By Caitlin Kelleher and Randy Pausch - Presented By
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by Caitlin Kelleher and Randy Pausch Presented By: Tom Watkins Tim Shepperson Tim Mutlow
Agenda Background Introduction to Alice Demonstration Further Analysis Alternatives Conclusions
Motivation Enrolment in Computer Science courses declining rapidly Significant gender imbalance Introductory steps of programming are seen to be uninspiring Growing interest in many applications of CS
Course Enrolment Student interest in Computer Science is falling 2000-2005, number of new students in US dropped by 70% Similar trend in UK Source: Vegso, J. Drop in CS bachelor's degree production. Computing Research News 18, 2 (Mar. 2006),
UCAS Applications for Computer Science 25000 20000 15000 Male 10000 Female 5000 0 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 Year of Entry Source: UCAS Online Statistics
Gender Imbalance 84.9% of US Computer Science degrees were awarded to men Self-fulfilling prophecy: ‘Programming is not for women’ Source: Zweben, S. Ph.D. Undergraduate enrollments again drop significantly. Computing Research News 18, 3 (May 2006)
Female Applicants 100% 80% 60% Male 40% Female 20% 0% 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 Source: UCAS Online Statistics
Introduction to Programming First exposure to programming is often uninspiring ‘Hello World’ List sorting Essential basis, but not as fun as a 3D shoot ‘em up (or a nice story about Alice)
Applications of CS Exponentially increasing use of technology Interest in using technology does not always translate to interest in underlying principles Top down approach: programming -> applications vs applications -> programming
Computer Games Many teenagers have a keen interest in gaming Statistics on proportion of female gamers range from 8 to 43% Sources: www.ziffdavis.com/products/print/egm and www.theesa.com/files/2005EssentialFacts. pdf
What Women Want Middle school girls surveyed: Very little interest in programming Prospect of making animated movies much more appealing Paper details attempt to motivate this demographic to learn basic programming though storytelling
Meet Alice Allows programmers to create 3D worlds intuitively Programs are animations Construct programs by dragging/dropping code Includes most programming concepts Loops, conditionals, methods, parameters, variables, arrays & recursion Freely available
Alice
Storytelling Alice Improvements over Alice: High-level animations & multiple scenes Enable better programs and motivate users to use programming constructs Library of 3D characters & scenery Helps inspire stories Story based tutorial through “Stencils” Substantially richer, detailed tutorials
Alice Tutorial
Programming Concepts in Alice Natural way to introduce Object Oriented Programming Characters are objects with attributes & methods Multiple scenes provide motivation for using method Users wanted to work on current scene without watching whole story Gestures & actions often require naturally motivated loops Waving a hand, flapping wings, bouncing a basketball
Classroom A US education committee identified 5 basic programming topics: Variables, data types and representation of data Managing complexity through top-down and object- oriented design Procedures and parameters Sequences, conditionals and loops Tools for expressing design Taken from "Using Storytelling to Motivate Programming"
Test Results Alice was tested on a group of girl scouts 87% of girls used multiple methods 52% of girls used parameterised methods 48% of girls used looping constructs Girls using Storytelling Alice were more motivated to program than those using standard Alice Informal testing shows similar results for boys Source: Using Storytelling to Motivate Programming
Why Does Storytelling Work? Naturally motivates the basic concepts of programming Opportunity for self expression Vision of completed story encourages perseverance Stories relate to real world issues Share achievements with friends and family Early programs usually difficult for non-programmers to appreciate, Stories can be appreciated by everyone In contrast to most computer games, stories can be shared with the whole class at once
Future of Alice Alice 3 will incorporate storytelling methodology with professionally modelled characters from The Sims 2 Alice 2.0 Alice 3.0
Criticisms of the Paper Unscientific Some core ideas based on speculation rather than survey results Only tested on a small sample of girl scouts US-centric Would benefit from an international perspective Vague conclusions
Criticisms of Alice Some inappropriate terms: Very restrictive – limited creativity Difficult to combine with a structured curriculum Could Alice build false expectations of real-world programming?
Similar Applications RAPUNSEL Very similar concept of programming a story Aimed at middle school girls Seems to have a muddled concept of OO: class raiseLeftArm extends Shirt Source: http://www.rapunsel.org
Rapunsel Source: http://www.rapunsel.org
Similar Applications LEGO Mindstorms Combines traditional Lego with motors, sensors and a programmable controller Included software allows simple programming constructs such as branching and loops but not Object- Oriented Many other options for more advanced programming Likely to appeal to boys more than girls Source: http://www.botmag.com/articles/10-31-07_NXT.shtml
Mindstorms Source: http://www.botmag.com/articles/10-31-07_NXT.shtml
Conclusion Alice makes programming easier & more accessible Storytelling Alice enabled programming to be introduced as early as 5th grade (ages 10-11) A variety of alternatives exist to foster enthusiasm for programming in children Computer Science is more than just programming!
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