Thanks, Tori. I’m retired after 38 years in the classroom, so I don’t have any skin in the K-12 game. I understand as well anyone reading this has no part in deciding who gets what at any price.
SketchUp was a valuable tool in my CAD lab since the 1990s. I have trained many teachers since then in professional development classes on how to use SketchUp in their classrooms. Schools however have been moving away from labs to one-to-one Chromebooks and using SketchUp for Schools. The pandemic accelerated this big time. SfS helps with beginning classes for schools that use Chromebooks, I would guess 75% of the schools. However, the other 25% are using iPads and while they could use SfS on a browser, they would also need a keyboard and mouse to make it user-friendly, which is usually unavailable with tightening budgets. That is why for the sake of the students, I was disappointed to learn that the iPad version was not going to be available for free for schools. Maybe there are schools out there that will pay for it, but I never taught in a district that would.
However, after a semester of using SfS, instruction bogs down as Pro with Layup is no longer available. Knowing this going in as a new teacher, I’m not sure I would start my kids with SketchUp.
You see, as an instructor, I never taught students how to use a particular software program. Instead, I taught my students how to problem solve and think. I could do that with almost any software package, but SketchUp was always a hit with the kids. It was free and they could use it at home. Before I got into CAD, I taught 8/9 Algebra and Geometry. When I moved to the high school to teach CAD, Johnny would raise his hand and ask, “How do I put 5/8” into the computer as a decimal?" With a wry smile, I would respond, “Remember when you were in 8th grade and asked me when you were ever going to use this stuff? Well, Johnny, today is the day”.
If I was the King of the SketchUp World and wanted to add to my community while familiarizing young minds with my products hoping they would buy my products when they actually had some money, I’d make it as easy (and cheap) as possible for teachers to use SketchUp on the devices available to them. It is my opinion that Trimble has decided to milk every dime possible out of SketchUp, including the ed community.
This may work in the short term, but if I was starting a new class without all versions of SketchUp available on the equipment I had, I’d start the young kids off with Tinkercad, then to Fusion 360, and eventually into Inventor/Revit. I’ve taught all of those packages with success, but I usually started them off with SketchUp.
So, thanks for listening. I had a lot of kids leave my program with great tools to solve problems and move to more advanced studies. Maybe I just grieve as I watch an old fried fade away, but I am thankful to have had Sketchup as a tool to teach kids how to think for these last 25 years.
Eric