This research has two thrusts of teaching object oriented programming to very young audiences and of increasing student excitement about computing applications with the long-term goal of increasing involvement in technology classes, in the use of computer applications and interest in technology careers. The goal of this work was to provide challenging interactive activities for young students that integrate their courses with computer technology. The authors utilize game development and interactive storytelling as a motivator for introductory programming training. The authors identified that many of their young second through fifth grade students showed much promise and ingenuity in programming when using visual programming environments. The hypothesis of the study was that the young students would fare as well as introductory college students when completing introductory programming tasks. The environment utilized for this experiment was Alice 3D and the authors hope was that the youngsters would perform at levels complimentary to those of the college students to illustrate that there is no age limit on ingenuity, when the proper training and tools are provided. This work discusses the outcome of a college introductory assignment that would be given to both elementary school and college students enrolled in an introductory computer science course.

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Computer Gaming At Every Age: A Comparative Evaluation Of Alice

Cheryl Seals*, Yolanda Mcmillian**, Kenneth Rouse***, Ravikant Agarwal****, Andrea Williams Johnson*****, Juan E.Gilbert******, Richard Chapman*******
*Associate Professor, Computer Science and Software Engineering Department, Auburn University.
**Doctoral Student, Computer Science and Software Engineering Department, Auburn University.
***Assistant Professor, Computer Science, Hope College.
****T-Sys Distinguished Professor, Human Centered Computing Lab, Computer Science and Software Engineering, Auburn University.
Periodicity:October - December'2008
DOI : https://doi.org/10.26634/jet.5.3.503

Abstract

This research has two thrusts of teaching object oriented programming to very young audiences and of increasing student excitement about computing applications with the long-term goal of increasing involvement in technology classes, in the use of computer applications and interest in technology careers. The goal of this work was to provide challenging interactive activities for young students that integrate their courses with computer technology. The authors utilize game development and interactive storytelling as a motivator for introductory programming training. The authors identified that many of their young second through fifth grade students showed much promise and ingenuity in programming when using visual programming environments. The hypothesis of the study was that the young students would fare as well as introductory college students when completing introductory programming tasks. The environment utilized for this experiment was Alice 3D and the authors hope was that the youngsters would perform at levels complimentary to those of the college students to illustrate that there is no age limit on ingenuity, when the proper training and tools are provided. This work discusses the outcome of a college introductory assignment that would be given to both elementary school and college students enrolled in an introductory computer science course.

Keywords

Object Oriented Programming, Technology Careers.

How to Cite this Article?

Cheryl Seals, Yolanda Mcmillian, Kenneth Rouse, Ravikant Agarwal, Andrea Williams Johnson, Juan E. Gilbert and Richard Chapman (2008 Computer Gaming At Every Age: A Comparative Evaluation of Alice. i-manager’s Journal of Educational Technology, 5(3), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.26634/jet.5.3.503

References

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