NSF-funded project may enable state to lead nation in effort
OXFORD, Miss. – Some two years after her debut at the University of
Mississippi, Alice is “graduating” to elementary, middle and high
schools across the state.
Alice, an educational software that teaches computer programming in a
3-D environment, was introduced to UM students enrolled in the Survey
of Computing course in fall 2006. Soon the programming system, which
was developed at Carnegie Mellon University, became a favored course
with computer science majors and nonmajors alike.
The program’s success at UM has led to Mississippi being one of six
states to benefit from a National Science Foundation grant for three
weeklong workshops to train 22 public and private school teachers
statewide to use the program.
This speaks well for the state, which comes up last on many lists, said
Mary Wroten, science specialist at the Mississippi Department of
Education. Wroten visited the first workshop last week (June 9-13) at
UM.
“I’m so pleased to be able to observe teachers from various grades and
disciplines already using the Alice program after only three days of
training,” Wroten said. “Mississippi lags behind other states in many
areas; however, it has been selected as one of only six states in the
NSF grant to offer professional development training in Alice. This is
a wonderful way to provide experiences that enhance skills in logic,
problem solving and real world connections for our teachers and
students.”
The training prepares the teachers to implement the software program in their classrooms and for special projects at their schools this fall. The workshops, including two more scheduled in July, are made possible through a $1.3 million National Science Foundation ITEST grant (Grant No. 0809853) to Stephen Cooper at St. Joseph’s University. Cooper, associate professor of mathematics and computer science at SJU and an NSF program director, is a co-instructor for the workshops.
“This is our first effort to take Alice instruction from the college setting back to secondary and elementary schools,” Cooper said. “Hopefully, if this proves successful, Mississippi will be leading the rest of the country in incorporating Alice at this level nationwide.”
The Alice system was developed by Randy Pausch, professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon. He also co-authored the textbook Learning to Program with Alice (Prentice Hall, 2006) along with Cooper and Wanda Dann, associate professor of computer science at Ithaca College.
As was the case with UM students introduced to the programming system two years ago, workshop participants responded positively to the training.
“I’ve never worked with a group as excited as this one,” said workshop coordinator Maxine Woolsey, educational outreach specialist for the UM School of Engineering. “Discussions are lively and everyone is so enthused about what they are learning that they don’t seem to mind the daily eight hours of rigorous instruction.”
The teachers are expected to carry their enthusiasm back to their classrooms this fall to teach the program, which is ideal for intellectually astute students who may not receive the mathematical background required to major in computer science at the university level, said Pamela Lawhead, associate professor of computer and information science and an instructor for the workshops.
“Interacting with Alice’s animation and sound, users quickly become engaged in creating their own films and games; it’s learning in disguise,” Lawhead said.
Clarksdale High School telecommunications teacher Lynette Morrison said she can see Alice being useful in her Web page publishing classes. “Currently, we only use 2-dimensional animation to create our own movies for the Web page; Alice’s 3 dimensional graphics will enable us to make these films a lot more interesting.”
Participant Debra Anderson, eighth-grade computer discovery teacher at Water Valley High School, also looks forward to teaching her students what she has learned.
“When I first heard of Alice, I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Anderson said. “Since I’ve been in the training, I can see myself applying this in my classes right away. I think it eventually needs to be added to the curriculum.”
Kay Williams, a gifted education teacher at South Pike Junior High School, said, “Honestly, I was intimidated by all this initially, but the instruction has been so thorough and the textbook so practical that I am gaining confidence I can teach this when I return to my classes in the fall. My kids will love it.”
One participant also envisions the program’s impact reaching beyond the schools.
“This program can be so beneficial to our schools and in our communities,” said Alice Snow, a math teacher at MainStreet Restart Center in Hinds County. “If by exposing this to our youth, they are inspired to continue their education and pursue professional careers, then it’s worthwhile for me to attend this workshop.”
For more information about the Alice system, visit http://www.alice.org. To learn more about the Department of Computer and Information Science, visit http://www.cs.olemiss.edu/.