Two graphical programming environments have recently gained popularity for use in teaching programming concepts (and ultimately Java) at the introductory level. This workshop will introduce both environments and discuss the strengths, weaknesses and approach that each provide.
Objectives
This workshop will:
Introduce the Alice and Greenfoot programming environments
Explore the capabilities of each environment and discuss their strengths and weaknesses
Provide the overall framework for a discussion of Alice and Greenfoot in the classroom
Discuss how each can be used in conjunction with a typical CS1-style curriculum
Present the beta version of Alice 3.0 and explore its significant changes
Intended Audience
The intended audience will be instructors of computer science who primarily teach introductory programming using Java and may be looking to augment their instruction with environments that help capture the interest of the students and lead to a more complete understanding of Object-Oriented concepts. Those practitioners considering migrating to the Java language will likely find value in the workshop.
Biography of Instructors
Dr. Pete DePasquale routinely teaches the introductory programming sequence at The College of New Jersey using Java. He is a co-author of several textbooks in this area as well as the author of the Addison Wesley Java and C++ Backpack Reference Guide series.
Dr. Mark Lewis teaches a mix of classes at Trinity University including the various courses in the introductory sequence. He has contributed SIGCSE papers on the use of games in introductory CS and is working on textbooks for the Java based courses at Trinity.
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