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| | == Sugar Digest == | | == Sugar Digest == |
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| − | 1. It has been crazy busy. With the upcoming XO-4 launch, Sugar with touch support will be making its début. The developer team has done a great job but we are lagging behind a bit on the activity level: Activities that use keyboard input need to be modified to use the on-screen keyboard; and now that tablet mode will be used more often, we need to better attend to the issue of screen rotation. | + | 1. We need to finalize our application to Google Summer of Code by the end of next week. I've put a rough draft of our application in the wiki (See [[Summer_of_Code/2013/Application]]). Most important is to finalize our list of project ideas and mentors. Please add your ideas to the wiki to [[Summer_of_Code/2013]]. |
| | | | |
| − | In order to adapt to the on-screen keyboard, there are two adjustments that need to be made: (1) use either a GTK Entry or TextView instead of directly querying the keyboard; and (2) make sure that the Entry is visible when the keyboard is visible. To address both issues, I have been mostly using GTK Fixed in order to reposition the Entry appropriately. But also, I have been using a strategy of moving the Entry to the top of the activity.
| + | 2. I've been on the road (and ice) these past few weeks. I gave the keynote at GoOpen Arctic, and had a chance to hobnob with the likes of Richard Stallman and Håkon Wium Lie. It was quite the adventure since the conference was held in two venues: Tromsø and Longyearbyrn (the latter being in Svalbard at 78:15 North). Lots of enthusiasm for Sugar and interest in connected the young end of our developer community with kids in Norway. I came back to Boston and almost immediately headed to West Coast to attend Pycon. I was the keynote for a new Education Summit at Pycon, organized by Naomi Ceder. I had a chance to catch up with a number of old friends, including Raúl Gutiérrez Segalés, Mel Chua, Stephen Jacobs and Jeff Elkner and the RIT Sugar team. As usual, I gave my talk using Turtle Art, and afterwards, we discussed the gulf between block-based graphical programming environments and text-based environments such as Python. One idea that emerged was to add an export-Python option to Turtle Art (similar to the export-Logo option that already is part of the package). Raúl and I started writing some code that looks promising. Stay tuned. Then off to Washington DC with Claudia Urrea for a meeting with the Inter-American Development Bank to discuss the use of Sugar in Honduras. We kicked around a lot of good ideas about mentoring and building bridges between teachers. |
| | | | |
| − | There are two issues with dealing with landscape vs portrait mode. One is to make sure that the work area of an activity accommodates the change in size and aspect ration. Perhaps the easiest way to do this is simply to define a square work area inside of a scrolling window. There are times when this strategy won't work, such as with Paint, but for the most part, it is a simple solution.
| + | 3. Martin Abente (with a little help from his friends) has gotten the beginnings of a Twitter Web Service working from the Sugar Journal. Simply invoke the Copy-To Twitter menu item, and your Journal entry is sent as a tweet. There is some work to be done in registering the service per user and some housekeeping regarding pulling replies into the comments field of the Journal, but it is already in pretty decent shape, thanks to the Web Services framework that Raúl and I developed last month. (I am hoping that the framework is reviewed and accepted into Sugar so that it will be easier for people to test and enhance it.) |
| | | | |
| − | The toolbars are another matter. It is often the case that not all of the elements fit when in portrait mode. The default behavior of Sugar, to make a list on a palette that displays on the edge of the screen is somewhat lacking, both in that many toolbar items are either not shown or inoperable in that form. And aesthetically, it is not very Sugar-like. I've been experimenting with some different approaches to generating palettes, and also moving some toolbar elements around (e.g., moving some buttons to secondary toolbars). Alas, none of these solutions are ideal or completely generalizable. But I think there are harbingers of a solution.
| + | === In the community === |
| | | | |
| − | Another issue with touch is that Gtk2 ComboBoxes don't work. The problem has been fixed in the Gtk3 version of the Sugar tool-kit, but, not being a fan of Combo Boxes to begin with, I see it as an opportunity to minimize their use. For example, using bigger/smaller buttons is arguably an easier way to adjust font size using touch.
| + | 4. Guzmán Trinidad has written a book about Physics on the XO (See ''[https://sites.google.com/site/solymar1fisica/fisica-con-xo-investigacion-/fisica-con-xo-el-libro Física con XO]''). It features many of the projects that Guzmán and Tony Forster have been developing, using a combination of Measure and Turtle Blocks. |
| − | | |
| − | Ultimately, we'll want to add more gesture support as well. Many activities could readily support panning and zooming. And a "long" press can replace the un-Sugar-like reliance of right-click that some activities are using.
| |
| − | | |
| − | I've packaged many of these ideas into some experimental (and production) versions of some activities (Please see [http://people.sugarlabs.org/~walter/Abacus-47.1.xo Abacus], [http://people.sugarlabs.org/~walter/Chart-9.1.xo Chart], [http://people.sugarlabs.org/~walter/Chat-78.1.xo Chat], [http://people.sugarlabs.org/~walter/Labyrinth-14.4.xo Labyrinth], [http://people.sugarlabs.org/~walter/Portfolio-41.2.xo Portfolio], [http://people.sugarlabs.org/~walter/Speak-44.6.xo Speak], and [http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addons/versions/4027#version-173 TurtleBlocks]). Feedback most welcome.
| |
| − | | |
| − | 2. It occurred to me that the Web Services framework that Raul and I developed a few weeks ago might make a nice home for a simple classroom service: handing in homework assignments and receiving back comments from the teacher and fellow students. Such a service could be dropped right into the same framework we built for Facebook, so in the Journal, there would be a Share with (or Copy to) Teacher and comments would appear in the Journal detail view (and be directly integrated in the Portfolio). Simple, but potentially quite useful.
| |
| − | | |
| − | === In the Community ===
| |
| − | | |
| − | 3. We will be applying to Google Summer of Code this year ([[Summer_of_Code|detailed schedule]]). We need project ideas and mentors. Please add your ideas to [[Summer_of_Code/2013]] and let me know if you are interested in mentoring. (As far as I know, GSOC participants need to be enrolled in university but there is no restriction on whom can be a mentor. I am hoping that some of our GCI contestants, too young to participate in GSOC, might be interested in mentoring.)
| |
| − | | |
| − | === Tech Talk ===
| |
| − | | |
| − | 4. Adam Holt reported on [http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/server-devel/2013-February/006258.html the School Server Hack Sprint] held in Toronto (See [8]).
| |
| − | | |
| − | 5. Daniel Narvaez has been making great progress on "[http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/sugar-devel/2013-February/041847.html Agora]", his attempt to achieve the goals of the Sugar Learning Platform using the web technologies (See [9]).
| |
| | | | |
| | === Sugar Labs === | | === Sugar Labs === |
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. We need to finalize our application to Google Summer of Code by the end of next week. I've put a rough draft of our application in the wiki (See Summer_of_Code/2013/Application). Most important is to finalize our list of project ideas and mentors. Please add your ideas to the wiki to Summer_of_Code/2013.
2. I've been on the road (and ice) these past few weeks. I gave the keynote at GoOpen Arctic, and had a chance to hobnob with the likes of Richard Stallman and Håkon Wium Lie. It was quite the adventure since the conference was held in two venues: Tromsø and Longyearbyrn (the latter being in Svalbard at 78:15 North). Lots of enthusiasm for Sugar and interest in connected the young end of our developer community with kids in Norway. I came back to Boston and almost immediately headed to West Coast to attend Pycon. I was the keynote for a new Education Summit at Pycon, organized by Naomi Ceder. I had a chance to catch up with a number of old friends, including Raúl Gutiérrez Segalés, Mel Chua, Stephen Jacobs and Jeff Elkner and the RIT Sugar team. As usual, I gave my talk using Turtle Art, and afterwards, we discussed the gulf between block-based graphical programming environments and text-based environments such as Python. One idea that emerged was to add an export-Python option to Turtle Art (similar to the export-Logo option that already is part of the package). Raúl and I started writing some code that looks promising. Stay tuned. Then off to Washington DC with Claudia Urrea for a meeting with the Inter-American Development Bank to discuss the use of Sugar in Honduras. We kicked around a lot of good ideas about mentoring and building bridges between teachers.
3. Martin Abente (with a little help from his friends) has gotten the beginnings of a Twitter Web Service working from the Sugar Journal. Simply invoke the Copy-To Twitter menu item, and your Journal entry is sent as a tweet. There is some work to be done in registering the service per user and some housekeeping regarding pulling replies into the comments field of the Journal, but it is already in pretty decent shape, thanks to the Web Services framework that Raúl and I developed last month. (I am hoping that the framework is reviewed and accepted into Sugar so that it will be easier for people to test and enhance it.)
4. Guzmán Trinidad has written a book about Physics on the XO (See Física con XO). It features many of the projects that Guzmán and Tony Forster have been developing, using a combination of Measure and Turtle Blocks.
Sugar Labs
Visit our planet for more updates about Sugar and Sugar deployments.
An archive of this digest is available.
Planet
The Sugar Labs Planet is found here.
Sugar in the news
| 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
