Public Service Announcement Movies made with the Alice Programming Language

The Problem Create a public service announcement (PSA) animated movie to inform or to educate society on an important issue. This movie corresponds to the execution of a computer program written in Alice, an object-oriented programming language. 2

The Context 3

The Engineering Design Process 1. Identify the problem 2. Research and gather data 3. Establish design criteria/goals/constraints 4. Identify potential solutions 5. Analyze potential solutions 6. Develop and test models 7. Select the best alternative 8. Communicate and specify for implementation 9. Implement and/or commercialize 10. Perform post-implementation assessment 4

Projects are Living Things You have learned that an engineering project doesn’t end when it is deployed. The objective analysis if how well things work and how they can be improved is an important tool for the evolution of the project and for the implementation of future projects. 5

Taming Complexity 6

Modeling the World with Objects 7

Alice Objects 8

Properties and Variables You have learned that objects, methods, and functions can “remember” information. Properties and variables in Alice are units of memory storage that retain a value assigned to them. This value can be recalled and modified at different points in the program. 9

Methods You have learned that methods can be constructed so that their behavior depends on data given to them at the time of invocation. Methods can have parameters, which allow information to come into them and alter their behavior. 10

Functions You have learned that the functions that appear in computer programming embody the mathematical concept of function. Functions are computations performed on information passed in as parameters, which result in a single value. This is equivalent to saying that this type of computation implements a mapping from domain to codomain. 11

Composition You have learned that an object may consist of several other objects. The aggregation of all these parts into a cohesive whole is an application of the abstraction concept: although what you see is one, “behind the curtains” it is actually many. 12

Nested Computations You have learned that you can apply this notion of composition also with methods and functions. A more complex method (or function) may contain invocations to one or more other methods (or functions). This is another application of the abstraction concept. 13

Computer Programs You have learned that Alice programs have elements that cause commands to be executed in sequence (do in order) and concurrently (do together). The do in order construct is useful when you want to create a strictly linear progression of commands. The do together, on the other hand, is useful to have commands appear to execute in parallel. 14

Selection You have learned that, as most programming languages, Alice gives your programs a mechanism to choose between the execution of two blocks of commands: the if/else construct. That choice is based on the evaluation of a Boolean expression, that is, an expression that results in true or false. 15

Repetition You have learned that Alice, as most programming languages, has constructs that cause the repetition of blocks of commands. The loop construct causes the block to iterate a pre-determined number of times. The while construct causes the block to keep iterating only as long as a given Boolean expression evaluates to true. 16

Top-Down Design You have learned that it is natural to construct a computer program starting out with a sequence of larger ideas which are successively expanded into fine-grained details. This organization, which appeared in the way you structured your PSA into a sequence of scenes, each one made of a sequence of shots, applies the principle of abstraction. 17

Exploration and Discovery You have learned that by exploring and experimenting with a computer system or programming environment, you can accomplish a lot even without reading much documentation. Remember this for the future and you will become a self-reliant, independent learner who can become proficient in new programming languages more easily. 18

The Solution Your work evolved along five phases: 1.Proposal 2.Design 3.Implementation 4.Presentation 5.Report Each phase served to keep your work on schedule and also aligned to the EDP. Within a highly creative context, you have started to develop your skills in technical written and oral communication, software engineering, and computer programming. 19

Teamwork You have experienced working with a team in the context of an engineering project. It takes will power and effort to adapt to different personalities, schedules, and work ethic. The larger and the more complex the problem, the more stressful the experience. Reflect on how well your team worked together and on what you can change about yourself to make future team experiences more efficient and rewarding. 20

Communication You have learned that an engineer needs to know how to communicate ideas both orally and in writing. Remember that this communication must be accurate, complete, clear and succinct. Strive to become a better communicator and your work as an engineer will have stronger impact. 21

Societal Impact For many years, the Ad Council ( has produced PSAs that are aired on TV or used in radio broadcasts. These messages have raised awareness to issues in public health, civic duty and participation, education, and environmental matters. The impact of their PSAs on society is undeniable. The PSA that your team has constructed took the shape of a computer animation. Right now, your PSA can be posted online in web pages or in media distribution sites such as YouTube and produce benefit to society. It can also be used as an animated storyboard used as the basis for the professional production of a PSA, or possibly even shown as- is by community access TV channels. 22