a voice in the crowd

[Caroline Meeks]

We need to get stuff like this up on the wiki, even if we don't know exactly
how it all hooks in and is organized into a site map yet.  Walter can you
get permission to reuse this?

I also think things like the learning goals in IAEP need to get captured and
we should do a community brainstorming around that theme.

There is great work going on writing the static content and organizing the
site and I think its fed by all the not so organized pieces of writing
people have already done. We need to both proivde a more coherent front
entrance with the static site and an elevator pitch and such.  However we
also want to keep feeding the hopper with good stuff that can be culled and
organized later.

So the question is.  Where do we stick up good stuff like this that we
intend to boil down and organize later?

-Caroline

On Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 8:27 AM, Walter Bender <walter.bender at gmail.com>wrote:

> Maybe we need to get Karen to write our pitch...
>
> -walter
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: K Freundlich <kfreundlich at comcast.net>
> Date: Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 8:23 AM
> Subject: Fwd: "Sugar" for Stuart
> To: Walter Bender <walter.bender at gmail.com>
>
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: K Freundlich <kfreundlich at comcast.net>
> Date: December 19, 2008 8:19:31 AM EST
> To: Anne Pierpont <apierpont at stuartschool.org>
> Cc: joel freundilich <joelf at princeton.edu>
> Subject: "Sugar" for Stuart
> http://sugarlabs.org/go/Main_Page
> Hi Anne,
> Happy Christmas party day to you. When you are on vacation, if you
> have time, please check out the page above.
> I attended the Walter Bender (Exec. Dir. of MIT Media Lab) lecture
> last night at Sarnoff and learned of  Sugar and its goals regarding
> providing opportunities for children to" learn how to learn" using the
> Sugar platform. In only a few minutes, one can understand the software
> and begin using it. It is the software used on the OneLaptopPerChild
> initiative.
> I propose that Stuart assess this program for the following reasons:
> 1) The technology component of the Stuart curricula states:
> At Stuart, lower school computer classes are designed to teach
> students to be at ease using technology in their lives.  The girls
> learn to use the computer as a necessary and useful tool for learning,
> gaining  and presenting information.
> I would boldly suggest that the girls would benefit more by including
> a component that Sugar can provide, which is:
> Sugar provides a simple yet powerful means of engaging young children
> in the world of learning that is opened up by computers and the
> Internet. With Sugar, even the youngest learner will quickly become
> proficient in using the computer as a tool to engage in authentic
> problem-solving. Sugar promotes sharing, collaborative learning, and
> reflection, developing skills that help them in all aspects of life.
> 2) Learning by doing is crucial for enabling girls to have the
> confidence needed to fully realize their potential in life. Sugar is
> all about "learning by doing". Girls as young as first grade can use
> TurtleArt to program a simple software program to draw a square in
> different colors, repeating and growing it multiple times to create a
> stunning graphic. I can show you this, but it is simultaneously
> powerful, fun, beautiful and provides a catalyst for asking, "What
> else can I do if I change one thing?". This is where the idea of using
> a computer as a tool for computing, and hence increasing opportunities
> for learning is crucial, and differs from the other goal of using a
> computer to "gain and present (others) information". This subtle
> extension is quite powerful.
> 3) The software is Free and Open, hence easily accessible to all
> students. It can run on most computer platforms, although, there may
> be some small effort involved to load it onto existing computers. It
> runs on any Linux platform.
> 4) Finally, this project is the software on the OneLaptopPerChild
> initiative (http://www.laptop.org/en/). This can also help Stuart
> girls learn and interact with children, especially those in developing
> nations, which are using it with much success. There are also
> charitable opportunities with the the Get a Laptop, Give a Laptop
> program (http://www.laptop.org/en/).
> I know this is alot to propose on a Friday morning before Christmas,
> but I would like to help Stuart at least consider the pros and cons of
> incorporating this MIT-based initiative into their curricula. I think
> it would add so much to the experience the girls get at Stuart and be
> really innovative and progressive in this community.
> I could go on and on, my brain was on fire last night listening to
> this man. The idea is genius, and affirmed my own experiences in
> learning, being confident in learning and finally making a decent
> contribution in an area of knowledge that excited me. Isn't that what
> we all want for our girls, no matter what subject they are passionate
> about.
> Have a great day and we can talk about this when both of us have more time!
> Merry Christmas to your and your family and to all at Stuart!
> Fondly,
> Karen
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Walter Bender
> Sugar Labs
> http://www.sugarlabs.org
> _______________________________________________
> Marketing mailing list
> Marketing at lists.sugarlabs.org
> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/marketing
>



-- 
Caroline Meeks
Solution Grove
Caroline at SolutionGrove.com

617-500-3488 - Office
505-213-3268 - Fax
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/marketing/attachments/20090107/b21fd584/attachment-0001.htm