Difference between revisions of "Sugar Labs/Current Events"

From Sugar Labs
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Line 7: Line 7:
 
1. Just back from two exhilarating weeks in India. Along with Harriet
 
1. Just back from two exhilarating weeks in India. Along with Harriet
 
Vidyasagar, I visited with Sugar and OLPC aficionados in Delhi, Goa,
 
Vidyasagar, I visited with Sugar and OLPC aficionados in Delhi, Goa,
Mumbai, and Guwahati. It was quite eye-opening.
+
Mumbai, and Guwahati. It was quite eye-opening. (Salil Konkar documented the
 +
trip in a [http://monsoongrey.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/walter-benders-india-visit/ slideshow]
 +
on his blog.)
  
 
The first stop was Delhi. Harriet had arranged meetings with Sesame
 
The first stop was Delhi. Harriet had arranged meetings with Sesame

Revision as of 10:26, 12 September 2012

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. Just back from two exhilarating weeks in India. Along with Harriet Vidyasagar, I visited with Sugar and OLPC aficionados in Delhi, Goa, Mumbai, and Guwahati. It was quite eye-opening. (Salil Konkar documented the trip in a slideshow on his blog.)

The first stop was Delhi. Harriet had arranged meetings with Sesame Street India, which is using Sugar in an after-school program. They were blown away when I told them the history of the Simple Graph program, one of their favorites. Then we went to JNU where I met with Dr. Ajith Kumar. Kumar works at the inter-university particle accelerator center, but is also the inventor of ExpEyes, a peripheral device similar to Arduino (or Lego WeDo) but for more serious EE work (it has a signal generator and a buffer for doing precise sampling of signals). Of course, I could not resist writing a Turtle Art plugin for his device.

I also attended a seminar on Digital Literacy sponsored by the Hindustan Times, Intel, and Microsoft. The seminar itself was pretty depressing: a very paternalistic approach to providing government services to the masses. But I met a number of good people there whom I will be following up with.

Also in Delhi, I got a chance to see Manusheel Gupta, who had interned for me in the very early days of OLPC. It was very nice to catch up.

The next stop was Goa, where there is a small OLPC deployment. One of the highlights of the trip was finally meeting Salil Konkar, who has been maintaining the deployment on a volunteer basis. There are not enough laptops for each child to get their own, so before each class, a selected group of students retrieve then (XO 1.0s) from a charging station (designed at the Homi Bhabha Centre) for use in the class. The students, perhaps seven to eight years old, were using the Numbers activity that day, and although it was somewhat of a traditional class in format--desks in rows facing forward--they were actively engaged and helping each other. I had a prototype of XO Touch with me, so I did a small study with some of the kids to see how they took to it. (Although it is unfair to compare with the erratic touchpad of the first-generation XO 1.0s, it was nonetheless obvious that touch will make a big difference: the interface, which had been getting in the way was suddenly in background; all focus was on the math.)

Another highlight in Goa was the opportunity to meet Rita Paes, who directs the Nirmala Institute, a teacher-training college. I got a chance to talk to the students about Sugar (who welcomed me with a lovely ceremony) and with Rita about the potential for establishing a center of excellence for teacher training to support our efforts in India. I saw great potential. Rita also introduced Harriet and me to some locals who have interest in helping with the localization of Sugar into Konkani. It was interesting to me that some people write Konkani using Latin script, while others use Devanagari script. It is somewhat of a political issue, so Chris Leonard has enabled both communities to work in pootle.

From there, I went to the University of Goa, where I gave a lecture to the engineering students. The next evening, I gave a seminar on how to write a Sugar activity to about seventy students. Clearly there is some latent interest in the project. I also have a lecture at the local meeting of the ACM, which happened to coincide with my visit. Finally, I travelled an hour out of town to the Goa Institute of Management, a beautiful campus on a hill top, to talk to the students on the theme of "learning to change the world." We discussed strategies for making Sugar (and OLPC) take hold on the Peninsula. (See Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.)

From Goa I travelled to Mumbai, where I was hosted by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, specifically G Nagarjuna and his students at the Gnowledge Lab. G's students are well versed in Sugar, having been active in supporting the OLPC deployment in Khairat. Their principal project is metastudio.org, a peer-to-peer collaborative workspace that utilizes many semantic features. We discussed the possibility of folding some of their work into future School Server designs. Hopefully they will be able to participate (mostly likely on line) in the discussions at the SF summit.

From Mumbai, I visited two schools: a school for children with disabilities and the village school in Khairat. At the former, I discussed with the computer teacher the possibility of using Sugar instead of Microsoft Windows XP as a way to engage the children more directly. While Sugar is attractive from the learning perspective, one concern is that a good deal of the computer training is geared towards an exam that is based on mastery of Microsoft products, which is a hurdle the children must jump over in order to enter the job market. Of course, for most populations of learners, master one word processor means that one can quickly master any other, but it is still to be demonstrated that such a transfer would occur with this population.

At the school in Khairat, I got a chance to see what has sprouted from the seed that Carla Gomez Monroy planted four years ago. Khairat was one of the early OLPC deployments and, although the program has as yet to take off in India as a whole, this program is still going strong. Harriet and I were welcomed to the village with a traditional ceremony that included beautiful garlands of flowers. We sat with some of the mothers and preschool children, whom I immediately presented the XO Touch. The children took to it immediately. One child, using paint, kept looking at his finger for the ink. But the real fun was visiting the classroom. The children took turns standing in front of the class to talk about their work: often drawing, custom-made memory games, writing (in both English and Marathi--they are completely fluid in switching between scripts on the XO keyboard), and Turtle Art. I got to watch as a child figured out how to scale his drawings in Turtle Art. I got a chance to present to the class, so I thought I would engage them in something a bit different. Daniel Drake has written a yet-to-be-released activity that features some animated dance and exercise moves. I showed them some dances and they did not need prompting to follow along. But then I asked them to show me some of the local dance steps. I challenged them to make their own dance videos and coached them through the process using Turtle Art. They quickly grasped the concept behind the various media blocks (they had previously been using an old version of Turtle Art that did not yet have these features). Together we engaged in some "hard fun."

Dancedance.png

My next stop was IIT Guwahati. I gave the keynote at Techniche, the annual techno-management festival. Interestingly, as I was staying at the university guest house, I had a chance to interact with much of the staff, particularly in the kitchen (did I mention I love Indian food?). They were really taken with the XO and we discussed how we might get some for their children. As it turns out, the students at the IIT run a school for the children of the workers, so perhaps it is not out of the question.

I spent another 24 hours in Delhi. Harriet and I spent much of the day with Satyaakam Goswami and his students at JNU and members of the local FOSS community. In addition to being very active in helping to translate Sugar into Hindi, Satyaakam has been working in an urban school in Nithari, using Raspberry PI. I visited the school and only have admiration for the teachers and students who seem to be thriving despite very difficult circumstances. As with the school for the disabled, much of the emphasis in the school is for the children to pass their exams, so in discussion with the teachers, we talked about trying to establish some extra-curricular activities for the children using Sugar.

India opened my eyes both to the possibilities and the challenges of Sugar and OLPC. Many thanks to Harriet for her support. And to the numerous volunteers I met who are trying to give the opportunity of learning to so many children.

2. In response to feedback from FZT, I released a new version of the Nutrition activity. Also, in the spirit of eating my own dog food, as usual I gave my talks in India using Turtle Art. In the process, I uncovered some corner cases in some of the new features I had introduced in Version 154. Version 156 has some bug fixes.

3. I just got the galley back from the publisher of a book I am writing (with Chuck Kane), Learning to Change the World, about OLPC. I hope to do justice to the project.

In the community

4. There are plans to hold the next OLPC SF summit in San Francisco the weekend of October 19-21. We are looking into organizing a Sugar Camp following the summit.

Tech Talk

Misc.

  • The last of Hippo is removed from the shell!!
  • Work on 13.1 is under way.

Sugar Labs

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

07 Sep 2012 NDTVOne Laptop Per Child initiative a hit in rural India
08 Jul 2012 Estado de S. PauloPara educar
24 Apr 2012 Pacific StandardOLPC Redux
12 Apr 2012 Huffington PostHult 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 HeraldOne Laptop Per Child screening $100 tablet
10 Jan 2012 ars technicaCrank, bicycle, and waterwheel: hands-on with the OLPC XO 3.0 tablet
08 Jan 2012 The VergeOLPC XO 3.0 tablet preview: impressions, video, and pictures
07 Jan 2012 The VergeOLPC XO 3.0 tablet: an 8-inch tablet for $100, with Android and Sugar options for the children
23 Dec 2011 Miller-McCuneOne Laptop Per Child Redux
18 Oct 2011 BDURobotics in Uruguay (video)
11 Aug 2011 Berlin.deGewinner des Berliner Landeswettbewerbs zu Open Source stehen fest
25 Jul 2011 CCC ClassicGarmin-sugarlabs development cycling team at Crit starting line
25 Jul 2011 CCC ClassicGarmin-sugarlabs development cycling team after Crit
13 Apr 2011 framablogL'expérience Sugar Labs préfigure-t-elle une révolution éducative du XXIe siècle?
05 Apr 2011 BusinesswireThe Government of Peru Expands the One Laptop Per Child Program with Local Manufacturing
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