Sugar on a Stick in Delhi India

Introduction

We are a team from Boston University composed of Anurag Goel (Engineering '12), David Han (Political Science '11) and Francis Thalakotur (Engineering '12).

We want to provide better educational opportunities for elementary school students all around the world. There is a pronounced achievement gap between students in "developed" countries and "developing" countries. We think technology can play a huge role in shrinking that gap. With this goal in mind, we will be introducing Sugar on a Stick to several classrooms in Delhi, India.

Sugar on a Stick

What is Sugar on a Stick? Sugar is an educational operating system designed for children. It boasts a unique graphical interface and a plethora of open-source educational activities. It's currently used by over a million children around the world using XO laptops [laptop.org One Laptop per Child], so we know it works. We're putting Sugar on a USB stick, so a child can boot their personal learning platform on any computer from a USB stick.

There are a few benefits from this approach. The USB sticks function like a portable computer, and are inexpensive/replaceable. Also, since children can use their sticks at home, this can extend the amount of time children spend learning outside the classroom. Also, all the student's work is automatically saved, so teachers can go back and see exactly where student's are struggling or succeeding.

Our research

We want to measure improvements in student learning as a result of using Sugar on a Stick. We'll be measuring improvements using both quantitative and qualitative methods. A unique aspect of our research is that we're really exploring how teachers can evaluate student performance using digital portfolios.

A digital portfolio functions much like a normal portfolio - it is a compilation of a student's major accomplishments. Sugar automatically saves all a student's work, so any work done on a computer will be in a student's portfolio.

If every child has a digital portfolio, a compilation of their work and achievements, a teacher can see exactly where each child is struggling and excelling. For example, a teacher can identify a child struggling with subject-verb agreement or fractions. Also, portfolios give children an opportunity to showcase critical thinking and creativity. While portfolios cannot replace standardized tests, we believe it is an important evaluation tool for teachers.

We will be publishing a case study in the fall semester (2010) with a professor in the BU School of Education, Dr. Evangeline Harris Stefanakis.

SEETA

We will be partnering with SEETA (Software for Education, Entertainment and Training Activities). SEETA is a non-profit in Delhi, India and our local partner. SEETA focuses on creating ‘activities’ (software) for Sugar that meets specific curriculum objectives.

SEETA is supporting our research with manpower and technical support. They have been communicating with local schools in Delhi who are interested in a Sugar deployment. Also, they will be familiarizing teachers with Sugar prior to our arrival in India. After we leave, they will continue supporting Sugar on a Stick to help make our project sustainable.

Schools

Our blog

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How can you help?

Any contribution will make a huge difference for children who don't have the same opportunities to excel that students in the United States enjoy.

You can make a donation to our PayPal account (insert link!), or if there's another way you'd like to support our efforts, our contact information is below.

Team bios

Contact information

Anurag Goel - agoel23@gmail.com

David Han - dshan@bu.edu

Francis Thalakotur - francis@thalakotur.com