<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 5:28 PM, Gary C Martin <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:gary@garycmartin.com">gary@garycmartin.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <div class="Ih2E3d">On 27 Feb 2009, at 20:57, Caroline Meeks wrote:<br> <br> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> Today I visited a computer lab at a school in Boston where 3-5 year olds (the PreK class) were using the computers in the computer lab.<br> </blockquote> <br></div> Nice feedback. Just wanted to raise the 'know your audience' scope, isn't 3-5yrs out of previous Sugar design scope? I though it was more like 6-16yrs? Saying that, I'd be very happy to be able to lower the age barrier to entry, but it gets tough not to loose other features (i.e I say 3-5yrs would be a non-multitasking user interface, one activity at a time, no switching, just stopping, and back to home).</blockquote> <div><br><br>In Boston, the elementary schools seem to have preK classes who get to use the same computers as the big kids. It was pretty frustrating for them. The teacher had to open the applications for them and they had to wait their turn. I think we could serve them better with Sugar by making a very small favorites list. I think they could pretty easily learn to open paint/tuxpaint and a few other very simple activities. It certainly will be better then thier experience on the windows computer. Diaglog boxes kept popping up and they had to wait for an adult to come over and click OK. Overall, there was a lot of kids sitting and squirming in thier chairs waiting for an adult to help them make thier computer work. I think the 3-5 year old range is a someplace we can provide value.<br> <br>The kindergartners and 1st graders will all have used KidPix. So even at that age I think if we don't give them a good paint program they will rebell. <br><br> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <br><font color="#888888"> <br> --Gary<br> <br> </font><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c"> The teacher tried to get them to use Kidspirations to look at and stamp bugs but they rebelled. All they wanted to do was use KidPix.<br> <br> We need a paint program that is as cool as KidPix or we will suffer the same fate. They will turn off Sugar and go back to Windows to use KidPix!<br> <br> In Kidpix the students learned that they need to use the mouse and not the keyboard. By the time I left all students had managed to learn to use the mouse to make something on the screen. I saw some kids make the connection that they had done something with the mouse and it had appeared on the screen. Some were painting with colors, others were stamping with images. Some kids had learned how to erase the screen and start over.<br> <br> Clearly learning was going on. I thought to myself, "what would take this lesson to the next level for these students". I think, based on the interactions the teachers were having as they spent individual time with the students, that it would be valuable to these students to begin to tell stories about their pictures. It would be cool if the kids could record a voice note when they saved a picture in the journal. This could help the teachers move them towards telling stories about thier pictures. I think that would in turn motivate them to want to control what they did with the picture more.<br> <br> Our goal with the journal is to get kids to reflect on thier work. For many of the students in the age range we serve typing that reflection is going to be a challenge and we might well get more thoughtful reflection if they could speak it.<br> <br> -- <br> Caroline Meeks<br> Solution Grove<br> Caroline@SolutionGrove.com<br> <br> 617-500-3488 - Office<br> 505-213-3268 - Fax<br></div></div><div class="Ih2E3d"> _______________________________________________<br> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)<br> <a href="mailto:IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org" target="_blank">IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org</a><br> <a href="http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep" target="_blank">http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep</a><br> </div></blockquote> <br> </blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Caroline Meeks<br>Solution Grove<br>Caroline@SolutionGrove.com<br><br>617-500-3488 - Office<br>505-213-3268 - Fax<br>