Check out an interview with the organizer of the congress Alice Brasil, held last month
Created in the United States by researchers at the North American University Carnegie Mellon, the Alice software has been used as a teaching tool by Brazilians, contributing to the teaching of programming to children and young people. It is a free 3D technique tool, which allows the user to learn fundamental programming concepts, create animated films and simple video games more easily.
Graphical representations of people, animals and vehicles in 3D populate a virtual world, creating an environment so that students without any previous knowledge of computing can invent animations and even share them on the web. The name Alice pays homage to the novelist Lewis Carroll, famous for the authorship of the books "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass".
The fourth edition of the Alice Brasil Congress, held at the Mackenzie Presbyterian University last month, brought together researchers, representatives of academic institutions and other national and international experts in the field, to discuss what are the advantages of using this instrument as a means of teaching.
According to Edson Barros, master in Computer Science at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, PhD in Electrical Engineering in the field of Electronic Systems at POLI-USP and organizer of the Alice Brazil Congress, the objective of the Alice software is to teach programming logic, while the user imagine you're learning to deal with virtual reality. "This is the trick hidden behind the proposal", he highlights.
Check out the interview that the specialist gave to the ABES Portal and find out how the Alice software can contribute to the training of programmers.
What are the main advantages of using Alice software as a teaching tool?
Alice software is a playful tool, very similar to a video game. It works as a magnet for a young and dynamic audience accustomed to technology and that assimilates the operation of technological novelties naturally. In this way, while the student explores the variations of the virtual world he is in fact learning the complex commands of the programming language.
Why was this congress in Brazil relevant?
For several reasons, it is important to hold the Alice Brasil Congress, initially highlighting the constant dissemination of the existence of the pedagogical proposal to the Brazilian academic environment, which is the main agent of change to be sensitized. Another interesting and extremely valid fact is related to the real opportunity to learn the news released by the people at Carnegie Mellon University and to share our findings with the community as a whole.
How does knowledge in 3D programming help in professional training and insertion in the job market?
There are several software products developed with virtual reality and this is an increasingly present trend. But Alice's main focus is on disciplining the learner in the Object Oriented Programming processes and in that sense the elements within the three-dimensional worlds are virtual objects with configurable properties, originating from a class, and when we program their movements or actions we are working with your methods. The concepts of class, objects, properties and methods are elements that are difficult to understand in the programming language, as they demand a considerable dose of abstraction from the programmer. But, when observed in a virtual world, these same concepts are natural and significantly simple to understand.
How can the student access this software?
The software can be downloaded from the Alice project website in the United States (www.alice.org), with two main versions to be found there, Alice 2 and Alice 3. One does not replace the other and both are used concurrently. On the Brazilian website www.alicebrasil.com.br there is information related to the congresses and some publications of employees in the annals. According to Professor Wanda, the project's world leader, our website is the only one to produce technical literature in Portuguese.
In order to work in 3D programming, what are the skills that the student needs to develop?
The original proposal of the Alice software was developed in Python language, with a focus on the development of virtual worlds. In this sense, the student probably needed to exercise his abstraction in understanding the Cartesian universe. In the most recent versions of the software, Cartesian rules are still present, but they are assimilated by students in an easy and playful way, something very natural. The purpose of the Alice software is to teach programming logic, while the user imagines that he is learning to deal with virtual reality. This is the trick hidden behind the proposal.
Check out the interview that the specialist gave to the ABES Portal and find out how the Alice software can contribute to the training of programmers.
What are the main advantages of using Alice software as a teaching tool?
Alice software is a playful tool, very similar to a video game. It works as a magnet for a young and dynamic audience accustomed to technology and that assimilates the operation of technological novelties naturally. In this way, while the student explores the variations of the virtual world he is in fact learning the complex commands of the programming language.
Why was this congress in Brazil relevant?
For several reasons, it is important to hold the Alice Brasil Congress, initially highlighting the constant dissemination of the existence of the pedagogical proposal to the Brazilian academic environment, which is the main agent of change to be sensitized. Another interesting and extremely valid fact is related to the real opportunity to learn the news released by the people at Carnegie Mellon University and to share our findings with the community as a whole.
How does knowledge in 3D programming help in professional training and insertion in the job market?
There are several software products developed with virtual reality and this is an increasingly present trend. But Alice's main focus is on disciplining the learner in the Object Oriented Programming processes and in that sense the elements within the three-dimensional worlds are virtual objects with configurable properties, originating from a class, and when we program their movements or actions we are working with your methods. The concepts of class, objects, properties and methods are elements that are difficult to understand in the programming language, as they demand a considerable dose of abstraction from the programmer. But, when observed in a virtual world, these same concepts are natural and significantly simple to understand.
How can the student access this software?
The software can be downloaded from the Alice project website in the United States (www.alice.org), with two main versions to be found there, Alice 2 and Alice 3. One does not replace the other and both are used concurrently. On the Brazilian website www.alicebrasil.com.br there is information related to the congresses and some publications of employees in the annals. According to Professor Wanda, the project's world leader, our website is the only one to produce technical literature in Portuguese.
In order to work in 3D programming, what are the skills that the student needs to develop?
The original proposal of the Alice software was developed in Python language, with a focus on the development of virtual worlds. In this sense, the student probably needed to exercise his abstraction in understanding the Cartesian universe. In the most recent versions of the software, Cartesian rules are still present, but they are assimilated by students in an easy and playful way, something very natural. The purpose of the Alice software is to teach programming logic, while the user imagines that he is learning to deal with virtual reality. This is the trick hidden behind the proposal.
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