How time flies, we’re already into the second half of the Small Business App Academy! 

To recap - The Small Business App Academy is a free 30 day online course for new users and once signed up, you will receive a daily email for 30 days with two new downloadable 3 minute videos covering a particular topic, including step by step lesson materials you can follow along with and copy and paste code from. 

We've just added a new introduction video to the site so you can get an idea of what to expect...

Described as the “alphabet of apps”, the Small Business App Academy offers 60 building blocks necessary to create a tailored, full-featured app by the end of the 30 day period.  You can either follow the program in 30 days or at your own pace, and will learn the following skills:

-  Database and cloud access                      - Creating user interfaces

-  Data manipulation                                      - Deployment to devices

-  Monetization                                               - Push notifications

-  Working with rich media                           

And much more….                          

So, we’re 30 videos in, 50% through the process and as a participant, I'm enjoying it immensely and find myself checking my inbox everyday around 5 pm (GMT) for the next 2 videos.  Here’s what some of our fellow participants have to say: 

“Hey – I think these videos are great!  What I especially like about these videos is that they can be saved and then referenced as needed in the future.  What an amazing resource.”

“Congrats to the RunRev team on the quality of the first 2 videos…..…If the rest of the course matches the start, we are in for an exciting journey”

So if this has piqued your interest, then don’t wait any longer, join us today.  We look forward to welcoming you to the Small Business App Academy soon!

Building on the success of LiveCode at Gracemount High, Steven Whyte, Gracemount Computing Teacher and LiveCode Guru, recently held a LiveCode training day for teachers in Edinburgh.  

The event was attended by 20 experienced and enthusiastic computing teachers from across Edinburgh, eager to learn about this solution to the issue of getting students excited about learning to programme.  I caught up with Steven Whyte and our very own Ben Beaumont, to find out how they felt the day had gone.  They told me that the attendees got a lot from the day.  The feeling in the room was that LiveCode is a real possibility with the Government’s new focus on teaching programming, and with the course materials already produced by Gracemount, it seems like a sensible move for all involved.

Here’s what Ben had to say about the day: “I think most left with a sense that LiveCode was a very realistic option for them to teach programming with, as well as enabling them to move into mobile programme.  This is something their students can definitely engage with, and I suspect all will have left and taken a look at the software!”

Most teachers have since fed back very positively to the Technologies Continuing Professional Development Coordinator who will be investigating the authority wide license for LiveCode over the next couple of weeks.  We look forward to hearing from them!

Here’s a short clip of how some of the Higher Computing students at Gracemount successfully managed to export their Higher Computing coursework exercise onto their mobile devices as an app. 



The success of this task and Gracemount’s continued use of LiveCode has paved the way for the Computing Department to begin creating a series of innovative and sector leading Mobile Application Development courses as part of the new Scottish Qualifications under Curriculum for Excellence.  Next year, computing students of all ages will be able to learn how to develop simple games and animations and will then see them come to life on their mobile phones and tablet computers.

All in all, a most successful outing and here’s to many more!  

Maths, age 3 – 5 is the new maths app launched by EuroTalk on 5 April using LiveCode.  We are delighted to announce that this app has shot straight to No. 1 in the Education listing in the iTunes app store.

This is an app with a set of ten topics for the foundation stage of primary school. It is engaging and fun, and is designed to give children a great start in maths.

Maths 3-5 was created using LiveCode. Here's what Andrew Ashe has to say about using LiveCode:  

"If we can use tools like LiveCode to develop and iterate quickly, and use handheld devices to deliver....we are on the verge of a revolution in terms of delivering education."  

EuroTalk are experts in their field with 20 years of publishing experience and over 10 million customers and produce education software that can be used by anyone, anywhere.

Eurotalk use LiveCode during the authoring process for many of their titles. They also deliver a number of commercial titles using LiveCode, as well as pioneering a project to assist learning in children in Malawi. 

Maths, age 3 – 5 has a current user rating of 4+ with an overwhelming positive response.

“I’m very impressed with the content and quality of this learning  app. It’s presented beautifully with high quality animation which  really appeals to a visual learner like my 4 year old son. The  ways of introducing and building on a topic are simply ingenious.  Very very impressed!”

So well done to EuroTalk! We are thrilled that LiveCode has been able to assist with the outstanding success of this app for another of our valued clients.

There's a hot discussion taking place today about how to get young students interested in programming. And not just interested, but loving it! Teachers and administrators have been battling this challenge for years, but the fact is that engaging students early in technical areas such as Computer Studies is difficult to impossible, beyond perhaps one or two engineering-obsessed students in the school.

However, with the number of IT-related jobs growing by the thousands every year, and the tremendous need for mobile app developers for the long term, it’s more important than ever to make Computer Studies as fundamental in K-12 curriculum as math, language, or science. While it may sound impossible to get children to grasp the relevance of web and desktop development early on, the abundance of mobile apps and games have created new opportunities for educators.

Children are drawing, playing games, and watching videos on their parents’ mobile phones before learning their ABCs. They begin to show interest in tinkering with devices in grade school. (Remember being the only one in your family who could program the TV remote when you were a kid?) Many students want to create, build and fix anything they can get their hands on, but immediate gratification and relevance to their lives are critical factors for getting and keeping them engaged. And a little fun thrown in helps a bunch.

Students as young as 10 are grasping the fundamentals of technology development, and teaching these young tinkerers to create simple games and mobile apps is helping breath new life into Computer Science curricula. At the core of much of this newfound passion for programming is LiveCode. The easy-to-use platform makes it simple for educators to learn the language, and, for the first time, students just get it!

In response to the growing success of LiveCode in education, we've created a new RunRev Education Microsite. The site offers case studies, course materials for all grade levels, teacher training materials, forums and support, and free trials – everything educators needs to get started with LiveCode.

Take a look at some of the interesting case studies from grade school on through university level where teachers are engaging and exciting students by having them create their own apps. Here's how one K-12 educator and his students are using LiveCode today. We have a few videos on LiveCode in education and encourage you to share your own stories.

Developing for Android just got a lot more exciting! Welcome LiveCode 5.5, available today with more than 15 new features that will punch up your Android and iOS apps. You will now experience native browser control, text field enhancements, push notifications, GPS and a slew of other benefits. Time to bring your Android apps to new heights!
 
This release features a major rework of the field objects across all platforms. You can create sophisticated text with most of the features of a modern word processing app. Paragraph styles give you control over formatting on a per paragraph basis, along with powerful new options for accessing and formatting text, a scriptable spelling underline, hierarchical lists, and the ability to embed tables.
 
We’ve been listening to your feature requests and trying to prioritize our updates accordingly. Whether you’re developing for mobile, web or desktop, LiveCode 5.5 will help you make your apps more engaging and exciting.
 
Quick snapshot of what's new:

• Native browser control
• Push Notifications
• In App Advertising
• GPS
• Compass
• Gyroscope
• Modal pick wheel support
• Date picker support
• Multi-channel sound
• Busy indicators
• Local notifications
• Custom URL schemes
• Vibrate
• Beep
• Text messaging

 
As always, pricing begins at $99 for a single seat license and it's available online now. Your killer app is only a click away! Have fun!