Alice computer-science teaching tool at the forefront of Girls’ STEM Day at MSU
Dr. Brenda Wilson, associate professor in Murray State University’s department of computer science and information systems, will present a program on the Alice computer-science teaching tool at the Oct. 21 Girls’ STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Day on campus.
Alice was created by the late Randy Pausch, a computer-science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, to entice young students into using the computer to create animated movies and games.
In the new beta version of Alice 3 computer programmers can use characters from The Sims video games that can jump, kick and dance.
Wanda Dann, director of the Alice Project at Carnegie Mellon, says Alice 3 introduces programmers to Java, displaying the computer code below its “drag and drop” feature so they can see how to make the computer animations move in other software programs.
Wilson received training on Alice at a conference at Duke University and has done a summer workshop for regional middle school and high school teachers.
She says that Alice is a great tool for teaching problem solving and logic. She hopes to take her “Alice Tea Party” on the road to girls at regional middle and high schools.
Wilson has been a member of the MSU faculty since 1995. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Harding University, her master’s in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin, and her doctorate in instructional technology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Alice was created by the late Randy Pausch, a computer-science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, to entice young students into using the computer to create animated movies and games.
In the new beta version of Alice 3 computer programmers can use characters from The Sims video games that can jump, kick and dance.
Wanda Dann, director of the Alice Project at Carnegie Mellon, says Alice 3 introduces programmers to Java, displaying the computer code below its “drag and drop” feature so they can see how to make the computer animations move in other software programs.
Wilson received training on Alice at a conference at Duke University and has done a summer workshop for regional middle school and high school teachers.
She says that Alice is a great tool for teaching problem solving and logic. She hopes to take her “Alice Tea Party” on the road to girls at regional middle and high schools.
Wilson has been a member of the MSU faculty since 1995. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Harding University, her master’s in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin, and her doctorate in instructional technology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
