Student Testimonial

I could talk all day about how great Alice is but I think the message is stronger coming from students. The students filmed each other using a flip camera. Look for more testimonials in upcoming blogs.

FYI: Parents signed release forms allowing their children to tell you how much they like Alice.

Alice- the Free, Fun, and Easy Way to Introduce Students to Programming

The description in the 2008 NCAECT (NC Association of Educational Communication and Technology) Conference program will read:
Alice is a FREE animation/programming software program donated by Carnegie Mellon University. It encourages students especially girls and minorities to learn programming in a fun way. They create animation and/or video games as they learn concepts. Studies show students using Alice continue and succeed in future programming classes. http://alice.org/. Please bring your lap top for a more interactive experience.

FAQs about the Presentation

1. Do I need to know anything about programming?
No. You do "not" need to know anything about programming to come to the presentation. The program was originally created for at-risk students and is very easy to learn. We are purposefully "not" going to use a lot of programming "jargon" during the presentation to make it accessible (and less intimidating) for everyone. So when we say look at this "dragon object" non-programmers will know we are talking about the dragon and programmers will know that the dragon is an "object" in programming lingo.

2. Do I need to bring a laptop?
No. You do "not" need to bring a laptop but it would be more fun if you did. Part of the presentation is walking the audience through a demo where they make a dragon fly. If you do not have a laptop you would have to be a more passive observer.

3. Is the software truly FREE?
Yes. Carnegie Mellon University has donated this software so more students will get excited about computer programming. It even comes with free tutorials. Of course, there are several excellent textbooks you can purchase that would assist you and your class if you choose to teach this class/activity at your school. Prentice Hall has donated 4 textbooks worth over $200 to give away as door prizes.

4. What grade level is Alice geared toward?
The great thing about Alice is that you can make it as simple or as advanced as you want to make it. I use Alice as an after school activity for my middle school students. Alice is also taught in high school and at Universities.

5. How can I find out more about Alice?
You can look at the Alice site at http://alice.org/. If you have questions wou can email me at ewitkowski@randolph.k12.nc.us or you can read my Learn Alice blog at http://learnalice.blogspot.com/

6. What kind of information will be on the Learn Alice blog?
We plan to make the presentation fun and easy so a lot of the "data" and other interesting educational pedagogy facts and discussions will be discussed on the blog. Think of it like the commentary on a dvd. You really do not need to know the behind the scene facts to enjoy the movie, but once you see the movie you may want to know more about it.

The current post on the Learn Alice blog is "Are we leaving our gifted students behind?" Your insight and comments are welcome. See you at the conference, Elaine Witkowski