Sugar Labs/Current Events

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This page is updated each week (usually on Monday morning) with notes from the Sugar Labs community. (The digest is also sent to the community-news at sugarlabs.org list, blogged at walterbender.org, and archived here.) If you would like to contribute, please send email to walter at sugarlabs.org by the weekend. (Also visit planet.sugarlabs.org.)

Sugar Digest

1. While shovelling snow I have been reflecting on Sugar – a lot of snow, hence a lot of reflecting. Looking back, I came across a quote from 2007: "change equals risk". At the time, I was speaking out against incremental change to a global educational system that was failing to meet the needs of our children. The status quo was failing – and is still failing – and we embarked upon a path to do something about it. We developed a deployable model of one-to-one computing enabling us to advocate for a pedagogy of constructionist learning, where "learning can happen most effectively when people are also active in making tangible objects in the real world."

Over the course of four years, we've put Sugar into the hands of almost two million children. Our goal has been to give them a "learning platform" – one that encourages them to be expressive with knowledge, to collaborate, and to reflect.

While we have had impact in the formal setting of the classroom, with Sugar, there is an opportunity for using Sugar in an informal setting as well, where, unconstrained by the "official" curriculum, the learner has more of an opportunity to dig more deeply into areas of personal interest. In Caacupé, for example, there has been extensive use of Saturday learning clubs. In Rwanda, informal time for the computer is being allocated at the end of the school day.

We have not been advocating "anything goes"; nor have we been anti teacher. Rather, we have been encouraging "guided discovery", where the teacher has an active role in steering the learners towards "powerful ideas" and engaging the learners in reflection and a critical dialogue about their work. Sugar facilitates this dialogue by providing tools, e.g., the Journal, in support of reflection.

Our interventions are guided with a goal in mind – the empowerment of individual competitive and cooperative opportunity.

"It would take wit, insight and incredible perspective for many of them to pull back and admit: "Wait... I am prescribing the very thing I should hate. What I really ought to want are genuinely liberal markets, in which the state ensures that all players get to know and negotiate and play the great creative game from a level playing field. Yes, that will mean some "allocating" to raise up poor children to be ABLE to compete well. And yes we must allocate to take into account the needs of generations yet to come. But the thing I am devoted to is not allocation, per se! The thing I am dedicated to is giving all people (including those yet to come) a fair chance to play." —David Brin

A theme I have taken up repeatedly since we started Sugar Labs is sustainability. We have not been interested in resilience in the usual sense of trying to sustain the status quo. Rather, we are trying to give children the capacity to grow and adapt so that they can thrive in a changing and challenging world.

Looking forward in 2011, we have any number of technical challenges: Python introspection, GNOME 3.0, etc. in order to advance the utility, stability, and maintainability of our product. A recent GNOME camp attended by Simon Schampijer and Tomeu Vizoso suggest that these are achievable goals. We have some refactoring to do in order to better support accessibility. Lots of minor patches in service of deployments are being submitted by the Dextrose team (a combined effort of some of our deployments, community members, and Activity Central employees. We have several efforts to revitalize the Sugar-on-a-Stick and Virtual Sugar projects, as accessibility to Sugar remains our biggest technical challenge. (Indeed, a recent marketing survey conducted by a team of Sloan students suggested that while 90% of those surveyed recommend Sugar to others, only 33% of those who then try to download Sugar are successful.)

Meanwhile, we continue to debate core issues regarding Sugar as it relates not just to usability, but also to how Sugar impacts learning. Towards that goal, we face social and organizational challenges: working with deployments; working with teachers; working with end users. Claudia Urea's weekly learning chat has been a model that I hope we can scale up in coming months. Pablo Flores is also working on various models of community outreach.

Sugar is as much a service as a product. As a community we have not put as much effort into that aspect of our offering. I am hopeful that a large portion of our services will be offered by our growing number of local labs. But we need to ensure adequate support for those efforts.

2. A few weeks ago I was at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The small, inexpensive, connected device was ubiquitous. We have to think about what role these devices may play in learning and if or how Sugar (or some derivative of Sugar) will be part of the mix, i.e., are there aspects of Sugar that we should be exporting into the context of Android? Perhaps the biggest challenge is how to bring the spirit of appropriation to these platforms which are first and foremost tools of consumption.

Help wanted

3. Chris Leonard is looking for help with translations. "Just about every language (besides Spanish) has some strings that need work. Please consider volunteering some time and effort to improve the localization in your favorite language. Recruiting new localizers is also a very valuable contribution." See http://translate.sugarlabs.org/

In the community

4. We are in the process of rethinking our wesite design and also the collection of tools we use for communicating with the Sugar community. Please add your suggestions to possible tools for a new community site.

5. The Tour of Uruguay will be taking place in late March. The Sugar Labs-affiliated cycling team will be one of the teams participating. We should do something with the community involving the physics of cycling (e.g., odometer) and maps (e.g., get every child to document the part of the race that goes through their town or village) and whatever other ideas people have.

Tech Talk

6. I've been tardy in acknowledging the release of os860 from OLPC. It is the latest "official" release for the XO-1 and XO-1.5 laptops. The release is based on Fedora 11 and contains the latest Sugar 0.84 (including many backported patches from more recent Sugar releases) and the GNOME desktop. See release notes.

Many thanks to everyone Simon Schampijer, Martin Langhoff, and the OLPC Association team, who led a group of testers, translators, documenters, developers and others!!

A few selected highlights (from Simon's release notes):

  • We have significantly improved collaboration when XO-1.5 is used with no Access Points available ("under a tree"). The Neighborhood View now shows three default Ad-hoc networks (for channels 1, 6, and 11) in user-friendly icons, and XOs will auto-connect without user intervention. This behavior is similar to the "mesh" behavior on XO-1.
  • You may now share Journal entries with another learner using a USB drive or SD card. The user experience is: Martin wants to give a picture he has been drawing to Simon. He plugs in his USB drive and copies the Journal entry on the drive. Simon plugs in Martin's drive in his laptop. The entry will be shown with Martin's XO color on the drive. Simon copies Martin's entry into his Journal.
  • We have added support for USB2VGA adapters. You can now connect an XO to a projector over a USB2VGA adapter and project what is on your XO screen onto a screen or for many people to see.
  • In this build certain activities are protected from being deleted by accident. In the activity list in the home view the erase option is disabled for those. Protected activities are: Browse, Terminal, Log, Write, ImageViewer and Record. Note that the user can still install newer versions of these activities.

7. Tom Gilliard (satellit) has been making steady progress on Sugar images for use in virtual machines. In particular, he is getting much better (more stable and consistent) results on MAC hardware. See other virtual machines.

Sugar Labs

Gary Martin has generated a SOM from the past few weeks of discussion on the IAEP mailing list.

Visit our planet for more updates about Sugar and Sugar deployments.

Community News archive

An archive of this digest is available.

Planet

The Sugar Labs Planet is found here.

Sugar in the news

31 Jan 2011 SundanceA Day in the Life – Peru
01 Dec 2010 velonationSugar Labs to back Garmin-Cervelo’s development team in unique arrangement
28 Oct 2010 UCRNuevas tecnologías deben estar al alcance de todos los niños y niñas
05 Oct 2010 xconomyOne Ecosystem per Child
08 Sep 2010 FLOSS WeeklySugar Labs
09 Aug 2010 ABC digitalIndicadores constatan el impacto positivo en el aprendizaje de niños
23 Jun 2010 ABC digitalXo para todas las escuelas de Caacupé
21 Jun 2010 La Nacion“Buscamos que los niños no solo usen softwares, sino que puedan crear uno”
20 Jun 2010 UltimaHora.comLa laptop une a padres, alumnos y docentes
15 Jun 2010 The HOLPC XO-1.5 software updated
10 Jun 2010 engadgetSugar on a Stick hits 3.0, teaches us about a new kind of fruit
27 May 2010 Pro Linux DESugar on a Stick v3 freigegeben (German)
27 May 2010 NY TimesOne Laptop Per Child Project Works With Marvell to Produce a $100 Tablet
27 May 2010 PC WorldOLPC Rules out Windows for XO-3
03 May 2010 WXXI: Mixed MediaInterview with Walter Bender (audio)
03 May 2010 Linux MagazineOLPC Computers for Palestinian Refugee Children
14 Apr 2010 National Science FoundationXO Laptops Inspire Learning In Birmingham, Alabama (video)
02 Apr 2010
15 Mar 2010 nbc13.comBirmingham City students opt to spend spring break in class, XO computer camps (video)
18 Feb 2010 LWNKarma targets easier creation of educational software
05 Feb 2010 iprofesionalLa PC barata de Negroponte desembarca en la Argentina para pelear contra Intel
14 Jan 2010 AALFOpen Systems for Broader Change
03 Jan 2010 Educacion 2.0PLAN CEIBAL, El Libro
14 Dec 2009 xconomySugar gets sweeter
10 Dec 2009 Ars TechnicaSugar software environment gets sweeter with version 2
09 Dec 2009 WiredNew Sugar on a Stick Brings Much Needed Improvements
08 Dec 2009 engadgetSugar on a Stick OS goes to 2.0, gets Blueberry coating and creamy Fedora 12 center (video)
07 Dec 2009 Teleread.orgSugar on a Stick: What it means for e-books and education
27 Nov 2009 CNET Japan「コードを見せて、もっと良くなるよ」と言える子どもが生まれる--Sugar Labsが描く未来
16 Nov 2009 zanichellisoftware libero a scuola
12 Nov 2009 opensuse.orgopenSUSE 11.2 Released
07 Nov 2009 My Broadband NewsMandriva 2010 packs a punch [and Sugar]
06 Nov 2009 GhanaWebOpen education and an IT-enabled economic growth in Ghana: Musings of a dutiful citizen
26 Oct 2009 Linux Magazine ESSoftware Libre como apoyo al aprendizaje
09 Oct 2009 interdisciplinesOLPC and Sugar: mobility through the community
08 Oct 2009 IBM developerWorks10 important Linux developments everyone should know about
01 Oct 2009 OLPC FranceInterview Walter Bender au SugarCamp
25 Sep 2009 The InquirerOne Laptop per Child marches on
18 Sep 2009 GroklawThe Role of Free Software in Education
18 Sep 2009 ReutersSugar Labs and Free Software Foundation Celebrate Software Freedom Day
17 Sep 2009 ICTDev.orgDream Again with One Laptop per Child
26 Aug 2009 LatinuxAzúcar en una memoria USB
03 Aug 2009 Wired: Geek DadInventing a New Paradigm: SugarLabs and the Sugar UI
30 Jul 2009 ZanichelliSugar on a Stick: imparare insieme
23 Jul 2009 Everything USBRecycleUSB.com - Donate your Flash Drives for a Good Cause
22 Jul 2009 OLPC FranceSugar : mauvaise presse et mise au point
13 Jul 2009 Spiegel OnlineDas zuckersüße Leichtbau-Linux
07 Jul 2009 ComputerWorldUKGran Canaria Desktop Summit: a Study in Contrasts
06 Jul 2009 Windows ForestUSBメモリなどから“OLPC”用のOSを利用できる「Sugar on a Stick」が無償公開
02 Jul 2009 Howard County LibrarySugar on a Stick
27 Jun 2009 DeutschlandfunkSüßes für die Kleinen: Sugar ist Linux speziell für Kinder (in Deutsch)
26 Jun 2009 EduTechSugar on a stick, and other delectables (praise for the lowly USB drive)
26 Jun 2009 Ars TechnicaSugar on a Stick brings sweet taste of Linux to classrooms
24 Jun 2009 BBCOLPC software to power aging PCs
24 Jun 2009 Technology Review$100 Laptop Becomes a $5 PC
15 Jun 2009 TechSavvyKidsEpisode 10 FOSSVT: Sugar on a Stick (audio)
10 Jun 2009 LWN.netSugar moves from the shadow of OLPC
27 May 2009 LWN.netActivities and the move to context-oriented desktops (subscriber link)
27 May 2009 Business WireDailymotion Launches Support for Open Video Formats and Video HTML Tag
01 May 2009 GuysoftNokia N810 Running OLPC Sugar
29 Apr 2009 El MercurioAsí se vivió la fiesta del software libre
27 Apr 2009 ostaticSugar on a Stick: Good for Kids' Minds (and School Budgets)
25 Apr 2009 Free Software MagazineThe Bittersweet Facts about OLPC and Sugar
24 Apr 2009 Ars TechnicaFirst taste: Sugar on a Stick learning platform
22 Apr 2009 BetanewsBeta of Live USB Sugar OS opens
27 Mar 2009 Mass High TechGoogle promotes summer open-source internships
18 Mar 2009 MetropolisA Good Argument
16 Mar 2009 Laptop MagazineSugar Labs’ New Version of Sugar Learning Platform Is Netbook and PC Ready
16 Mar 2009 Market WatchSugar Labs Nonprofit Announces New Version of Sugar Learning Platform for Children, Runs on Netbooks and PCs
14 Feb 2009 OLPC Learning Club – DCLearning Learning on a Stick
05 Feb 2009 xconomySugar Beyond the XO Laptop: Walter Bender on OLPC, Sucrose 0.84, and “Sugar on a Stick”
26 Jan 2009 Linus MagazineSugar Defies OLPC Cutbacks
19 Jan 2009 Feeding the PenguinsThe status of Sugar, post-OLPC
16 Jan 2009 OLPC NewsSugar on Acer Aspire One & Thin Client via LTSP
12 Jan 2009 Bill Kerrthoughts about olpc cutbacks
07 Jan 2009 Ars TechnicaOLPC downsizes half of its staff, cuts Sugar development
06 Jan 2009 OLPC NewsAn Inside Look at how Microsoft got XP on the XO
30 Dec 2008 OLPC NewsSugar Labs Status at Six Months
22 Dec 2008 The GNOME ProjectSugar Labs, the nonprofit behind the OLPC software, is joining the GNOME Foundation
16 Dec 2008 Feeding the PenguinsSugar git repository change
14 Dec 2008 NPRLaptop Deal Links Rural Peru To Opportunity, Risk (Part 2)
13 Dec 2008 NPRLaptops May Change The Way Rural Peru Learns (Part 1)
09 Dec 2008 SFCSugar Labs joins Conservancy
31 Oct 2008 Linux DevicesAn OLPC dilemma: Linux or Windows?
10 Oct 2008 Feeding the PenguinSugar on Ubuntu
21 Sep 2008 GroklawInterview with Walter Bender of Sugar Labs
17 Sep 2008 Bill KerrSugar Labs
16 Sep 2008 Open SourceSugar everywhere
28 Aug 2008 OLPC NewsAn answer to Walter Bender's question 22
20 Aug 2008 OLPC NewsSugarize it: Intel Classmate 2
08 Aug 2008 Investor's Business Daily'Learning' Vs. Laptop Was Issue
06 Aug 2008 OLPC NewsTwenty-three Questions on Technology and Education
18 Jul 2008 Bill Kerrevaluating Sugar in the developed world
28 Jun 2008 OLPC NewsA Cutting Edge Sugar User Interface Demo
18 Jun 2008 PC WorldOLPC Spin-off Developing UI for Intel's Classmate PC
17 Jun 2008 DatamationIf Business Succeeds with GNU/Linux, Why Not OLPC?
11 Jun 2008 LinuxInsiderThe Sweetness of Collaborative Learning
06 Jun 2008 Bill Kerruntangling Free, Sugar, and Constructionism
06 Jun 2008 Open EducationWalter Bender Discusses Sugar Labs Foundation
06 Jun 2008 BusinessWeekOLPC: The Educational Philosophy Controversy
05 Jun 2008 Code CultureThe Distraction Machine
05 Jun 2008 BusinessWeekOLPC: The Open-Source Controversy
27 May 2008 The New York TimesWhy Walter Bender Left One Laptop Per Child
26 May 2008 Ars TechnicaOLPC software maker splits from X0 hardware, goes solo
22 May 2008 BetaNewsLinux start-up Sugar Labs in informal talks with four laptop makers
16 May 2008 OSTATICOLPC's Open Source Sugar Platform Aims for New Hardware
16 May 2008 PCWorldBender Forms Group to Promote OLPC's Sugar UI
16 May 2008 MHTBender jumps from OLPC, founds Sugar Labs
16 May 2008 News.comSugar Labs will make OLPC interface available for Eee PC, others
16 May 2008 Feeding the PeguinsThe future of Sugar
16 May 2008 Sugar listA few thoughts on SugarLabs
16 May 2008 xconomyBender Creates Sugar Labs—New Foundation to Adapt OLPC’s Laptop Interface for Other Machines
16 May 2008 BBC'$100 laptop' platform moves on
15 May 2008 OLPC wikiDual-boot XO Claim: OLPC will not work to port Sugar to Windows.
16 May 2008 SoftpediaBender Launches Sugar Labs for Better Development of OLPC's Sugar UI

Press releases

See our Press Page