[IAEP] [Sugar-devel] activites known not to either work at all or not on certin platforms

David Van Assche dvanassche at gmail.com
Tue Feb 10 23:05:10 EST 2009


God I a m happy u stated the needed. We hqd a presentation in Grqz,
Austria, where basically we walked out like idiots. We got loqds of
feedback, which is what my message as about... but fact remains SoaS,
be if fedora (a slight bit better) or ubuntu.. we as educators,
marketers can only shake our heads...

On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 4:53 AM, Caroline Meeks
<caroline at solutiongrove.com> wrote:
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 10:40 PM, Carol Farlow Lerche <cafl at msbit.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> Caroline, I really don't think the problem is lack of testing in the case
>> of Ubuntu.  It is that so little works that activity testing is basically a
>> smoke test (turn it on and see if it even comes up).  And because the only
>> status report is a bunch of individual bug reports, there is a high barrier
>> to entry.   My strategy has been to try every week or so to update the
>> packages on my Ubuntu laptop and try launching everything.  Most packaged
>> activities don't launch.
>>
>> As for SOAS, my experience working in a classroom tells me there is no
>> point in bothering with it until the boot time is substantially reduced,
>> except for the special case of a computer lab.  Since my particular school
>> environments and Sugar/OLPC targets don't include that mode, I personally
>> have not been trying it out.
>
> FWIW, my deployment timeline for SoaS at the Gardner School is informal
> usage this summer and classroom usage in the Fall.  Anyone using it on a
> more aggressive timeline should be aware that they are ahead of me and
> breaking new ground and plan accordingly.
>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 7:31 PM, Caroline Meeks
>> <caroline at solutiongrove.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> hmm, ok I find that page pretty confusing and hard to use but then I'm
>>> not a wiki is all type person.  If its working for you and your the activity
>>> team then we should try to use it.
>>>
>>> Maybe you could cross link from the SoaS page.
>>> http://sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_on_a_Stick
>>>
>>> I think our underlying problem is that there is not very much testing
>>> being done.
>>>
>>> On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 10:26 PM, Wade Brainerd <wadetb at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> We are trying to gather activity status information at
>>>> http://sugarlabs.org/go/ActivityTeam/ActivityStatus - there is a 'soas' tag
>>>> which indicates the activity works on SoaS, any errors should be reported in
>>>> the Remarks column.
>>>>
>>>> But despite a few public requests we haven't managed to get any SoaS
>>>> test results posted there.
>>>>
>>>> -Wade
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 10:18 PM, Caroline Meeks
>>>> <solutiongrove at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Do we have a place for testers to record the what works with which
>>>>> release?
>>>>>
>>>>> If not perhaps someone could set it up on the moodle system
>>>>> schools.sugarlab.org using the moodle database module:
>>>>> http://docs.moodle.org/en/Database_module
>>>>>
>>>>> On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 9:14 PM, David Van Assche
>>>>> <dvanassche at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ok? I guess this will be contreversial but it must be said and acted
>>>>>> upon (much more importantly)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Im gonna try and make this easy:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> SoaS - the latest fedora core based
>>>>>> I tried to impress my 9 year old gescwister... (related one)
>>>>>> Speak - it will not even launch.... why is it then on a disitributed
>>>>>> stick?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ubuntu -
>>>>>> no read
>>>>>> no write
>>>>>> no jiggzawpuzzle
>>>>>> etoys
>>>>>> scratch
>>>>>> epathi
>>>>>> measure
>>>>>> anything tam tam based
>>>>>> until very recently even browse
>>>>>> pdf reader of any kind
>>>>>> measure
>>>>>> distance
>>>>>> slider
>>>>>> video chat
>>>>>> abc flower (thing doesnt even exist)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ok, that is about 50% of the failed testtube babies...
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> what is the solution:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> we test the damn tings before release.... we do what greg
>>>>>> dekoenigsberg quite elegantly suggested. a 3 tier solution:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 1. make an educator mailinglist.... we get every educator we know on
>>>>>> the list. We start off the discussion with what is really needed...
>>>>>> the simple stuff... the stuff u guru coders can whip up in days:
>>>>>> Examples:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 1. typing tutor... all it should do is allow kids to follow whatever
>>>>>> the teacher is directing. speed of typing is recorded? accuracy; graph
>>>>>> based report; printable to parents... stars given to best pupils...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> guys these are real world scenarios... not invented by devs.. asked
>>>>>> for by teachers qnd not surprisingly thinking why it does not yet
>>>>>> exist.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 2 same for maths... times tables/division/addition/substraction....
>>>>>> groupings of kids, reports, printibale to both parents ant teachers...
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 2. (gdk) guys this is what teachers want... I reallly hate to say
>>>>>> this; but the stuff right now on sugar apart from speak, which when
>>>>>> working every teacher loves, is an absolute waste of educators time...
>>>>>> yes the activities can be properly used... but basics first! mailing
>>>>>> list to get the, involved; we mention the activities that we (welll
>>>>>> actually they) have come up with, we discuss very briefly;
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 3: (gdk)then make a moodle/wiki page where educators and devs get
>>>>>> together to create the tools that we actually need (the ones that will
>>>>>> really chqnge the world)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I hope no one takes this is as a critcism of the effort put into
>>>>>> creating activities till now; but people... lets frocus... lets sugar
>>>>>> mean something for teachers
>>>>>>
>>>>>> David (nubae) Van Assche
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
>>>>>> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
>>>>>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Caroline Meeks
>>>>> Solution Grove
>>>>> Caroline at SolutionGrove.com
>>>>>
>>>>> 617-500-3488 - Office
>>>>> 505-213-3268 - Fax
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
>>>>> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
>>>>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Caroline Meeks
>>> Solution Grove
>>> Caroline at SolutionGrove.com
>>>
>>> 617-500-3488 - Office
>>> 505-213-3268 - Fax
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Sugar-devel mailing list
>>> Sugar-devel at lists.sugarlabs.org
>>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/sugar-devel
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary
>> depends upon his not understanding it." -- Upton Sinclair
>
>
>
> --
> Caroline Meeks
> Solution Grove
> Caroline at SolutionGrove.com
>
> 617-500-3488 - Office
> 505-213-3268 - Fax
>
> _______________________________________________
> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
>


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