Conclusion

We described 3 major trends evident even at the secondary education level as the moves toward introducing computer programming in schools, introducing scientific computing in schools and the use of mobile technologies in schools.  We illustrated these trends using the technology of an open source scientific computing and programming environment called Scilab.  We showed how the computational power of Scilab could be used on a standalone desktop or through the use of a Scilab cloud server from a mobile device such as as an Ipad or an Android mobile telephone. It can be argued that cloud computing is a trend that may compete, if not displace, the apps paradigm for mobile devices. As an alternative to installing apps on a mobile device a user with an Internet connection and a browser interface may choose the computing power offered through a cloud computing service.  Cloud services are capable of providing access to high-end computational resources such as the Scilab scientific computing and programming environment, which would be unwieldy to download full versions of onto a mobile device.  In follow-on work we plan on showcasing explicitly the programming and computational capabilities of a platform like Scilab, to be used solely for high school purposes showing how Scilab is used in French high schools for instance.