Hello all, I'm gabe, a prospective GSoCer, and I just found/read through the last month of this list. When I first read about Sugar, this was exactly the kind of thing I had hoped was happening--in particular the API quiz/math problem collection. A bit about me: I'm a graduating math major at the university of chicago; I've been teaching to highschool and junior-high students through the university for the past four years. I started programming relatively intensively last September, and am new to (and excited about) the open source world. ___________________ My thoughts on the math API: I think another really positive aspect to the development of a library of math problems which can be imported to games or quizes, etc. is that it enables us to focus in on the pedagogical aspects of the project. While there's something uniquely great about 'hands-on' building blocks (to show e.g. how to add numbers in a specific base), a SUGAR math program could make visualizations possible in a routine way that isn't possible in a book--the API could flesh out these possibilities. Concretely, there could be hints/pictures associated to math problems in the API so that, for instance, later in the actual games/quizes, the student will be able to ask for hints / be given hints if they're incorrect. Hints can be text/pictures/animations, etc. What do people think about including this kind of functionality in the API? Also: there could be multiple types of hints/pictures for each question. The hints themselves could be grouped, so that we might get a feel for what kind of thinking works to explain the concept to the individual student. The example in my head is e.g. from this list already: if the question is a simple multiplication problem (3*4), hints could be (what is 3+3+3+3?) or a picture of a 3 by 4 rectangle of balls or an animation of three balls replicating themselves 4 times. Of course, grouping problems together is essential. The game/quiz would ideally want to know what the student does and doesn't understand, and be able to respond accordingly. I don't remember reading this in the list, but I think this must be what everyone is thinking: Many/most of the problems in the API should be generalizable (e.g. with random() quantities associated). A last note on pedagogy: besides learning addition/multiplication tables by wrote, *the* important thing to learn in grade school (and even in highschool) is the distributive property. The interplay of addition and multiplication is maybe the initial big idea of arithmetic. As an afterthought, prime numbers are fun, too. While I know there are tons of math problems that are on people's minds, I haven't gotten a sense that the API development is actually in progress. Is it? How can I help? _____________________ Other ideas to improve the math educational possibilities: Is anyone familiar with Geogebra? This is open-source program is a great tool for high-school geometry (which might fall outside the scope of this list? ...or not?) (In its barest form) the program allows students to draw lines and circles (i.e. to use a straight edge and compass) to do more complicated constructions. The beauty of the software is that Euclidean geometry becomes a dynamic process: one can fix midpoints, fix circles, lines, etc. and then drag the picture around. This software is ideal for observing/experiencing geometric invariants. It is the best way to learn about similarity that I know of--projections become simple and beautiful and can actually be experienced. This is one piece of software which I feel really utilizes the possibilities of technology in the classroom: it allows students not to get bogged down in drawing and to actually see and get a sense of geometric properties which can otherwise be overly abstract. I'm not as familiar with Geogebra as I am with its proprietary cousin Geometer's Sketchpad; but I think it would be an awesome addition to SUGAR. Is it already on SUGAR? What would it take to put it on? ____________________ Those are my thoughts at the moment, I'd be interested in what people think of the possibilities of turning any of the above ideas into a GSoC project proposal. Was anyone on this project thinking of being a mentor? cheers. gabe