Question Sheet: Programming with Alice

By Science News Explores

SCIENCE

Before reading:

  1. What does a computer scientist do?

  2. Name a movie that used computer graphics to create special effects. Describe

    one such effect. See www.filmsite.org/visualeffects6.html (Tim Dirks) or entertainment.howstuffworks.com/question295.htm (How Stuff

    Works).

During reading:

  1. Name four different places where you can see the work of a computer

    programmer.

  2. In what ways does Caitlin Kelleher use the interactive computer program

    called Alice?

  3. How do you create a simple animated movie using Alice software?

  4. What makes computer programming frustrating for many beginners?

  5. Where is Alice being used?

  6. When used in college, how did Alice affect a student’s interest in computer

    science? What effect did it have on grades?

After reading:

  1. Why do you think there are fewer U.S. students majoring in computer science now than there were 5 years ago? Why do so few women appear to be interested in studying computer science? To learn more about women in computer science, go to www.sdsc.edu/CRAW/intro.html (Computing Resource Association).

  2. Compare Alice with other educational games or programs. How is Alice similar

    to and different from programs such as typing tutorials or math drill programs?

  3. What is computer science? How is it different from computer programming or software engineering?

  4. Do you think that using the program Alice would increase your interest in computer programming and computer science? Why or why not?

  5. In what ways might writing a computer program be like creating a work of art?

  6. In what ways are computers used to create special effects in movies? See entertainment.howstuffworks.com/question295.htm (How Stuff Works).

SOCIAL STUDIES

Who was Charles L. Dodgson? By what other name is Dodgson known? When and where did he live? For what is he most famous? See www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Dodgson.html (University of St Andrews).

LANGUAGE ARTS

  1. Write a short story that you think would work well as an animated movie.

    Then describe, scene by scene, what would appear on the screen.

  2. Write a persuasive letter to the principal of your school explaining why the

    school should have Alice software. Who would benefit? How might it be used?

MATHEMATICS

What is the smallest number divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6?