Why killing Media was killing an investment in the future

[Rod McCall]

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 <ambassador at 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
>
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
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