I agree with Richmond
While this may, indeed, be "baby stuff", LiveCode should wake up and realise that all around the world children both in classrooms and at home both want to and are required to program "baby stuff" and are doing so using other methods than LiveCode
We need more "baby stuff. The way to adoption is to make it look easy for them to get started and provide pathways to do games and apps on their own. Now that kids are home and on their computers so much, we have that chance.
If we look at other languages that came from nowhere to be used in the schools (i.e. Pilot, Logo/turtle graphics, Scratch) they were all easy for a teacher to get started with or for children to pick up on their own. Children and teachers were not intimidated. It looked easy and fun to get started
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We can not depend on LiveCode because, as FourthWorld said
Three questions define any business proposal:
- What do you want them to do?
- How much will it cost to do it?
- How much will that make by doing it?
It is difficult to make a business case for LiveCode to expend resources and money for the educational market. There are more lucrative markets for them to go after. We can ask them for help but we have to do it ourselves.
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I also agree that LC could be a great help with teaching programming and computer science in schools.
Unfortunately LC is - at least here in Germany - hardly known to teachers and I am pretty sure that not a single student of my classes has ever heard about it.
There is the reality that it is very difficult to get LiveCode even considered, much less accepted as a programming language in schools.
- from Administrators, teachers: "We need staff and training." "We do not have the budget" "We need curriculum"
- from Parents: "Who uses it?", "What has been written in it?", "What university uses it?", "What jobs are there using it?"
- from IT staff: "I never heard of it. What has been written in it? Who uses it?, etc."
- from CS teachers: "It is not a mainstream language" and most of them have their own favorite language that they promote and teach with.
On the plus side, there is a void in CS programming langs. We have an opportunity to be the stepping stone between Scratch and Python in the schools (if not replace Scratch or Python entirely)
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Part of the reason teachers, kids, and parents don't know about LiveCode is that educators who DO know about it
are not telling them
Not true. I think all of us teaching with LiveCode are also evangelists and promote LiveCode at every chance we get.
I am active in many organizations - CSTA (Computer Science Teachers Assoc), ACM, etc and In large Facebook Groups (Computer Science Educators - 2,000 members, AP CS A Teachers - 3,200 members, Computer Science - 33,400 members, CS Education discussion forum - 2,800 members) and I take advantage of every opportunity to talk about LiveCode.
Despite my successes in the classroom -
(My LC and AP classes were the most popular classes in the school - I had over 220 students a day and our school became the primary feeder school for CS students at the Univ. of Maryland)
and my students winning awards -
(US Congressional App Challenge - 1st/2nd/3rd places for 3 years), hackathons (writing apps in 24 hours), no other schools, teachers or even the school district could be convinced to adopt LiveCode anywhere else. When I retired, the classes died.
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The question is: What can be done to make it better?
I was successful with it in my school because I made it look easy to make games and apps and was there to show them the way and foster their creativity. What we need to do is make it look easy to get started and look fun to do on our own.
I suggest that:
- we start collecting code samples, projects, ideas, curriculum and building a collection of resources for teachers to use
- we design a simplified starter interface for younger students to use
- we create simplified directions for teachers, parents and/or students
- we create a sampling of easy games/apps for students to write, providing working, starter code. Then have suggestions for making the games better, more fun, etc.
Our goals:
1. Provide more support to entice teachers to teach with LiveCode. Maybe even Lesson plans and some different curriculums
2. Create a "Getting Started" roadmap for Teachers (non-programmers who want to include some programming in their classes)
3. Create a "Getting Started" roadmap for Parents (many of whom are now working from home and somewhat tech savvy)
4. Create a "Getting Started" roadmap for Students (who are bored with Scratch, want to learn programming or create fun games)
5. Create a list of "What you can create with LiveCode" games and apps with directions
Maybe LiveCode could provide us webspace to create and host an "Educational Resources", "Getting Started" or "Fun Programs, Games and Apps Using LiveCode" I would be willing to devote some time to help out.
Anyway, that is my take on LiveCode and what we could do.