Obstacles to Alice adoption in the high school classroom

Surprising Possibilities Imagined and Realized through Information Technology (SPIRIT) is a three-year project, funded by the National Science Foundation. [4] It includes summer professional development programs for high school teachers to learn how to integrate Alice into their classes. This paper describes our experiences with Alice adoption in various school systems that were involved in the 2008 SPIRIT program at Purdue University. For many, this was the school system's first exposure to Alice, and there were many obstacles to be overcome so that the teachers could use Alice effectively for instruction in their classrooms. We identify the most challenging obstacles and provide suggestions for removing or minimizing their impact.