“Teaching object-oriented programming in primary education. The case of the

Alice programming environment”

Sotiroudas Basileios1, Garitsis Ioannis2, Koundouros Markos2

1 Teacher of Informatics, Med (AdultEd)2 Teacher in primary education, Mhs (HealthSc)3 Teacher of Informatics, Msc (CompSc)

Who, Where, When

•Pupils of the 6th class•30th Primary School of Thessaloniki•School Year: 2013-2014

Integration into the curriculumThe present educational application developed:1.As part of the Cross-Thematic Integrated Curriculum Framework (C.T.I.C.F) for the Information Technology and 2.As part of the curriculum concerning the new teaching objects inserted in the all-day operating primary schools that operate according to the Uniform Restated Educational Program (U.R.E.P.) (FEK 1139/2010) and, in particular, on the topic of “Programming the Computer" for which, according to the curriculum, a total of 12 teaching hours is recommended

However ...

•Due to the lack of prior experience of the pupils of the 6th class in the concept of “programming the computer”-pupils do not encounter the concept of programming in the preceding classes- the 12 dedicated teaching hours proved to be few, as the corresponding theory along with the complete implementation of the application lasted a total of twice as many

Objective

Introduction to object-oriented programming and to the basic algorithmic

structures

Main Targets

•In terms of knowledge:To recognise the key features of a programming environment

•In terms of skills:To use basic algorithmic structures for solving problems

•In terms of attitudes:To develop a positive attitude to programming

The dilemma:

Structured or Object Oriented

Programming;

What we have 1/4•Try teaching the concept of programming

to beginners at all the levels of education presents several difficulties and misconceptions

•The object-oriented design is more abstract than the technique of structured programming, requires new ways of thinking and is more demanding in terms of the processes of analysis and design

What we have 2/4

•The development of programs using object-oriented languages is even more difficult for beginners On the other hand, however ... In the last decade, the introduction to the concept of programming is performed primarily using the object-oriented programming model

What we have 3/4•For the pupils of primary school, it should

be seriously taken under consideration not only the abilities of programming tools but also the “virtual world” programming-which should be picturesque and, if possible, three-dimensional -and its playful characteristics, because it activates the maximum possible degree of pupils’ interest and induces their motivation to participate

What we have 4/4

•Object-oriented programming is one approach that allows us to reach high levels of abstraction, reducing in this way the complexity of the problems we have to solve

Alternative Options

Our selection

The “Alice” programming environment http://www.alice.org

Tool’s Characteristics

•Ability of creating animated cartoons via drag and drop

•Using drag and drop eliminates the appearance of syntactic errors

•Tackling with logical errors is performed at each stage of the development, as pupils can immediately see the result of their actions during the running of the program on the screen of the virtual world

Tool’s Characteristics•3-dimensional virtual world•Given its particular characteristics, it

activates the pupils’ interest and causes the motivation for participation to such an extent, as in the case with video games or animated films

•Open Source Software•Pupils can upload the application they are

developing in the form of video directly to YouTube or save the application in the form of independent video file on their computer

Furthermore …

•The instructions for the objects’ behaviors meet the standards of other programming languages like Java, C + + or C #

•By manipulating the objects in the virtual world, pupils can gain experience with all the programming structures commonly taught in an introductory programming course

The application

•The application takes place on the seabed and concerns three fish, try to eat one another. The application is available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZQRSJH3P-w&feature=c4-overview&list=UU9_Vbcip3rQw_bAyMeGnovA

The application

Key features of the application

•The objects’ movement•The display of messages on the screen•The use of variables•The use of procedures•The use of the structure of sequence and •The use of the structure of repetition

Implementation stages

•The course of the educational process followed by briefly the following stages:

•Introduction to Classes and Objects•Basic actions of the objects•Using Variables•Using the sequence structure•Using the repetition structure•Using Procedures and Functions

Methodology of Observation

•As for the methodology of observation-given the physical presence and participation of the teacher-the systematic covert observation of both verbal and non-verbal behaviors and reactions of subjects in the observation was selected, estimating that if the learners were aware that they were subject of the observation, this would alter the final results

Remarks - Conclusions• The pupils were activated right from the first

lessons• The incentive for participation was increased

due to the new capabilities they had learned that led them to the ability of moving the objects in the game they were developing

• The pupils encountered significant problems in understanding the structure of repetition and the use of processes, which occurred with the posing of a large number of queries and questions

Remarks - Conclusions

•The concepts of classes, objects and inheritance initially frightened students

•The friendly user interface, the depiction in 3 dimensions and the playful characteristics of the programming environment had a catalytic effect on participation of all the pupils’ working groups, regardless of their sex

Remarks

•All groups of pupils handed the final product, others with less and others with more errors

In conclusion...

•The practical use of the “Alice” programming environment in the teaching of object-oriented programming to the pupils of the 6th class of primary school can contribute to the development of their algorithmic thinking

•Pupils are also able to have a first contact with the basic principles of programming through a friendly environment, well equipped with playful characteristics

This latter feature is of particular importance especially for the younger pupils, so the first contact they would have with programming would be attractive and interesting

Thanks very much for your attention!