.
Beta Testing Begins About three dozen educators from high
schools, colleges and universities around the country and abroad are attending a two-day workshop to learn how to use the beta version of Alice 3.
Spring 2009
The students had the opportunity to turn in a bug and if first to discover it were to be given $25.00 bounty to be paid by CMU’s Alice3 team. That helped the energy level of the whole reporting process.
I sent the reports directly to Wanda Dann CMU’s Director of the Alice team. That was great while it lasted as I got answers to all the questions or a reply that she would send the issues raised to an author of the object that was not in compliance with Alice3 in order to make the necessary alterations. Usually the problem was with one of the 3D characters “freezing” causing an Alice3 bug.
A BUG: The CMU Auto Bug reporter did not work (at first)
Another study in the Java class involved the use/non-use of robots in the classroom to aid students in learning how to program.
(Finch robots look like speed racer car bodies.)
My class served as a base of what a programming class without the use of robots will do. The purpose of the study is to log retention rates in classes with and without robots
The students worked on their Alice3 programs finding and reporting a few bugs. Overall I feel they had success learning the basic programming concepts with Alice3. Later when the change to Java occurred they had enough prior knowledge and their Java assignments seemed easier. Not easy but Alice3 provided a good entry with a lot of visual cues for the students. That is one of the purposes of using Alice.
Textbooks and Materials An Introduction to Programming with Java
Applets 3rd Edition by Boese pub. Jones and Bartlet
ISBN 978-0-7637-5460-0 Learning to Program with Alice (brief Ed.)
Electronic version paperback (currently out of print) Publisher
suggests a custom printing of any chapters desired
Help keep in touch with others interested in Alice
Latest developments OSBA was mentioned in an earlier edition of
Alice News on line sent to email addresses Highly recommended
WIKIs and Alice Newsletters
