Sugar Labs/Current Events

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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. Twitter-style: Hello from Squeakfest in Wilmington, North Carolina. We just had a demonstration of some Etoys projects done by 7th graders; pretty amazing. One student, when asked what she does to keep from getting frustrated said: "Damn computer." But she is an accomplished problem solver.

This is the first conference I have been to in years where the majority of presenters are not using PowerPoint. Naturally, by-in-large, they are using Etoys for their talks.

It is great to see how teachers have incorporated the tool into their curriculum and the realities of school: even the kids built "quizzes" into their projects. But most of the learning is guided discovery.

In many cases, kids use Etoys from a USB drive, so they could take their work home and turn in their homework.

Bert Freudenberg showed an eloquent way to make animations in Etoys. I am inspired to finally add animation to my sprite library (the one I use for all of my activities: Turtle Art, Abacus, Visual Match, etc.) "Simply" a matter of adding paths and a timer. Yeah right.

Avigail Snir, a teacher from Illinois, showed a great example of exploring the modeling of gravity based on a simple basketball simulation. A remarkable thing was her use of a "book" to show the progress of her thinking along the path to discovery – the closest to a "lab notebook" as I have seen with Etoys (or any other learning program, for that matter). Lots more at [1].

Mahnaz Moallem talked about the challenges of making a transition from a well-defined, one best answer, discourage making mistakes classroom into an ill-defined, many answers, making mistakes and developing problem-solving skills classroom. She and her colleagues make extensive use of scaffolding and guiding to help kids stay motivated. Etoys "Flaps" are used for documenting what the kids have done. The consensus among North Carolina teachers at the conference is that there is a terrible constraint in the schools in terms of tightly-scheduled problem-based requirements imposed on the teachers.

Chandra Roughton posed a tough question: "Is this a model or is it [just] a visualization?" Etoys teachers think and do and demand a lot of each other and their students. What a breath of fresh air.


2. Squeakfest Part II: The final day of Squeakfest as was uplifting as my first day at the conference. There were reports from the field using Etoys and many "oh-the-things-you-can-do" presentations by teachers who use Etoys in the classroom. There was a nice mix of projects built by learners – an amazing physics model built by high-school students in North Carolina was a highlight – as well as projects intended to let a learner explore a powerful idea – a beautiful-in-its-simplicity model for estimating the area of a circle; these small projects – "Etoy-lets" – are being shared on line along with an extensive collection of simple guides to using Etoys. Again I was impressed by the extensive use of flaps and books that are created as part of the project generation process and the use of versioning to monitor a learner's progress. These facilities represent a major usability improvement in Etoys in support of pedagogical goals. Etoys is great stuff, well worth the initial investment in time and effort to learn.

3. I contrast this with the sad state of the computer industry's attempts to sell computers to schools: "[] says teachers need high-end laptops but students will just be accessing content and communication so need basic functionality." While there is nothing fundamentally wrong with giving children access to content, does that really constitute the basic functionality needed by the learner? The good news is that Sugar (and Etoys) can run on these "basic" platforms. We should stop selling teachers and learning short by dumbing down the opportunities to use computation as a thing to think with.

4. Christoph Derndorfer, who is on another of his world-wide tours of OLPC deployments – this time to Latin America – just reposted a link to Michael Trucano's restating-the-obvious article on 1-to-1 laptop deployment pitfalls on the World Bank's website. (Most of Trucano's well-worn advise applies to any learning initiative; alas, he does not provide much insight for those of us trying to actually solve real problems on the ground.) I will give Christoph the benefit of doubt that with the coincidence of his post that he is not deliberately making a backhanded disparagement of the deployments in Uruguay and Paraguay he has visited. While these deployments have not yet reached the status perfection, the deployment teams at Ceibal and Paraguay Educa have never strayed into the dangerous waters described by Trucano:

1. Dump hardware in schools, hope for magic to happen
Far from it, there have been extensive support mechanisms in place in .ur and .py from Day One
2. Design for OECD learning environments, implement elsewhere
While there is some sharing of content and best practice, it is the local pedagogical team that calls the shots in both deployments.
3. Think about educational content only after you have rolled out your hardware
Again, pedagogy has driven the pace of deployment. At the same time, the entire deployment has been thought of within the context of a learning platform, which includes laptops, connectivity, servers, training, content development, documentation, support, community outreach, etc.
4. Assume you can just import content from somewhere else
The key here is "just". Both .uy and .py think deeply about content, but they are also opportunistic – taking advantage of great content developed elsewhere, for example, by the Etoys community.
5. Don't monitor, don't evaluate
At Ceibal, they have an extensive operation for monitoring the state of the network, servers, and laptops within their deployment. There are numerous ongoing evaluations of the program, both internal and external. Paraguay Educa was the subject of an external evaluation by the IADB, which issued a very positive report.
6. Make a big bet on an unproven technology (especially one based on a closed/proprietary standard) or single vendor, don't plan for how to avoid 'lock-in
Both programs have used a open bidding process and have some percentage of hardware from multiple vendors. Both programs use Free Software.
7. Don't think about (or acknowledge) total cost of ownership/operation issues or calculations
.uy has been diligent in publishing their total-cost-of-ownership numbers – these numbers, based upon the costs measured in the field happen to be much less than the inflated numbers fabricated by naysayers.
8. Assume away equity issues
While no one is claiming that equity issues are no longer a concern, the fact that the per-household penetration of computing in .uy is inversely proportional to household income says a lot. And in every one of these households, the children have free Internet access. Wow.
9. Don't train your teachers (nor your school headmasters, for that matter)
The biggest investment in the .py program has been in teacher training. As the project scales, finding ways to make this process more efficient will be key. But no one has every suggested that it was not a vital part of the process.

In the community

5. There is a new and improved website describing teacher resources (in Spanish) here: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Recursos_en_espanol

6. There will be a Turtle Art Day at the Arlington Career Center in Arlington Virginia on 7 August.

7. I have some passes for Sugar community members to attend LinuxCon 2010 in Boston on August 10–12 thanks to the Linux Foundation. Please let me know if you are interested.

Sugar Labs

Gary Martin has generated SOMs from the past few weeks of discussion on the IAEP mailing list.

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

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

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