alice-teacher Teaching Alice Online

Thu Jul 14 20:40:07 EDT 2011

I've taught Alice online for a few years.  I have taught a CS0 type class called Fundamentals of Programming (for non-CIT majors and weak CIT majors) which uses Alice 2.2 for the full semester and a CS1 type class called Java Programming (first course in programming for CIT majors) which uses Alice 3 Beta to introduce various Java programming concepts.  I have enjoyed teaching both classes online.  Here are some ideas for you:

1.  For the CS0 type class, we use the Wanda Dann text "Learning to Program with Alice <http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Program-Alice-ROM-3rd/dp/0132122472/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310683921&sr=8-1> ".  I highly recommend this text because it is excellent and students seem to understand the chapters.  For the CS1 class, I use my own handouts/chapters which integrate Alice into Java chapters.  For both courses, I use lots of supplements.

2.  Online students may have a variety of issues with installation of Alice software.  I have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) discussion board for some known installation problems.  Since online students will have various computer systems with a variety of operating systems, memory, and graphics capabilities, this will become their first stop in searching for a solution to their installation problem.  Be prepared during first week for emails from students with installation problems with either Alice 2.2 or Alice 3 Beta.

3.  I use a "Hall of Fame" board on my course site.  Each week, I post the best 2-3 programming assignments that students submitted.  It helps students develop a sense of pride for their work and also challenges some of them to do "extra" work to earn a place on the board.  Even the students who never make the Hall of Fame board enjoy seeing other students' work.

4.  I have a discussion board thread for each assignment where I post extra explanations of assignments, hints, and common mistakes along with explanations.  Students can also post their questions to this board.  Although students can email me directly with any questions that they have about assignments, this gives them a place to check first and decreases the number of emails that I receive regarding assignments.

5.  Recently, I have begun requiring that students submit the actual programs completed in the chapters.  Online students sometimes skim chapters or don't even buy the text if they feel they can get by without it.  Requiring them to submit the work from inside the chapters, forces them to read the book and do the programs.   After requiring online students do all the hands-on assignments from inside chapters (in addition to the programs assigned at end of chapters), I saw improvement in grades, improvement in students understanding programming concepts, and improvement in retention. The downside of this is the overwhelming amount of work for the teacher in "checking" all of these programs.

6.  I give lots of assignments for each chapter instead of just one.  The practice seems to help students understand the material.  Again, the downside is the extra work for the teacher.

7.  Throughout the semester, I give several "creative" projects where they choose their own scenes, storyboards, programs, etc.  The guidelines are very broad so that students must show their creative side.  To complete their projects, many students will read ahead and do extra work so that they can complete their game or greeting card project.

8.  You may want to develop some short videos of concepts that have confused your students.  For instance, functions are always a difficult concept for my CS0 students.  Another possibility is to record all your Alice face-to-face class lectures/demonstrations and post them for your online students.    

9.  Since online students will probably have some installation problems, you may want to give online students a little extra time in first week for this problem.  This way, face-to-face students will always be a little ahead of the online students and that way you can test all your lectures, demos, and assignments with a controlled face-to-face environment and then "tweak" them for the online students.

Hope this helps!

Eileen Wrigley, Professor
Computer Information Technology
CCAC - South Campus
1750 Clairton Road
West Mifflin, PA  15122
412.469.6341

________________________________

From: alice-teachers-bounces+ewrigley=ccac.edu at lists.andrew.cmu.edu on behalf of Rikki Fletcher
Sent: Wed 7/13/2011 2:43 PM
To: Alice educators
Subject: Re: alice-teacher Teaching Alice Online

I've taught intro to programming with Alice face2face.  I've taught some
Java online.  I can't give you specifics for Alice, but the Java students
needed a lot visual tutorials (they were non-majors).

> Hi All,
>
> I'm a newbie to this list so apologies if this has been addressed in the
> past. I'm teaching two sections of an Intro to Programming course this
> fall using Alice. One section face2face, the other online (first time
> for both).  Does anyone have any experience with teaching Alice online
> and if so any advice would be greatly appreciated!
>
>
>
> Neil
>
>
>
> Neil J. Rigole, Ph.D.
>
> Assistant Professor, School of Information Technology
>
> Director of Distance Education
>
> Professional Sciences & Conference Center - Room 310
>
> 478-757-3661
>
> Academic Affairs - Room A-118
>
> 478-471-2730
>
> Macon State College
>
> 100 College Station Drive
>
> Macon, GA 31206
>
>
>
> neil.rigole at maconstate.edu <mailto:neil.rigole at maconstate.edu>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> alice-teachers mailing list
> alice-teachers at lists.andrew.cmu.edu
> https://lists.andrew.cmu.edu/mailman/listinfo/alice-teachers
>

_______________________________________________
alice-teachers mailing list
alice-teachers at lists.andrew.cmu.edu
https://lists.andrew.cmu.edu/mailman/listinfo/alice-teachers

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/ms-tnef
Size: 8728 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : https://lists.andrew.cmu.edu/mailman/private/alice-teachers/attachments/20110714/9cd483ba/attachment.bin 