Student Perceptions of Instructional Tools in Pro- gramming Logic: A Comparison of Traditional versus Alice Teaching Environments

This research investigates the implementation of the programming language Alice to teach computer programming logic to computer information systems students. Alice has been implemented in other university settings and has been reported to have many benefits including object-oriented concepts and an engaging and fun learning environment. In this study, students were surveyed on their opinions about the effectiveness of the Alice environment and were compared to responses of students who had been taught in a more traditional environment using flowcharts and pseudocode. Analysis of data revealed there were no statistically significant differences in responses, with both groups reporting high levels of satisfaction with their respective learning experience. Discussion includes ways to potentially improve the implementation of Alice and its benefits in the classroom.