Sugar on a Stick/FAQ: Difference between revisions

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===What is it ~~- learning games, homework help, search engines~~?===

===What is it?===

: [[Sugar on a Stick/Essence|Sugar on a Stick is, in essence]], a project to design, distribute, and deploy the Sugar Learning Platform ''software'' on inexpensive USB and SD flash storage devices, which people can easily ''carry from home to school to library to clubhouse to boot or run on any computing device'' for seamless continuation of their learning Activities and collaborations.

===Is it - learning games, homework help, search engines?===

: Sugar on a Stick provides a consistent, child friendly environment with learning games, software for music, graphics, text, and software creation, a calculator and physics modeling Activities, an Internet browser and chat programs, an electronic book reader, and a tool for teachers to select and package web-based content for students for offline exploration. Additional learning software is available for download in the [http://activities.sugarlabs.org Sugar Activity Library]. The software on the portable memory device allows students to have the same learning tools at school and at home. The teacher can use it to assign homework, but it does not in itself provide homework help. The web browser can be used as a search engine.

===What do I have to obtain to make it work?===

: The software can be run on must personal computer systems, but at this point, Sugar on a Stick in-school deployment is in Beta testing stage~~, starting~~ its first [[Gardner Pilot Academy|pilot deployment]] at a school in Boston, Massachusetts, USA~~. We~~ would welcome other pilot deployments, but this is still technology in its early stages. At this stage, one might need a technical person who can interface with the Sugar community to make it work.

: The software can be run on must personal computer systems, but at this point, Sugar on a Stick in-school deployment is in Beta testing stage. After learning from its first [[Gardner Pilot Academy|pilot deployment]] at a school in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, we would welcome other pilot deployments, but this is still technology in its early stages. At this stage, one might need a technical person who can interface with the Sugar community to make it work. Re: [[Sugar on a Stick/TODO]]

: You will also need at least a 1-GB stick for each student. If updates or large activities will be installed, however, a 4-GB or ~~8-GB~~ stick is recommended. ~~(See [http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Category:Live_USB#Cautions_with_using_Live_USB.27s Cautions with using Live USB].)~~

: You will also need at least a 1-GB stick for each student. If updates or large activities will be installed, however, a 4-GB or larger stick is recommended.

===How much does each stick cost?===

: (Note that Sugar Labs does not sell hardware, software, or services.) Check your local computer store for prices. Right now, it's about $8 USD for a 1-GB stick. To deploy on a large scale, you will also need either very dedicated volunteers or a bulk copy device. We are using one from NeXcopy that retails for about $1200. You should also budget for some USB stick loss.

: (Note that Sugar Labs does not sell hardware, software, or services.) Check your local computer store for prices. Right now, it's about $8 USD for a 1-GB stick. To deploy on a large scale, you will also need either very dedicated volunteers or a bulk copy device. We are using one from NeXcopy that retails for about $1200. You should also budget for some USB stick loss. See this [[Sugar_Creation_Kit#Commercial_source_of_SoaS-loaded_media | page section]] for a commercial source of USB sticks or SD cards with Sugar on a Stick installed.

===Can I try some of it out?===

: The full software package can be downloaded from [[Sugar on a Stick/~~Strawberry~~]]. You can use this download to install Sugar on a Stick onto a USB flash memory drive and test it out.

: The full software package can be downloaded from [[Sugar on a Stick/Mango Lassi]]. You can use this download to install Sugar on a Stick onto a USB flash memory drive and test it out.

===Is it the whole Sugar Learning Platform?===

: ~~No. We refer to the Sugar Learning Platform as platform because it is a complete software environment for learning~~. You will need a computer to run Sugar on a Stick, and for school deployments, you will also want an administrator's computer for the [[olpc:School server|School Server]]. The server software is free, but also in a Beta testing phase. The School Server does not need to be high powered: a $500 to $1000 server hardware budget should be sufficient for a pilot program.

: Not entirely. You will need a computer to run Sugar on a Stick, and for school deployments, you will also want an administrator's computer for the [[olpc:School server|School Server]]. We refer to the Sugar Learning Platform as platform because it is a complete software environment for learning. The server software is free, but also in a Beta testing phase. The School Server does not need to be high powered: a $500 to $1000 server hardware budget should be sufficient for a pilot program. Current versions of the Sugar on a Stick software package have a basic set of learning software, and is designed to be customized by the learning team to provide the specific learning tools appropriate for a given setting.

===Is it an effective learning tool?===

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===Have the resolution issues, which used to be a major issue w/ running Sugar on a non-XO, been solved?===

:While not every activity has been modified, most now accommodate variable screen sizes. All of the activities at http://activities.sugarlabs.org work at variable sizes and resolutions as far as I know.

:While not every activity has been modified, most now accommodate variable screen sizes. All of the activities at http://activities.sugarlabs.org work at variable sizes and resolutions, as far as I know.

====What about font sizes?====

:This is also fixed in Sucrose 0.84

:This is also fixed since Sucrose 0.84, Sugar on a Stick Strawberry.

===Do all the activities (~~incl.~~ collaboration) work reliably on SoaS these days?===

===Do all the activities (including collaboration) work reliably on SoaS these days?===

:Collaboration on SoaS is as robust as collaboration anywhere. (~~There is a Google Summer of Code project that will be addressing one general issue of~~ collaboration ~~robustness--this will be relevant to SoaS~~ and ~~non-SoaS deployments~~.)

:Collaboration on SoaS is as robust as collaboration anywhere. Sugar 0.88, 0.90, 0.92 (SoaS Mirabelle, Mango Lassi, & Coconut) have progressively improved on this front, although there remain collaboration issues with particular Activities, networks, and server versions.

:There are some Network Manager issues that need to be worked out in general regarding Sugar on non-OLPC kernels, but ~~this impacts~~ connectivity~~, not collaboration~~.

:There are some Network Manager issues that need to be worked out in general regarding Sugar on non-OLPC kernels, but these are issues of connectivity.

:We saw some ~~issues~~ at FOSSVT on some laptops and netbooks accessing wireless, others worked great.

:We saw some problems at FOSSVT with some laptops and netbooks accessing wireless, while others worked great.

:As you pointed out development is going very quickly right now. As we take this out into the world we are finding and fixing bugs. Our main goal right now is to get volunteers to help us do this and keep track of what hardware is working.

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 </noinclude>
-===What is it - learning games, homework help, search engines?===
+===What is it?===
+: [[Sugar on a Stick/Essence|Sugar on a Stick is, in essence]], a project to design, distribute, and deploy the Sugar Learning Platform ''software'' on inexpensive USB and SD flash storage devices, which people can easily ''carry from home to school to library to clubhouse to boot or run on any computing device'' for seamless continuation of their learning Activities and collaborations.
+===Is it - learning games, homework help, search engines?===
 : Sugar on a Stick provides a consistent, child friendly environment with learning games, software for music, graphics, text, and software creation, a calculator and physics modeling Activities, an Internet browser and chat programs, an electronic book reader, and a tool for teachers to select and package web-based content for students for offline exploration.  Additional learning software is available for download in the [http://activities.sugarlabs.org Sugar Activity Library]. The software on the portable memory device allows students to have the same learning tools at school and at home. The teacher can use it to assign homework, but it does not in itself provide homework help. The web browser can be used as a search engine.
 ===What do I have to obtain to make it work?===
-: The software can be run on must personal computer systems, but at this point, Sugar on a Stick in-school deployment is in Beta testing stage, starting its first [[Gardner Pilot Academy|pilot deployment]] at a school in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. We would welcome other pilot deployments, but this is still technology in its early stages. At this stage, one might need a technical person who can interface with the Sugar community to make it work.
+: The software can be run on must personal computer systems, but at this point, Sugar on a Stick in-school deployment is in Beta testing stage.  After learning from its first [[Gardner Pilot Academy|pilot deployment]] at a school in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, we would welcome other pilot deployments, but this is still technology in its early stages. At this stage, one might need a technical person who can interface with the Sugar community to make it work. Re: [[Sugar on a Stick/TODO]]
-: You will also need at least a 1-GB stick for each student.  If updates or large activities will be installed, however, a 4-GB or 8-GB stick is recommended.  (See [http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Category:Live_USB#Cautions_with_using_Live_USB.27s Cautions with using Live USB].)
+: You will also need at least a 1-GB stick for each student.  If updates or large activities will be installed, however, a 4-GB or larger stick is recommended.
 ===How much does each stick cost?===
-: (Note that Sugar Labs does not sell hardware, software, or services.) Check your local computer store for prices. Right now, it's about $8 USD for a 1-GB stick. To deploy on a large scale, you will also need either very dedicated volunteers or a bulk copy device.  We are using one from NeXcopy that retails for about $1200.  You should also budget for some USB stick loss.
+: (Note that Sugar Labs does not sell hardware, software, or services.) Check your local computer store for prices. Right now, it's about $8 USD for a 1-GB stick. To deploy on a large scale, you will also need either very dedicated volunteers or a bulk copy device.  We are using one from NeXcopy that retails for about $1200.  You should also budget for some USB stick loss. See this [[Sugar_Creation_Kit#Commercial_source_of_SoaS-loaded_media | page section]] for a commercial source of USB sticks or SD cards with Sugar on a Stick installed.
 ===Can I try some of it out?===
-: The full software package can be downloaded from [[Sugar on a Stick/Strawberry]]. You can use this download to install Sugar on a Stick onto a USB flash memory drive and test it out.
+: The full software package can be downloaded from [[Sugar on a Stick/Mango Lassi]]. You can use this download to install Sugar on a Stick onto a USB flash memory drive and test it out.
 ===Is it the whole Sugar Learning Platform?===
-: No.  We refer to the Sugar Learning Platform as platform because it is a complete software environment for learning.  You will need a computer to run Sugar on a Stick, and for school deployments, you will also want an administrator's computer for the [[olpc:School server|School Server]]. The server software is free, but also in a Beta testing phase.  The School Server does not need to be high powered: a $500 to $1000 server hardware budget should be sufficient for a pilot program.
+: Not entirely.  You will need a computer to run Sugar on a Stick, and for school deployments, you will also want an administrator's computer for the [[olpc:School server|School Server]].  We refer to the Sugar Learning Platform as platform because it is a complete software environment for learning.  The server software is free, but also in a Beta testing phase.  The School Server does not need to be high powered: a $500 to $1000 server hardware budget should be sufficient for a pilot program.  Current versions of the Sugar on a Stick software package have a basic set of learning software, and is designed to be customized by the learning team to provide the specific learning tools appropriate for a given setting.
 ===Is it an effective learning tool?===
@@ Line 73: / Line 76: @@
 ===Have the resolution issues, which used to be a major issue w/ running Sugar on a non-XO, been solved?===
-:While not every activity has been modified, most now accommodate variable screen sizes. All of the activities at http://activities.sugarlabs.org work at variable sizes and resolutions as far as I know.
+:While not every activity has been modified, most now accommodate variable screen sizes. All of the activities at http://activities.sugarlabs.org work at variable sizes and resolutions, as far as I know.
 ====What about font sizes?====
-:This is also fixed in Sucrose 0.84
+:This is also fixed since Sucrose 0.84, Sugar on a Stick Strawberry.
-===Do all the activities (incl. collaboration) work reliably on SoaS these days?===
+===Do all the activities (including collaboration) work reliably on SoaS these days?===
-:Collaboration on SoaS is as robust as collaboration anywhere. (There is a Google Summer of Code project that will be addressing one general issue of collaboration robustness--this will be relevant to SoaS and non-SoaS deployments.)
+:Collaboration on SoaS is as robust as collaboration anywhere. Sugar 0.88, 0.90, 0.92 (SoaS Mirabelle, Mango Lassi, & Coconut) have progressively improved on this front, although there remain collaboration issues with particular Activities, networks, and server versions.
-:There are some Network Manager issues that need to be worked out in general regarding Sugar on non-OLPC kernels, but this impacts connectivity, not collaboration.
+:There are some Network Manager issues that need to be worked out in general regarding Sugar on non-OLPC kernels, but these are issues of connectivity.
-:We saw some issues at FOSSVT on some laptops and netbooks accessing wireless, others worked great.
+:We saw some problems at FOSSVT with some laptops and netbooks accessing wireless, while others worked great.
 :As you pointed out development is going very quickly right now.  As we take this out into the world we are finding and fixing bugs.  Our main goal right now is to get volunteers to help us do this and keep track of what hardware is working.