Post By Stephanie Croce (August 2016)
Welcome to my second blog!
This is an overview of “Alice”, a 3D programming environment!
Alice is suitable for children aged 6+ and is downloadable to PCs and Mac computers (for free!). It is a stunning program that allows students to create a 3D animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web.
It allows students to learn fundamental programming concepts by providing them with the tools to create their own unique animated movies and simple video games. 3D objects like people, animals, and vehicles populate a virtual world and students “write” a program to animate the objects, telling them what to do or say. See a video sample of this below!
NB: This is an older video, and the intro states that Alice is only available for PC. This is no longer the case, as Alice is available for PC, Mac and Linux.
Students are highly motivated by 3D worlds and are driven to learn programming skills to improve and create their own more advanced worlds. Alice is simple to use and there are many video tutorials online that can be used in the classroom to introduce the program and to help you teach how to use it.
It is an ideal program to use when introducing coding and computational thinking from Foundation to Year Six as it is differentiated. Students can work at their own pace and level of ability and their work can be saved and shared for assessment purposes.
The app will provide students with the opportunity to:
• Experiment with writing direct instructions
• Gain understanding of coding
• Develop sequencing skills
• Advance logical thinking
• Become familiar with patterning
• Gain appropriate programming and coding language
• Be creative with digital technologies
How to Use the Resource:
Discuss with students the possible careers in computer programming, the importance of understanding each step of the coding process and how the program can teach them this. Allow the students to explore and gain an understanding of the program whilst also providing structured learning experiences.
The use of Alice could be linked directly to a chosen learning area by providing the students with a brief for their final assessment. For example; students should create a 2 minute 3D video with characters and setting that show their understanding of a healthy lifestyle (linking to Health &PE).
The app can be used:
- As an introductory activity to the programming/coding unit
- As a consolidating task during the unit
- As an extension task for early finishers or PEAC students
- As a formative/summative assessment product
Curriculum Information:
Subject: Digital Technologies
Year Level: F-6
Strand:
• Knowledge and Understanding
• Digital Technologies Processes and Production Skills
Sub strand:
• Foundation to Year Two:
Recognise and explore patterns in data and represent data as pictures, symbols and diagrams (ACTDIK002).
Follow, describe and represent a sequence of steps and decisions (algorithms) needed to solve simple problems (ACTDIP004)
Work with others to create and organise ideas and information using information systems, and share these with known people in safe online environments (ACTDIP006)
• Years Three to Four:
Explore and use a range of digital systems with peripheral devices for different purposes, and transmit different types of data (ACTDIK007)
Define simple problems, and describe and follow a sequence of steps and decisions (algorithms) needed to solve them (ACTDIP010)
View additional details about Literacy View additional details about Numeracy View additional details about Information and communication technology capability View additional details about Critical and creative thinking
Implement simple digital solutions as visual programs with algorithms involving branching (decisions) and user input (ACTDIP011)
• Years Five to Six:
Investigate the main components of common digital systems, their basic functions and interactions, and how such digital systems may connect together to form networks to transmit data (ACTDIK014)
Manage the creation and communication of ideas and information including online collaborative projects, applying agreed ethical, social and technical protocols (ACTDIP022)
Cross Curriculum Priorities & General Capabilities:
• Critical and creative thinking (CCT),
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT),
• Numeracy
Links to Other Learning Areas:
• Mathematics – Recognise and use Patterns and Relationships
Download From The Alice Website: http://www.alice.org/index.php?page=downloads/download_alice3.1
