Kendra Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 What does my 9th grader need to begin? There are several available texts-- does he need any of them? If so, which one/s? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne/Ankara Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 We've heard about Alice quite a bit locally (I think because it comes from CMU) but I haven't used it myself-- unfortunately we haven't done any programming yet! But I hear it is interesting, from those kids who have done workshops with it. Is it very girlish? Just wondering, since it is my ds that needs the programming curriculum... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendra Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 Have you watched the little promo video on their site? I didn't get the impression it was particularly girlie. Watch it and let me know what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne/Ankara Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Thanks, Kendra, I did watch the video. Looks interesting! Of course, Randy Pausch is the CMU professor who did that outstanding "last lecture" recently, after discovering he had a terrible form of cancer. Remarkable fellow. I will check it out more in detail. Have you downloaded the software? Looks easy to use... And, although it seemed to have been aimed at girls, I'm sure boys could find useful things about it. Let us know how you like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I didn't see this when it was posted, but I want to say that this program is a lot of fun to just play with even. And there is an online text/course so the book isn't absolutely necessary. I started with the Storytelling Alice first but that probably wasn't absolutely necessary. I just thought I'd start off simple. My daughter, within an hour of us just exploring it made a video of Moses leading the people out from Pharoah's control. SHe enjoyed drowning the Pharoah in the "red sea." LOL But it was simple for her to do a small multi-scene program. :) My son did a few things with it also as did I. We really enjoy it. My daughter is probably the only one going to, right now, go through the curriculum (the free one online though if she wants the text later, I'd gladly get it for her). HTHs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 I have a boy that sounds like he would love this. Where is the site. I googled but just got a discussion of it, not an actual class. Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Christine, The main website is at http://www.alice.org You can get all the information about the program, download it, etc there. Also, you can go to the teacher's area (will have to write for password though) and check out the textbooks also (I got more information from the publisher website). This is one of the syllabi posted on the web. There are others. http://www.dickbaldwin.com/tocalice.htm Edit: Just a clarification. The syllabus is for the original Alice program. If you're going to play with it first, you might download the Storytelling Alice first. It's SUPER easy to get the hang of. Hope that helps. (don't tell anyone, but I'm having a ball playing with it!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendra Posted March 29, 2008 Author Share Posted March 29, 2008 Very helpful, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted March 29, 2008 Share Posted March 29, 2008 Christine, Edit: Just a clarification. The syllabus is for the original Alice program. If you're going to play with it first, you might download the Storytelling Alice first. It's SUPER easy to get the hang of. Hope that helps. (don't tell anyone, but I'm having a ball playing with it!) Thank you SO much. I think my son will love this. Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Here's a copy of an email I received from Dick Baldwin when I asked him about whether his tutorial would be appropriate for a 9th grade homeschooled student who wants to learn Java: "Alice would be a good place for him to start. He won't learn any Java with Alice, but it is very engaging and he will learn a lot about programming fundamentals. At the same time, he may want to take a look at http://scratch.mit.edu/ Scratch is a little easier than Java, is better supported, and has a forum that may be more appropriate for someone his age. Both Alice and Scratch provide an environment that is more engaging and more likely to maintain his interest than Java. Frankly, Java can be pretty dry and boring until you get to the advanced level. I recommend that you work on Alice and Scratch right along with him. After he is comfortable with Alice and Scratch, he can move on to Java at http://www.dickbaldwin.com/tocint.htm ." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllSmiles Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 I just downloaded this program for my kids. We haven't used it yet, but it looks very interesting. I have a couple of questions. 1. Where can I find the online text/course? 2. Was it fairly easy to get acess to the teacher's materials? Thanks :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Ok, I have nothing really to add to this thread...except that the subject line caught my eye. You're all welcome to use me for computer science...but I doubt I'll be much help. :lol: Hopefully, someone else will find this as amusing as I do. Maybe this is a sign I should go do something more productive with my afternoon. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Here's the url for Learn to Program Using Alice: http://www.dickbaldwin.com/tocalice.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendra Posted April 20, 2008 Author Share Posted April 20, 2008 Thanks for this! Very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Here is the link to my daughter's first try. She still has some work to do on it. Let me say that it is not completely historically accurate. LOL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35e9K5JIExk Here is my first try: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXDNJjfzPIQ You may need to use the full screen option to read the words but that will make it blurrier also. I just need to use a bigger font. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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