copyright © 2009 curt hill show a little style curt hill and martin kelly
TRANSCRIPT
What You Already Know
• Alice is a great way to introduce students to programming
• It demonstrates:– Objects
• Properties• Methods
– Flow of Control– Event handling
• The resulting product almost guarantees engagement
Copyright © 2009 Curt Hill
The Problem
Copyright © 2009 Curt Hill
VCSU Professors
CS and CIS Professors
Theater and
Literature Professors
The Problem Revisited
• The students in the class are typically Mathematics Education and Computer Information Systems
• They may recognize a good story but do not generally know how to create one
• When the student does not know how to tell a good story, their lack of confidence can destroy their motivation
Copyright © 2009 Curt Hill
Context
• The class was an introductory Java class
• The first two weeks were an introduction to Alice
• Five classes on Alice, one on quality dramatics
• One additional class for student presentations
Copyright © 2009 Curt Hill
Approaches
• Three approaches to making a story interesting
• Robert Cohen’s GOTE• Aristotle’s six requirements of a
tragic drama• Gustav Freytag’s pyramid
Copyright © 2009 Curt Hill
Robert Cohen’s GOTE
• Renowned playwright and critic• Professor at University of California
at Irvine• Goal• Other• Tactics• Expectation
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Aristotle
• Describes in his work Poetics what characteristics should be found in a quality tragedy
• Plot• Character• Message• Language• Rhythm• Spectacle
Copyright © 2009 Curt Hill
Plot
• Self contained series of incidents• The situation prior to the action
should be believable• Those things that happen should
be a consequence of the character and decisions of the actors
• What not to do: Deus ex machina
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Character
• The audience should be able to see the virtue and vice of the main characters
• What is in their heart?• What motivates them?• Their character determines how
the audience relates to that character
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Message
• The moral of the story• The audience should learn that
certain types of action leads to certain types of results– Arrogance leads to problems– Kindness has its rewards
• Today’s entertainment often, but not always, lacks this
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Language
• The vocabulary and sentence structure should be appropriate for the character and situation
• The doctor should speak differently than the truck driver
• The pace should also reflect the mood of the scene
Copyright © 2009 Curt Hill
Rhythm
• The dialog has a rhythm less precise than music, but still essential
• The meter of the poetry may be warped to heighten effect
Copyright © 2009 Curt Hill
Spectacle
• The effect of set, lighting, props and other effects
• A circus is all spectacle• As are many “action” movies
• In an Alice program this is proper background for the actors
• To the students being able to make anything like this is spectacle enough
Copyright © 2009 Curt Hill
Disclaimer
• Not all of these are needed for Alice movies
• The students are working hard enough without juggling all these aspects
• There is no expectation that any Alice movie will demonstrate all these characteristics
Copyright © 2009 Curt Hill
Results
• Insufficient numbers for any type of empirical results
• Informally, this class presented the best crop of programs
• Any of the top five programs would have been no worse than second in any previous class
• Made watching the presentations nicer for the instructor!
Copyright © 2009 Curt Hill