Alexander Repenning
{{short description|American computer programmer}}
{{COI|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name = Alexander Repenning
|image = Alexander_Repenning.jpg
|image_size = 220px
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|birth_place = Baden, Switzerland
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|citizenship = United States,
Switzerland
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|fields = Computer Science, Cognitive Science
|workplaces = University of Colorado at Boulder
|alma_mater = University of Colorado at Boulder
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|known_for = AgentSheets, AgentCubes
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Alexander Repenning is the Director of the Scalable Game Design project,Scalable Game Design project http://scalablegamedesign.cs.colorado.edu {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310005325/http://scalablegamedesign.cs.colorado.edu/ |date=2018-03-10 }} a computer science professor adjunct,{{cite web |title=Alexander Repenning |url=https://home.cs.colorado.edu/~ralex/ |website=College of Engineering & Applied Science faculty |publisher=University of Colorado Boulder |access-date=24 August 2021}} a founder of AgentSheets Inc., and a member of the Center for Lifelong Learning and Design Center for Lifelong Learning and Design http://l3d.cs.colorado.edu at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Repenning is the inventor of drag and drop blocks programming. His research interests include computer science education, end-user programmable agents, human-computer interaction, and artificial intelligence.
Contributions
Repenning is the creator of the AgentSheets and AgentCubesRepenning, A., Smith, C., Owen B., Repenning, N., Agentcubes: Enabling 3D Creativity by Addressing Cognitive and Affective Programming Challenges, World Conference on Educational Media and Technology, EdMedia 2012, June 26–29, 20122, Denver, Colorado, USA. http://sgd.cs.colorado.edu/wiki/images/4/49/AgentCubesEdMediaCS_hard_and_boring_2012.pdf Cyberlearning tools used for game design and computational science applications. As the Director of the Scalable Game Design project, using AgentSheets, he leads an effort to reinvent computer science education in public schools through game design starting at the middle school level. With over 10,000 students, and with funding from the National Science Foundation (ITEST and CE21 programs) and Google, the Scalable Game Design project is conducting the largest US study Scalable Game Design Study summary http://sgd.cs.colorado.edu/wiki/images/c/c7/One_Pager_CE21_CT4TC.pdf of computer science education at the middle school level including inner city schools, remote rural areas, and Native American communities. Results indicate that students, across genders and ethnicities, are not only highly motivated to learn computer science through game design but they also learn essential computational thinking skills.Webb, D., Repenning, A. and Koh, K. Toward an Emergent Theory of Broadening Participation in Computer Science Education. In Proceedings of the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education Conference, (SIGCSE 2012) (Raleigh, North Carolina, USA., February 29 - March 3, 2012). ACM, 173-178. http://sgd.cs.colorado.edu/wiki/images/f/fd/SIGSCE2012_Final_Submit.pdf They acquire skills through game design, which later they can leverage in STEM simulation creation. Repenning's theoretical contributions include a pedagogical framework called the Zones of Proximal Flow Basawapatna, A., Repenning, A., Koh, K. H., and Nickerson, H., The Zones of Proximal Flow: Guiding Students Through A Space Of Computational Thinking Skills and Challenges. In Proceedings of the International Computing Education Research (ICER 2013) (San Diego, CA, USA., August 12–14, 2013). ACM Press. http://sgd.cs.colorado.edu/wiki/images/4/4c/ICER-2013_zones_of_proximal_flow.pdf combining Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development with Csikszentmihalyi’s state of Flow.
References
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Category:American computer programmers
Category:American computer scientists
Category:University of Colorado Boulder alumni