Changes

:[Modo Irónico Off]

:[Modo Irónico Off]

But eventually—albeit with some intervention on my part—the discussion turned towards how to modify the Turtle Art activity. I put together a tutorial (See [[Patching_Turtle_Art|Patching Turtle Art]]) with the hope that not only would I be satisfying the immediate needs of the teachers, but also, showing them that in fact they could, themselves, make the necessary changes to the program to meet their needs. I am hoping that I didn't make it too easy for them and that some of them will risk making changes—creating new instruments. The beauty of FOSS is that if the permutation group doesn't allow you to "trisect an angle", you can always modify the group. A dialog between teachers and developers has begun. The next step is for some of the teachers to become developers.

But eventually—albeit with some intervention on my part—the discussion turned towards how to modify the Turtle Art activity. I put together a tutorial (See [[Activities/Turtle_Art/Patching|Patching Turtle Art]]) with the hope that not only would I be satisfying the immediate needs of the teachers, but also, showing them that in fact they could, themselves, make the necessary changes to the program to meet their needs. I am hoping that I didn't make it too easy for them and that some of them will risk making changes—creating new instruments. The beauty of FOSS is that if the permutation group doesn't allow you to "trisect an angle", you can always modify the group. A dialog between teachers and developers has begun. The next step is for some of the teachers to become developers.

What is the connection the XP announcement? Simply that it is a real shame that Microsoft is not using their vast resources to expand the opportunities for children by reaching to places not already being serviced by OLPC. Regardless of the merits of XP, they could have immediate and lasting impact by covering a space outside of the range of the Peruvian permutation group. Pamela Jones and Sean Daly wrote a more thorough analysis of the XP story for Groklaw (See [http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20080920181151638 Interview with Walter Bender from Sugar Labs]).

What is the connection the XP announcement? Simply that it is a real shame that Microsoft is not using their vast resources to expand the opportunities for children by reaching to places not already being serviced by OLPC. Regardless of the merits of XP, they could have immediate and lasting impact by covering a space outside of the range of the Peruvian permutation group. Pamela Jones and Sean Daly wrote a more thorough analysis of the XP story for Groklaw (See [http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20080920181151638 Interview with Walter Bender from Sugar Labs]).