This presentation will describe the use of program visualization for the purpose of teaching and learning fundamental concepts of object oriented programming and animation. Results of an NSF-sponsored research studies will be presented. The study focused on the effect of this approach on retention and attitudes for high-risk students in CS1 and other courses. A demonstration of the software used in this approach (Alice, developed at Carnegie Mellon University) will be included in the presentation. The software supports development of programs for Disney/Pixar-like animations with objects in 3D virtual worlds.
Dr. Wanda Dann is Associate Professor of Computer Science at Ithaca College. Her research has encompassed program visualization and object-oriented and event-driven programming. She has served as an active member of the ITiCSE Visualization Working Group, studying the effectiveness of visualization in computer science education. Her publications on the use of program visualization in computer science education include papers for SIGCSE, ITiCSE, and the Computer Science Education Journal. She is the lead author of Learning to Program with Alice, published by Prentice Hall, 2005.
Colloquia Series page.