June 23, 2011
Adventures in Alice Programming – Follow-up Workshop Day 2
Virtual Computing Support for Alice – presentation by Professor Richard Lucic
Virtual Computing Lab
 What is it?
o A computing environment (desktop), delivery service (i.e. cloud computing)
o Remote Access to high-end software
o Anytime, anywhere, on-demand computing
 VCL represents a transformation in the business of education / in how education is delivered
 Motivation
o Shared computing resources (always on)
o Custom computing environments (can be saved/recalled at a later date)
o “Distributed” education
o Increased utilization of hardware, while meeting needs of teachers and students
 VCL Development Partners
o Academic
o Industry – IBM (grant to sponsor workshops)
o Government agencies – NC Community College System
 How VCL Works
o Client computer => Public Internet
 VCL Servers
 Operating system / application (??)
 Value for Alice Instructors
o Update one (VCL), run many (student machines)
o Shared libraries
o Ubiquitous access
o Shared resources, help files, etc.
o CIPA Compliant (per Durham Public School District Standards)
 VCL Nuts and Bolts
o Web reservation interface: http://vcl.ncsu.edu
o Account required
o Individual or group reservations
o Remote desktop client needed to access computing environment
 Math for Alice resource
o Promoting Danica McKellar and her books
 Demonstration on NCSU-VCL site
o Showing reservation – can Connect during scheduled time
o Ives remote computer IP, user ID, password to put into Remote Desktop Connection
menu that appears on desktop
o Question – can a student corrupt a file that is shared? – Yes, but teacher can save a copy
on own machine
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o Showing installation of Alice
o Question - can more than one person log on at same time? – Yes, with group reservation
o Demo of opening example Amusement Park world over the Internet
Discussion
o Is anyone currently using the VCL?
o Ideas for how you could use the VCL?
o Professor from Durham Tech
 Question – what is the cost? – Free as long as they have the environment or it’s
a free application, might be charged for license (or they’ll work something out /
negotiate if many people want a new environment or application)
 Very interested, first heard from ECU, but thought there was a cost involved
 Prof. Lucic – Adobe (example) might not want 10000 people getting for free
 Maybe for license, have maximum quota of people using at one time
o Teacher – Linda Puente
 Computerized Spanish exam – can it be used once per year? – Yes
 Would need to let national testing association work it out ahead of time
o Teacher – Nate Schuler
 Does he request software or is it already there for use? – Should be list on
website, but will check; had Oracle, computing programs
 Documentation => Available VCL Environments
 New Reservation – drop down menu to select desired environment
 Prof. Rodger – need to know what K-12 people want, have grant
 Microsoft – need to know superintendent to get 2007, no chance of 2010
 Durham Tech prof – same for MS’10, only 20 PCs on campus outside
computer labs that offer it
Contact: Richard Lucic, lucic@cs.duke.edu with any questions
Alice Presentations and Discussion
 Featured in The Chronicle today, article in Duke Today from June 13th
 Alice 2011 website has been updated with participant names, yesterday’s proceeding, and links
 Teacher – Kathleen Christopher
o Difference between instructional technology and computer programming
o Changing name from Functions to something understandable
o Prof. Rodger – what would be a more useful format for tutorials?
 Videos – pause it, easier to detect order – what to pull in
o What takes a student 40 minutes takes her only 10
 Tom Murphy, Don Sommerfeldt – Durham Tech
o Electives to computer science curriculum – Alice in game development courses
o Limitations of Alice compared to “real computing”
 Cannot read in data
 Compared to object-oriented programming in Java
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Taught full semester or part semester (then transition to Java)
Totally integrating Alice into CS-0 class, making prerequisite to another class
Had student implement Sudoku in Alice
/ Don – has several worlds to show from high school students
 Penguin Game – penguins lined up, light up, replicate order by clicking
 Catapult Launch – literally launching cat, increase power, aim for circle
 PBL Game – first vs. third person, WASD controls, zoology questions
 Randomly Positioned Objects – large red/yellow balls going to small white ones
 thirdPersonFrogWorld
o Worlds that load in Mac but not Windows, and vice versa…
Presentation by Joe Mack, parent at Durham Academy, computer programmer by profession,
practical over theoretical interest because of son
o Realized that math was substandard to own experience in high school, thought it should
have advanced since
o Talked to school, suggested computer science course – school said had been considering
for a long time
o Talked to son’s coach / math teacher, he said to submit syllabus
o School said overlap with AP / Java class, he thought of teaching Python in fifth
o After 4 years, put ad in school newspaper, school pulled the ad
o Son and friend were interested, wanted to learn Python
o http://www.austintek.com/#computer_class
Demo world by Professor Rodger
o Solar system world (created by someone else) with music