Visual BASIC Programming
Fall 2007
810:030 does not have any prerequisites.
This class has been reassigned. It will NOT include these
textbooks. It is now being taught by Janet Drake because of the need
to cancel another low enrollment class.
Look for my Computer Skills and Concepts class
at 11 TTh if you want to learn Flash and Alice animation concepts.
Required textbooks:
- Alice
in Action: Computing Through Animation by Joel Adams. $27.95 List
Price; $18.45 is current price at www.amazon.com.
Author Joel Adam's Calvin
College textbook web site for Alice in Action: Computing Through
Animation.
- The Alice 3D
Authoring software is free. It is a gentle instroduction to all
major programming concepts developed at Carnegie Mellon University.
There is some research to support the idea that spending part of a class
using Alice to introduce programming concepts will result in the
following:
- More complete learning of basic programming concepts and
skills.
- Better grasp of and skill with the main language of the
course, whether it be
Visual Basic 2005, Flash ActionScript, Maya MEL, Java, C++, C,
or Scheme. Taking time to learn and experience some Alice
often means
better learning of the Visual Basic 2005 or whatever the main
language is. We will spend about 9 class days or three
weeks on Alice and about 36 class periods on Visual Basic 2005.
Three weeks and 12 weeks, but not separate chunks of the semester.
The two languages will probably be taught in a spiral fashion where a
concept is introduced in Alice, and then followed up with Visual Basic.
- A higher percentage of students discovering that
programming is lots of FUN and very creative.
- What is Alice and what is Alice good for?
- Microsoft
Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition Programming for the Absolute
Beginner by Jerry Lee Ford. List Price: $29.99 Current Price:
$19.79 at www.amazon.com.