How to present Sugar

How to Present Sugar

Sugar is meant to be explored, but orienting people before they start reduces initial frustration. Here is our current list of Sugar Basics to cover before you have people explore.

Presentations

• OLPC / Sugar Labs overview presentation

Hands on guide

It's great to get people playing around with Sugar themselves. Be sure to cover the basics before you turn people loose, though, otherwise they will get frustrated:

1. Show the Home View.
2. Show the XO icon and draw attention to its colors and how they are used throughout the interface to represent "your work".
3. Show how one gets to the Frame and its main features.
4. Show the Neighborhood View. Show that one can get there from the Frame or from F1.
5. Demonstrate connecting to an AP. Explain that more color in the circle means stronger signal (as opposed to how "full" it is).
6. Show the Group View and that "friends" will show up there.
7. Show the Journal where one's work is saved.
8. Demonstrate that to do something, one goes to one's Home View and clicks on any of the icons. They are the Activities.
9. Demonstrate Chat - "This balloon is the Chat Activity" - as it only has a simple toolbar, and it can be easily used to explain activity sharing essentials.
10. Point out sharing in the Activity toolbar: "This — the "Share with:" combo box — makes your Activity appear in the Neighborhood View. Your friends can connect to it. Enjoy a little chat with your friends and see how important the Sugar colors are to identify you."
11. Point our Write: "This pen and paper icon is a text editor. Yes, it has the same toolbar as Chat. No, you don't have to use it like a chat."

Hints

• Always try to bring an AP. Don't use existing wireless. Collaboration will work on a AP that has no internet / upstream connection.

• Either get USB sticks to boot OR teach about Sugar, don't try to do both at once.

• Demo Write and peer editing. This is a big deal for teachers. Do it early in the presentation, before you get (happily) distracted with anything else.

Colophon

This guide grew from Caroline Meeks' reflections on presenting Sugar. You can view her giving the presentation. This is a work in progress, based on what we didn't do in past sessions. Please try it with a group of people and update with your experiences.

• Lessons 9 - 11 from Andrea Mangiatordim, comments to above thread.