I am not sure about the situation in the US but in the UK (as noted elsewhere on the lists) there is a big drive to get kids programming again and not just using MS Word. Therefore the door is more than a little open right now for LiveCode or other tools to make their way in. For it's part LiveCode is a nice fit as the language itself is easy enough to get to grips with while at the same time being much more than a programming toy (which was often the case when I was at school). In addition to cost I think some issues may be the ability to transfer the skills and importantly what skills those teachers who may use LiveCode already have. For example what languages are they comfortable teaching and how open they are to something "new".
I am no-longer based in the UK but here in Luxembourg they are generally very enthusiastic about introducing novel IT stuff into schools but often teachers lack the vision to transform something that is cool for us into something that is also cool for the kids, or alternatively they are just reluctant in the first place to even adopt something new. In the case of the former this often means that the full potential of the technology is left underused which then can make the authorities quite rightfully question the wisdom of continuing these particular projects. Related to this is the provision of materials which help teachers to make use of what they are given. For example Runrev (if it does not already) should provide ready made materials aimed specifically at both teachers AND pupils, with good quality materials that help train and guide the teachers through the LiveCode basics that are relevant to the courses they teach. The less prep for the teacher probably the easier it will be to persuade them to buy LiveCode:) Also they already have quite enough on their hands preparing classes and marking to worry about having to learn something new. Even if we think LiveCode is easy to use we should be mindful that moving to it, from something else is quite a mindset shift. My recent semi-move back from Python after about seven years reminded me that it is not always as easy as one would imagine. Anyway I am no teacher but have heard quite heated discussions here in Luxembourg from many people on the problems of introducing novel IT concepts into schools. While I am sure each country has vast differences I'd say teachers are probably quite similar regardless of where you go. Cheers, rod On 19 July 2012 23:32, Richard Gaskin <ambassa...@fourthworld.com> wrote: > Bob Sneidar wrote: > >> I think the real key to making LC insanely profitable for RR is >> for us, the developers, to produce really good commercial apps >> on a regular basis using LC, and proudly display on our splash >> screens: Made With Livecode! > > Agreed. > > And on the EDU front, LiveCode continues to make progress - this just showed > up in their Twitter feed a few moments ago: > > <http://www.runrev.com/education/gracemount_case.html> > > > If you haven't been to the runrev.com site lately, they have a whole section > on EDU, split into K-12 and higher ed: > <http://www.runrev.com/education/index.html> > > > -- > Richard Gaskin > Fourth World > LiveCode training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com > Webzine for LiveCode developers: http://www.LiveCodeJournal.com > Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FourthWorldSys > > _______________________________________________ > use-livecode mailing list > use-livecode@lists.runrev.com > Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription > preferences: > http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode -- Dr Rod McCall Researcher in in-car, mixed reality technology and gaming Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust University of Luxembourg Blog: www.rodmc.com twitter:rodlux Publications and Information available on my blog _______________________________________________ use-livecode mailing list use-livecode@lists.runrev.com Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription preferences: http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode
