CMU-Q Concludes Programming With Code in Alice Training Program

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), one of the partner universities of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, has concluded its new virtual training program "Programming With Code in Alice", which it provided to pre-university students around the world via video communication technology and lasted for a month.

The online training program brought together volunteer teachers and students from 25 countries, during which nearly 200 students, aged 13-18, mostly living in Qatar, learned basic programming skills using the Alice educational program developed by Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.

The "Programming With Code in Alice" training program is the latest addition from the Hamad bin Jassim Center for K-12 Computer Science Education, which was established as part of a collaboration between Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar and the Jassim and Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation.

The Dean of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar Dr. Michael Trick, said it was inspiring to see volunteer teachers and students from all over the world come together for a month to explore the creative possibilities of computing. He hoped that the training program had sparked students' curiosity to learn more about computer science.

For his part, Associate Teaching Professor of Computer Science at CMU-Q and Associate Area Head in Computer Science of Hamad Bin Jassim Center for K-12 Computer Science Education Dr. Saquib Razak, explained that teachers play a key role in attracting students attention.

He added that the university hired volunteer teachers and teaching assistants from all over the world after distributing them to a number of students in identical time zones to help them learn and explore. Over the course of the month, they taught students the concepts of computer science, game development, and animation using Alice's program. The program also included video clips, an online discussion forum, and a chance to create a final project.

The Alice educational program was originally developed at Carnegie Mellon University's headquarters in the United States to help children learn basic computing concepts through simple animated films and videos.

With funding support from the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) for Scientific Research of the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), the program was modified according to the State of Qatar by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar by creating a curriculum for the program in both Arabic and English, and creating accompanying educational references. (QNA)