Difference between revisions of "Sugar Labs/Current Events"

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== Sugar Digest ==
 
== Sugar Digest ==
  
−
1. Congratulations to Ignacio Rodríguez and Sam Parkinson, the grand-prize winners from Sugar Labs in [http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2015/02/google-code-in-2014-welcome-to-winners.html Google Code-in]. Our finalists are Cristian Garcia,
+
1. A few weeks ago there was a guest op-ed piece, "Can students have
−
Daksh Shah, and Jae Eun (Jasmine) Park.
+
too much tech?", in the NY Times arguing among other things that
 +
Internet access was undermining programs like One Laptop per Child. I
 +
found it surprising that Susan Pinker would cite One Laptop per Child
 +
as the principle example of the children using computers to chat and
 +
play games on the Internet (which she soundly criticised), since
 +
almost none of the children who received laptop computers through OLPC
 +
programs have ready access to the Internet (at school or at home). The
 +
exception of course being Uruguay, where every child has both a laptop
 +
and Internet access. Indeed, as a 2010 survey showed, the children in
 +
Uruguay play games – they are children after all – but they also use
 +
email, search for information, chat (also known as reading and
 +
writing), make music, artwork, and videos, program, and, in general,
 +
use the computer as a tool for problem solving. Contrary to the
 +
assertion that the program is “drive-by” education, a continuing
 +
effort is put into teacher training, community support, and outreach.
  
−
All five did great work, fixing bugs, writing documentation, and taking us to new places.
+
That said, some people associated with OLPC, including my former
 +
colleague Mr. Negroponte, are outspoken advocates for solutions that
 +
mitigate the need for teachers in elementary education. The X Prize
 +
for Education is designed around that approach and further requires
 +
that any proposed solutions be Android-tablet based. Not to say that
 +
it may be possible to engineer such a solution, to constrain the
 +
contest to an unproven pedagogical framework seems ill-advised. (Many
 +
tablet-based solutions have begun to distribute physical keyboards in
 +
acknowledgment that no one serious about writing or programming works
 +
exclusively with an on-screen keyboard. And while it is theoretically
 +
possible to exercise Software Freedoms on an Android tablet, in
 +
practice it is still well beyond most of us.) Meanwhile, here at Sugar
 +
Labs, we encourage open collaboration among students, teachers, and
 +
our community.
  
−
2. Since the contest finished, Ignacio and Sam have continued to contribute patches almost daily to [http://turtle.sugarlabs.org Turtle Blocks JS]. Jasmine has written some beginner guides (See [http://people.sugarlabs.org/walter/TurtleBlocksIntroductoryManual.pdf] and http://people.sugarlabs.org/walter/TurtleBlocksAdvancedBlocksManual.pdf]). If you haven't checked it out, please give it a try (feedback most welcome).
+
2. Martin Abente, our Sugar Release Manager, is pleased to announce
 +
the release of Sugar (sucrose) 0.104.0. This release includes new
 +
features and a multitude of bug fixes from Google Code-In and Summer
 +
of Code students, deployments and community members.
 +
 
 +
We are compiling detailed release notes at [[0.104/Notes]].
 +
 
 +
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this release and special thanks
 +
to Martin for shepherding the process.
 +
 
 +
3. Sugar Labs is applying to Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2015. The
 +
application to Google has been submitted and we are in the process of
 +
building the associated wiki pages [[Summer_of_Code/2015]]. We often use GSoC as a way of
 +
exploring new ideas and future directions; for example, last summer we
 +
had projects on extending Turtle Blocks into three-dimensions and
 +
porting Sugar to Python 3, among others. This year we are going to
 +
take a more focused approach, concentrating on fleshing out and making
 +
more robust the Javascript support within Sugar. Sample projects will
 +
be added to the wiki over the next few days. We can always use more
 +
project ideas (please add them to the wiki) and more mentors (if you
 +
are interested, please contact me over the next few weeks).
 +
 
 +
=== In the community ===
 +
 
 +
4. Tony Anderson reports that he has finally has most of the Project
 +
Bernie website [http://www.projectbernie.org] completed. This website shows what content is
 +
available on the School Server. (The School Server is a repository of
 +
content and services for Sugar deployments.) Tony reports that there
 +
are about 200 Sugar activities available to be installed from the
 +
school server; digital textbooks from Siyavula, and courses on Python,
 +
Web technology, and the Command Line Interpreter (Terminal activity).
 +
 
 +
=== Tech Talk ===
 +
 
 +
5. Peter Robinson, who has been coordinating the Sugar on a Stick
 +
releases (most recently for Fedora 21 [http://download-ib01.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/21/Live/x86_64/Fedora-Live-SoaS-x86_64-21-5.iso],
 +
[http://download-ib01.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/21/Live/i386/Fedora-Live-SoaS-i686-21-5.iso]) is looking for help
 +
coordinating testing and general community communications and
 +
facilitation. Peter is a great mentor, so it would be a nice
 +
opportunity for someone(s) to both contribute to the project and to
 +
learn more about packaging. Please contact Peter (pbrobinson AT gmail
 +
DOT com) if you are interested.
  
 
=== Sugar Labs ===
 
=== Sugar Labs ===
  
−
3. Please visit our [http://planet.sugarlab.org planet].
+
6. Please visit our planet [http://planet.sugarlab.org].
  
 
== Community News archive ==
 
== Community News archive ==

Revision as of 10:01, 13 February 2015

What's new

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. A few weeks ago there was a guest op-ed piece, "Can students have too much tech?", in the NY Times arguing among other things that Internet access was undermining programs like One Laptop per Child. I found it surprising that Susan Pinker would cite One Laptop per Child as the principle example of the children using computers to chat and play games on the Internet (which she soundly criticised), since almost none of the children who received laptop computers through OLPC programs have ready access to the Internet (at school or at home). The exception of course being Uruguay, where every child has both a laptop and Internet access. Indeed, as a 2010 survey showed, the children in Uruguay play games – they are children after all – but they also use email, search for information, chat (also known as reading and writing), make music, artwork, and videos, program, and, in general, use the computer as a tool for problem solving. Contrary to the assertion that the program is “drive-by” education, a continuing effort is put into teacher training, community support, and outreach.

That said, some people associated with OLPC, including my former colleague Mr. Negroponte, are outspoken advocates for solutions that mitigate the need for teachers in elementary education. The X Prize for Education is designed around that approach and further requires that any proposed solutions be Android-tablet based. Not to say that it may be possible to engineer such a solution, to constrain the contest to an unproven pedagogical framework seems ill-advised. (Many tablet-based solutions have begun to distribute physical keyboards in acknowledgment that no one serious about writing or programming works exclusively with an on-screen keyboard. And while it is theoretically possible to exercise Software Freedoms on an Android tablet, in practice it is still well beyond most of us.) Meanwhile, here at Sugar Labs, we encourage open collaboration among students, teachers, and our community.

2. Martin Abente, our Sugar Release Manager, is pleased to announce the release of Sugar (sucrose) 0.104.0. This release includes new features and a multitude of bug fixes from Google Code-In and Summer of Code students, deployments and community members.

We are compiling detailed release notes at 0.104/Notes.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this release and special thanks to Martin for shepherding the process.

3. Sugar Labs is applying to Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2015. The application to Google has been submitted and we are in the process of building the associated wiki pages Summer_of_Code/2015. We often use GSoC as a way of exploring new ideas and future directions; for example, last summer we had projects on extending Turtle Blocks into three-dimensions and porting Sugar to Python 3, among others. This year we are going to take a more focused approach, concentrating on fleshing out and making more robust the Javascript support within Sugar. Sample projects will be added to the wiki over the next few days. We can always use more project ideas (please add them to the wiki) and more mentors (if you are interested, please contact me over the next few weeks).

In the community

4. Tony Anderson reports that he has finally has most of the Project Bernie website [1] completed. This website shows what content is available on the School Server. (The School Server is a repository of content and services for Sugar deployments.) Tony reports that there are about 200 Sugar activities available to be installed from the school server; digital textbooks from Siyavula, and courses on Python, Web technology, and the Command Line Interpreter (Terminal activity).

Tech Talk

5. Peter Robinson, who has been coordinating the Sugar on a Stick releases (most recently for Fedora 21 [2], [3]) is looking for help coordinating testing and general community communications and facilitation. Peter is a great mentor, so it would be a nice opportunity for someone(s) to both contribute to the project and to learn more about packaging. Please contact Peter (pbrobinson AT gmail DOT com) if you are interested.

Sugar Labs

6. Please visit our planet [4].

Community News archive

An archive of this digest is available.

Planet

The Sugar Labs Planet is found here.

Sugar in the news

6 Feb 2015 Cromo – El chico Google
5 Feb 2015 Capital Noticias Canelones – El joven de Canelones, Ignacio Rodríguez, ganó nuevamente la competencia de programación de Google. (video)
3 Feb 2015 montevideo.com – Código joven
1 Dec 2014 Google Open Source Blog – 3, 2, 1 Code-in: Inviting teens to contribute to open source
7 Oct 2014 Kauffman Report – Paraguay Thirsty for 21st-Century Education
25 Sept 2014 ANEP – Fecundo intercambio de jovenes de todo el mundo en encuentro de programadores
12 Jun 2014 Producción Nacional – Innovando con XO (video)
28 Apr 2014 ABC Color – Paraguay Educa realiza talleres de programación y de robótica
21 Apr 2014 El Tiempo – 'Cada niño podría ser un maestro del 'software': Walter Bender
2 Apr 2014 vera.tv – Antel vuelta a clases (video)
4 Feb 2014 La Diaria – En código
24 Jan 2014 Espectador – Entre los ganadores del concurso anual de programación de Google Code-in hay nuevamente un joven uruguayo
23 Jan 2014 El Pais – Le enseña a sus profesores y ahora lo premia Google
20 Jan 2014 Google Open Source Blog – Google Code-in 2013 - drumroll please!
28 Nov 2013 BBVA Paraguay – Turtle Art Day in Caacupé (video)
17 Oct 2013 ANTEL Integra – Turtle Art: la plataforma del Butiá
14 Oct 2013 ABC Color – Software libre es tema de paneles en la cumbre
14 Oct 2013 ABC Color – Programar ayuda a los niños a pensar
14 Oct 2013 ABC Color – Hoy es el Día de TortugArte, en Caacupé
14 Oct 2013 ABC Color – Las TIC en la educación son clave para el desarrollo del país, aseguran
12 Oct 2013 Cromo – M’hijo el programador
08 Aug 2013 News1 – Interview with former MIT Media Lab director (in Korean)
12 Jul 2013 RIT – ‘Sky Time’ video game selected for White House Champions of Change event July 23
28 Apr 2013 BBC Mundo – Los programadores adolescentes premiados por Google
07 Feb 2013 el Neuvo Herald – Joven uruguayo brilla como programador y es distinguido por Google
06 Feb 2013 el Observador – Joven uruguayo gana la competencia Google Code (Also see GCI press interviews)
07 Sep 2012 NDTV – One Laptop Per Child initiative a hit in rural India
08 Jul 2012 Estado de S. Paulo – Para educar
24 Apr 2012 Pacific Standard – OLPC Redux
12 Apr 2012 Huffington Post – Hult Global Case Challenge: One Laptop Per Child
30 Mar 2012 newswise – “Sugar on a Stick” Helps Kids Learn How to Learn
11 Jan 2012 Boston Herald – One Laptop Per Child screening $100 tablet
10 Jan 2012 ars technica – Crank, bicycle, and waterwheel: hands-on with the OLPC XO 3.0 tablet
08 Jan 2012 The Verge – OLPC XO 3.0 tablet preview: impressions, video, and pictures
07 Jan 2012 The Verge – OLPC XO 3.0 tablet: an 8-inch tablet for $100, with Android and Sugar options for the children
23 Dec 2011 Miller-McCune – One Laptop Per Child Redux
18 Oct 2011 BDU – Robotics in Uruguay (video)
11 Aug 2011 Berlin.de – Gewinner des Berliner Landeswettbewerbs zu Open Source stehen fest
25 Jul 2011 CCC Classic – Garmin-sugarlabs development cycling team at Crit starting line
25 Jul 2011 CCC Classic – Garmin-sugarlabs development cycling team after Crit
13 Apr 2011 framablog – L'expérience Sugar Labs préfigure-t-elle une révolution éducative du XXIe siècle?
05 Apr 2011 Businesswire – The Government of Peru Expands the One Laptop Per Child Program with Local Manufacturing
31 Jan 2011 Sundance – A Day in the Life – Peru
01 Dec 2010 velonation – Sugar Labs to back Garmin-Cervelo’s development team in unique arrangement
28 Oct 2010 UCR – Nuevas tecnologías deben estar al alcance de todos los niños y niñas
05 Oct 2010 xconomy – One Ecosystem per Child
08 Sep 2010 FLOSS Weekly – Sugar Labs
09 Aug 2010 ABC digital – Indicadores constatan el impacto positivo en el aprendizaje de niños
23 Jun 2010 ABC digital – Xo 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.com – La laptop une a padres, alumnos y docentes
15 Jun 2010 The H – OLPC XO-1.5 software updated
10 Jun 2010 engadget – Sugar on a Stick hits 3.0, teaches us about a new kind of fruit
27 May 2010 Pro Linux DE – Sugar on a Stick v3 freigegeben (German)
27 May 2010 NY Times – One Laptop Per Child Project Works With Marvell to Produce a $100 Tablet
27 May 2010 PC World – OLPC Rules out Windows for XO-3
03 May 2010 WXXI: Mixed Media – Interview with Walter Bender (audio)
03 May 2010 Linux Magazine – OLPC Computers for Palestinian Refugee Children
14 Apr 2010 National Science Foundation – XO Laptops Inspire Learning In Birmingham, Alabama (video)
02 Apr 2010
15 Mar 2010 nbc13.com – Birmingham City students opt to spend spring break in class, XO computer camps (video)
18 Feb 2010 LWN – Karma targets easier creation of educational software
05 Feb 2010 iprofesional – La PC barata de Negroponte desembarca en la Argentina para pelear contra Intel
14 Jan 2010 AALF – Open Systems for Broader Change
03 Jan 2010 Educacion 2.0 – PLAN CEIBAL, El Libro
14 Dec 2009 xconomy – Sugar gets sweeter
10 Dec 2009 ars technica – Sugar software environment gets sweeter with version 2
09 Dec 2009 Wired – New Sugar on a Stick Brings Much Needed Improvements
08 Dec 2009 engadget – Sugar on a Stick OS goes to 2.0, gets Blueberry coating and creamy Fedora 12 center (video)
07 Dec 2009 Teleread.org – Sugar 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 zanichelli – software libero a scuola
12 Nov 2009 opensuse.org – openSUSE 11.2 Released
07 Nov 2009 My Broadband News – Mandriva 2010 packs a punch [and Sugar]
06 Nov 2009 GhanaWeb – Open education and an IT-enabled economic growth in Ghana: Musings of a dutiful citizen
26 Oct 2009 Linux Magazine ES – Software Libre como apoyo al aprendizaje
09 Oct 2009 interdisciplines – OLPC and Sugar: mobility through the community
08 Oct 2009 IBM developerWorks – 10 important Linux developments everyone should know about
01 Oct 2009 OLPC France – Interview Walter Bender au SugarCamp
25 Sep 2009 The Inquirer – One Laptop per Child marches on
18 Sep 2009 Groklaw – The Role of Free Software in Education
18 Sep 2009 Reuters – Sugar Labs and Free Software Foundation Celebrate Software Freedom Day
17 Sep 2009 ICTDev.org – Dream Again with One Laptop per Child
26 Aug 2009 Latinux – Azúcar en una memoria USB
03 Aug 2009 Wired: Geek Dad – Inventing a New Paradigm: SugarLabs and the Sugar UI
30 Jul 2009 Zanichelli – Sugar on a Stick: imparare insieme
23 Jul 2009 Everything USB – RecycleUSB.com - Donate your Flash Drives for a Good Cause
22 Jul 2009 OLPC France – Sugar : mauvaise presse et mise au point
13 Jul 2009 Spiegel Online – Das zuckersüße Leichtbau-Linux
07 Jul 2009 ComputerWorldUK – Gran Canaria Desktop Summit: a Study in Contrasts
06 Jul 2009 Windows Forest – USB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 Library – Sugar on a Stick
27 Jun 2009 Deutschlandfunk – Süßes für die Kleinen: Sugar ist Linux speziell für Kinder (in Deutsch)
26 Jun 2009 EduTech – Sugar on a stick, and other delectables (praise for the lowly USB drive)
26 Jun 2009 ars technica – Sugar on a Stick brings sweet taste of Linux to classrooms
24 Jun 2009 BBC – OLPC software to power aging PCs
24 Jun 2009 Technology Review – $100 Laptop Becomes a $5 PC
15 Jun 2009 TechSavvyKids – Episode 10 FOSSVT: Sugar on a Stick (audio)
10 Jun 2009 LWN.net – Sugar moves from the shadow of OLPC
27 May 2009 LWN.net – Activities and the move to context-oriented desktops (subscriber link)
27 May 2009 Business Wire – Dailymotion Launches Support for Open Video Formats and Video HTML Tag
01 May 2009 Guysoft – Nokia N810 Running OLPC Sugar
29 Apr 2009 El Mercurio – Así se vivió la fiesta del software libre
27 Apr 2009 ostatic – Sugar on a Stick: Good for Kids' Minds (and School Budgets)
25 Apr 2009 Free Software Magazine – The Bittersweet Facts about OLPC and Sugar
24 Apr 2009 ars technica – First taste: Sugar on a Stick learning platform
22 Apr 2009 Betanews – Beta of Live USB Sugar OS opens
27 Mar 2009 Mass High Tech – Google promotes summer open-source internships
18 Mar 2009 Metropolis – A Good Argument
16 Mar 2009 Laptop Magazine – Sugar Labs’ New Version of Sugar Learning Platform Is Netbook and PC Ready
16 Mar 2009 Market Watch – Sugar Labs Nonprofit Announces New Version of Sugar Learning Platform for Children, Runs on Netbooks and PCs
14 Feb 2009 OLPC Learning Club – DC – Learning Learning on a Stick
05 Feb 2009 xconomy – Sugar Beyond the XO Laptop: Walter Bender on OLPC, Sucrose 0.84, and “Sugar on a Stick”
26 Jan 2009 Linus Magazine – Sugar Defies OLPC Cutbacks
19 Jan 2009 Feeding the Penguins – The status of Sugar, post-OLPC
16 Jan 2009 OLPC News – Sugar on Acer Aspire One & Thin Client via LTSP
12 Jan 2009 Bill Kerr – thoughts about olpc cutbacks
07 Jan 2009 ars technica – OLPC downsizes half of its staff, cuts Sugar development
06 Jan 2009 OLPC News – An Inside Look at how Microsoft got XP on the XO
30 Dec 2008 OLPC News – Sugar Labs Status at Six Months
22 Dec 2008 The GNOME Project – Sugar Labs, the nonprofit behind the OLPC software, is joining the GNOME Foundation
16 Dec 2008 Feeding the Penguins – Sugar git repository change
14 Dec 2008 NPR – Laptop Deal Links Rural Peru To Opportunity, Risk (Part 2)
13 Dec 2008 NPR – Laptops May Change The Way Rural Peru Learns (Part 1)
09 Dec 2008 SFC – Sugar Labs joins Conservancy
31 Oct 2008 Linux Devices – An OLPC dilemma: Linux or Windows?
10 Oct 2008 Feeding the Penguin – Sugar on Ubuntu
21 Sep 2008 Groklaw – Interview with Walter Bender of Sugar Labs
17 Sep 2008 Bill Kerr – Sugar Labs
16 Sep 2008 Open Source – Sugar everywhere
28 Aug 2008 OLPC News – An answer to Walter Bender's question 22
20 Aug 2008 OLPC News – Sugarize it: Intel Classmate 2
08 Aug 2008 Investor's Business Daily – 'Learning' Vs. Laptop Was Issue
06 Aug 2008 OLPC News – Twenty-three Questions on Technology and Education
18 Jul 2008 Bill Kerr – evaluating Sugar in the developed world
28 Jun 2008 OLPC News – A Cutting Edge Sugar User Interface Demo
18 Jun 2008 PC World – OLPC Spin-off Developing UI for Intel's Classmate PC
17 Jun 2008 Datamation – If Business Succeeds with GNU/Linux, Why Not OLPC?
11 Jun 2008 LinuxInsider – The Sweetness of Collaborative Learning
06 Jun 2008 Bill Kerr – untangling Free, Sugar, and Constructionism
06 Jun 2008 Open Education – Walter Bender Discusses Sugar Labs Foundation
06 Jun 2008 BusinessWeek – OLPC: The Educational Philosophy Controversy
05 Jun 2008 Code Culture – The Distraction Machine
05 Jun 2008 BusinessWeek – OLPC: The Open-Source Controversy
27 May 2008 The New York Times – Why Walter Bender Left One Laptop Per Child
26 May 2008 ars technica – OLPC software maker splits from X0 hardware, goes solo
22 May 2008 BetaNews – Linux start-up Sugar Labs in informal talks with four laptop makers
16 May 2008 OSTATIC – OLPC's Open Source Sugar Platform Aims for New Hardware
16 May 2008 PCWorld – Bender Forms Group to Promote OLPC's Sugar UI
16 May 2008 MHT – Bender jumps from OLPC, founds Sugar Labs
16 May 2008 News.com – Sugar Labs will make OLPC interface available for Eee PC, others
16 May 2008 Feeding the Peguins – The future of Sugar
16 May 2008 Sugar list – A few thoughts on SugarLabs
16 May 2008 xconomy – Bender 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 wiki – Dual-boot XO Claim: OLPC will not work to port Sugar to Windows.
16 May 2008 Softpedia – Bender Launches Sugar Labs for Better Development of OLPC's Sugar UI

Press releases

See our Press Page

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