Carnegie Mellon University has entered into a groundbreaking collaboration with Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) that has the potential to revolutionize and reinvigorate computer science education in the U.S., from middle school through senior high and beyond.
EA has agreed to help underwrite the development of Alice 3.0 - a popular object-oriented, Java-based computer-programming environment created by Carnegie Mellon researchers - and provide essential art assets from "The SimsT," the best selling PC videogame of all time.
"The Sims" content will transform the Alice software from a crude, 3-D programming tool into a compelling and user-friendly programming environment.
Development for Alice 3.0 will begin immediately and will span the next 18 to 24 months.
Experts say that when the transformation is complete, the new programming environment will be in position to become the national standard for teaching software programming.
"Getting the chance to use the characters and animations from 'The Sims' is like teaching at an art school and having Disney give you Mickey Mouse," said Computer Science Professor Randy Pausch, director of the Alice Project at Carnegie Mellon.
"'The Sims' is EA's crown jewel, and the fact that they are willing to use it for education shows a kind of long-term vision one rarely sees from large corporations."
"We are thrilled to have been chosen by Carnegie Mellon and we are honored to provide the school with the art and engineering assets that will help transform Alice into an entertaining and enjoyable programming tool," said Steve Seabolt, vice president of university and marketing education at EA.
"This unique alliance between academia and industry is further evidence that sharing technology is an essential step toward arming students with the tools needed to excel in computer science education and interactive entertainment," added Carnegie Mellon President Jared L. Cohon.
In combination with novel educational materials developed by computer science professors Wanda Dann of Ithaca College and Stephen Cooper of St. Joseph's University, Alice is already used at more than 60 colleges and universities to teach various introductory computer science/computer programming courses.
Individual hobbyists and enterprising game programmers may also download the software free of charge at www.alice.org, and the teaching materials free of charge at www.aliceprogramming.net.
Introductory computer programming has historically been frustrating for many students.
Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTST, EAT, EA SPORTS BIGT and POGOT.
Read more from this post.
