[podopie]

I taught for a few years in a fairly-sized school district. Even the best teachers I knew in my department--ones who were very internet savvy and technological proficient--admitted they wouldn't pay for an application in the classroom. They just didn't have the money. They constantly look for free things, such as Google Docs for teaching students how to collaborate and edit papers together.

Target to teachers, yes, but there are other ways to do business with them than to take from their tiny bank accounts.

[tinyrock]

We have found the opposite - teachers will pay for software if it is made well and makes their life easier. The price point obviously still needs to be set appropriately.

Life was very busy when I was teaching, anything that saves time on busy work is appreciated.

[dhimes]

My experience and market research echos yours, just to get another tally mark here. Differenct schools allocate discretionary budgets differently, and there is some variance also between elementary, MS, and HS in the same district. A good time to reach for discretionary $ is near the end of the school year, after they've spent 7 months being frugal but don't want to "underspend," in part for fear that they won't get the full budget the next year if they don't spend it this year.