Animation and Programming With Alice Level 1 - Camp Week Format - (Age 9-14)

Students will learn how to create and place characters in a 3D world, and then create digital stories using text-based dialog and animation.  We will be using Alice 3, which combines object-based coding with texted-based Java coding.  Alice is a free program made available by Carnegie Mellon and is used widely in elementary through college-age computer, visual arts, and other core classes. Students need to have general computer skills, but no previous animation or coding experience is required.  

Students will be introduced to projects that I will demonstrate step-by-step sharing my screen and students can use the video to follow along on their own computers.  (Teacher will also be available throughout the week for help and questions on projects outside of class.) The lessons will be recorded, so if you can't make all 5 days, your learner can watch the recording and catch up.

Lesson 1 will be an introduction to the user interface, how to find, place, and modify objects in Alice.  Lessons 2 and 3 will set up a "tea party" scene with props and characters that we will then modify with character movement and text-based dialog.  Lesson 4 will create a space-themed scene and we will animate a space creature walking across the terrain.  Lesson 5 will introduce "Methods" and "Procedures" and how to pursue further study in Alice and Java programming. 

Parents or students will need to download and install Alice 3 on their computer prior to the first week (teacher will be available for any technical support needed!)  Download it from: http://www.alice.org/get-alice/alice-3/.  Alice 3 will run on Windows (32- or 64-bit systems), Mac OS, or Linux. It will not run on iPads or other tablets.