You can find out more about the Alice system for learning how to write computer programs at www.alice.org/ (Stage3 Research Group, Carnegie Mellon University).

For information about Tech Camp 101, including movies created by middle school students using Alice, go to www.mines.edu/research/k12-partnership/camp04/index.html (Colorado School of Mines).

For Teachers:

To learn more about the NSF-funded GK-12 learning partnership that included use of Alice with middle school students, go to www.mines.edu/research/k12-partnership/ (Colorado School of Mines).

Books:

Learning to Program with Alice—Wanda P. Dan, Stephen Cooper, and Randy Pausch. Published by Prentice Hall, 2005. This book and the associated Alice software take an innovative approach to introductory computer programming. Alice lets you be the director of a movie or the creator of a video game, where 3D objects in an on-screen virtual world move around according to the directions you give them. The goal is to allow traditional programming concepts to be more easily taught and more readily understood.

computer science The study of the design and use of computers, especially in science, business, and the arts.

program 1. The set of instructions that a computer needs to solve a problem or do a task. Programs direct the computer to collect and process data and to display results. 2. To provide a computer with a program.

software The computer programs that control the way a computer works. The programs that allow people to write documents on a computer or play video games are software.

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