Programming can cultivate students' abilities of problem solving and logical thinking. However, it is very difficult for beginners. The purpose of this study was to use an innovative 3D Alice programming environment to improve students' learning. A quasi-experimental research design was adopted to compare the effects of using pair- and individual-programming strategies on students' learning performances and learning attitudes toward Alice programming. The participants were two classes of first-year students in a junior college in central Taiwan. One class of 51 students used pair programming to design animation. The other class of 50 students used the traditional individual learning method. The results indicated that students' learning performances in the pair-programming group were higher than in the individual learning group and they had more pride on their animation work. However, the students in the individual learning group showed more interest in using Alice to design animation. The study also found that students had problems with learning Alice such as English interface barriers, computers sometimes crashing, sophisticated animations not easy to make, as well as students lacking in confidence. Future research may extend teaching time, allowing students to first operate Alice individually with confidence and familiarity, and then conduct pair programming.