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Nifty Alice Teaching Ideas . Joyce Tang Thomas Russell Middle School Milpitas, California. Classroom Setting. Hands-off! Watch where the mouse is going, and what it is doing! All minds engaged! Don’t take note, just watch!. Techniques Teaching Sequence (10min each day!). Day 1
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Nifty Alice Teaching Ideas Joyce Tang Thomas Russell Middle School Milpitas, California
Classroom Setting • Hands-off! • Watch where the mouse is going, and what it is doing! • All minds engaged! • Don’t take note, just watch!
Techniques Teaching Sequence (10min each day!) • Day 1 • add/remove/resize objects • Coding animation • on “yellow screen” • Do together, loop Day 3 Dummy cameras, events (the need to) write new methods Day 2 opacity, set-vehicle “right click” importing sound
Analogy to a Book http://blumamasart.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/mousebookmark1.jpg http://www.bennettprops.com/_imgprod/buchtest.png http://frtim.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/open_book.jpg
Idea 1: “Bookmarks” BEFORE. . . 1 bookmark only. . .
AFTER. . . 4 “bookmarks”!
Idea 2: Methods = Chapters Only 1 original method!
New methods created! Messy and bulky!
Idea 3: “Table of Content” Messy and bulky!
Calling new methods! 2 lines of code! 4 new methods created!
California 8th Grade Science • Physics • Newton’s Laws • Forces and Motion • Chemistry • Astronomy http://uacoe.arizona.edu/wren/images/ca_state.jpg
Rube Goldberg Machine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWk9N92-wvg
Virtual Rube Goldberg Machines: Strengths • Every conceivable idea is doable and possible • Zero cost, zero waste! • Overcoming space constraints • Trial and error and debugging—a great problem solving skill
Virtual Rube Goldberg Machines: Limitations • Ideas revolved around Alice objects only • Demonstrate lack of real physical understanding of matter and motion. • Hands-on vs. virtual experience, which one is more “real”?
Thoughts From Students "I am really beginning to understand how to use this program now. I am able to make things work at the click of a mouse. It is incredibly rewarding!” At the end of the 5th hour "Today I was very successful! I finally got the camera to move! My project is turning out pretty good!” at the end of the 6th hour "I don't find ALICE that educational for students, but it is entertaining“ At the end of the 1st hour "I got to design my program how I wanted. I got all the codes broken down. Everything seems easier.“ at the end of the 3rd hour " [Alice] is hard though to get it exactly how you want it to be. It's very stressing.” at the end of the 6th hour "I made an airport runway into a model runway!“ At the end of the 1st hour