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

“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 curriculum
The 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

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

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!

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

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