[Marketing] Fwd: Quote from the GPA

[Caroline Meeks]

Sent from my iPhone
Caroline Meeks
617-395-7966


Begin forwarded message:

> From: Kavita Venkatesh <venkatek at gmail.com>
> Date: June 23, 2009 5:29:08 PM EDT
> To: Caroline Meeks <caroline at solutiongrove.com>
> Subject: Re: Quote from the GPA
>

> Caroline,
> I hope its not too late, but here is a quote (unless someone else  
> has brought one to you).  I ran this by Erica, hope it looks good.   
> Please feel free to tweak it if you need!
>
> "By implementing Sugar on a Stick in our daily instruction, we will  
> be able to reach the needs of the diverse learners at our school  
> through a variety of activities, games and programs.  The  
> consistency of the platform will allow students to take home the  
> Sugar on a Stick and continue work at home, regardless of what  
> computer technology they have at their house.  We realize the need  
> to have a strong technological program at our school to set our  
> students up for successes throughout their education and future  
> professions and Sugar on a Stick supports that goal."
>
> Also, I will be taking my personal laptop (a dell) with me while I'm  
> in out of town.  I am leaving my school laptop here.  I also might  
> be taking a onelaptop laptop (the green one) because I have a 5 year  
> old niece who I will be with and I'm curious to see how she will  
> play around with it.  Also, I read through that score card -  
> measurements and targets are so clear.
>
> Talk to you soon - I'm getting more and more excited!
> Kavita
>
> On Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 1:56 PM, Caroline Meeks <caroline at solutiongrove.com 
> > wrote:
>
>
> On Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 11:35 AM, Kavita Venkatesh  
> <venkatek at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am going to be out of town from June 30 - July 22nd and again from  
> July 30th-August 12th.
>
> I will have access to email and phone and skype June June 30th to  
> about July 15th, after that I will be getting my wisdom teeth out  
> and I have no idea what to expect!  After August 12th, though, I am  
> in Boston taking a few professional developments and getting ready  
> for the school year.
>
> I do keep in touch frequently with many colleagues over the summer,  
> so if I am not able to get a sense of what teachers are thinking by  
> the end of the year, I'll talk to them over the summer and get that  
> information for you.
>
> I have a couple questions for you (these may have been discussed  
> earlier with Erica and Abby, so I apologize for the redundancy):
>
> --What were you thinking as far as planning and rolling this out  
> over the summer?  I was going to see if I could borrow a Sugar on a  
> Stick to take with me over the summer to see where and when I can  
> use it in my own curriculum and roll out lessons on how to use it.
>
> We are in the process of creating the next release and will be doing  
> bug fixes all summer. What computer will you be taking with you this  
> summer?
>
> --When you mentioned in your previous email about the number of  
> computers - what exactly did you mean?  Are we getting computers  
> along with the sugar on a stick?  I was under the impression that we  
> would be getting sugar on a stick (enough to pilot it at our school)  
> and use it on the technology we already have.
>
> Yes, we will be using existing computers but we will also be  
> collecting donated computers from the community.  Thus we can put a  
> few computers where ever you want them and have space.  If a teacher  
> wants a computer corner with 2-6 computers we can work on setting  
> that up. If you want to put a couple of computers down in the  
> basement hallway, we could set that up.  We will almost certainly  
> get more desktops then laptops.  Laptops often break before people  
> replace them.
>
> Once we get as many computers as you want into the schools we'll  
> start working on getting computers into all the kids houses. Many of  
> them will already have computers so we'll work on getting the sticks  
> to work on what they have and then getting donated computers into  
> kids homes that need computers.  We do expect this to be  
> challenging, but the only way to learn how to do this is to try it.
>
> Neither the school, nor my house, has much storage space so I've  
> been reluctant to start collecting equipment too much ahead of  
> having a place to put it. I have about 5 computers in my house now.   
> I don't know how fast we'll get equipment once we start pushing for  
> it.
>
>
> --How many "sticks" were you thinking we would be using - or is this  
> again something that teacher need and interest would dictate?
>
> Ideally one per student. We don't have a commitment to our funder or  
> anyone else to get to the entire school by the end of next year, but  
> that is our eventual goal and doing it next year would be great.
>
> The goal is: Every student has access at home, school and their  
> after school program.  Every teacher can feel confident giving  
> homework requiring computer access.
>
> Clearly some teachers will use this more then others and it will  
> take time to integrate it with your curriculum.  Our grant is low  
> key so we don't have to pressure anyone who isn't ready.  I know  
> there is a lot of interest.
>
>
> --Since this is a grant, what are the outcomes and expectations that  
> we need to show by the end of the year?  Or is that something we set  
> on our own?
>
> Here is our current balanced score card. Its still a work in  
> progress so feel free to give me input.  http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=px5yPvIlUlLtsrYpZdVG_EQ&output=html
>
>
> I'm sure more questions will come out as I keep thinking about  
> this.  At the very least, I hope we can communicate over email for  
> the next few weeks so that we can roll this out immediately next year!
>
> Our goal is to shake out bugs this summer so things go smoothly in  
> the fall.
>
>
> I'll write up a quick quote, run it by Erica, and forward it to you.
>
> Thanks - I hope my email wasn't too long!
>
> not at all! I'm a big email person. Thanks for communicating!
>
> Caroline
>
>
>
> Kavita
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 9:27 AM, Caroline Meeks <caroline at solutiongrove.com 
> > wrote:
> Thanks!
>
> Have a great end of year! Are you around at all over the summer?
>
> Caroline
>
>
> On Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 2:28 PM, Kavita Venkatesh  
> <venkatek at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Caroline,
>
> It is really nice to meet you over email :)  I haven't yet talked  
> with Jahaira, so I'm not sure what she is thinking.  I am a fourth  
> grade teacher and I know that my fourth grade team is VERY  
> interested in this.  Jahaira and I will talk with other teachers in  
> the building (along with Abby) and get a sense of computers back to  
> you.
>
> It may take a few days since its the end of the year and things are  
> a bit crazy - but I will get back to you as soon as I can.
>
> I am so excited for this project in our school.
>
> Kavita
>
>
> On Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 4:00 PM, Caroline Meeks <caroline at solutiongrove.com 
> > wrote:
> Congrats Erica! No I hadn't heard.
>
> Kavita and Jahaira, nice to meet you. Let us know when a good time  
> to meet is.
>
> We have a lot to do and most of it is moving along well. We have  
> time set up to meet with the Summer staff of June 30 and July 1st.
>
> There are two things I'd love to get some input on before then.
>
> 1. A short quote from someone from GPA for our press release.
>
> 2. A sense of how many computers you would like to put into the  
> building and when you'd be ready to have us start phasing them in.   
> I expect this will be a classroom by classroom decision and that  
> each teacher will have their own priorities.  But some overall sense  
> would be helpful. We are ready to start talking to companies about  
> donations, but I'm wary of having a garage full of computers so I  
> don't want to get dontations too much in advance of when you are  
> ready to have them in the school.
>
> Thanks!
> Caroline
>
>
> On Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 3:15 PM, Herman, Erica M. <eherman at boston.k12.ma.us 
> > wrote:
> I also want to be sure that I connect you to Kavita and Jahaira who  
> will be overseeing a great deal of this work next year.  As you  
> know, I am going on maternity leave starting next week and will not  
> be available this summer.  In addition, Julie Bott, our assistant  
> principal is also copied as well.
>
>
> Thanks and we are very excited about this new initiative J
>
>
>
> Erica Herman
>
> Principal
> Gardner Pilot Academy
>
> Boston Public Schools
>
> 30 Athol Street
>
> Allston, MA 02134
>
> 617-635-8365
>
> From: solutiongrove at gmail.com [mailto:solutiongrove at gmail.com] On  
> Behalf Of Caroline Meeks
> Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 8:16 PM
> To: Herman, Erica M.; Walter Bender; Abby Brown
> Subject: Quote from the GPA
>
>
>
> Hi,
>
> We are working on a press release annouceing our work and grant.   
> Please let us know if you have any comments or corrections.  It  
> would be great to get a quote.
>
>
> Thanks
> Caroline
>
>
>
>
> DRAFT
> DRAFT [SugarLabsPR-en] Sugar Labs Announces Immediate Availability  
> of Sugar on a Stick; Learning Platform Runs on Any PC or Netbook In  
> The Classroom
> DRAFT
>
> Berlin, June 24, 2009: Sugar Labs, nonprofit provider of the Sugar  
> Learning Platform to over one-million children worldwide, announces  
> the immediate availability of Sugar on a Stick v1 Strawberry.  
> Available free for download at <URL>, Sugar on a Stick can be loaded  
> onto an ordinary USB stick and used to reboot any PC or netbook  
> directly into the award-winning Sugar environment. Identifiable by  
> the red Sugar logo at startup, Sugar on a Stick Strawberry is meant  
> for classroom testing and feedback (feedback at sugarlabs.org); the  
> next version will be available towards the end of the year.
>
> "One year after its founding, Sugar Labs is delivering on its  
> education promise for its second million learners," commented Walter  
> Bender, founder and executive director. "Governments prefer Sugar  
> because of its superior learning experience for young children.  
> Sugar on a Stick is a great way to try Sugar without touching your  
> computer's hard disk. It is well suited to slower PCs and low- 
> powered netbooks. We have a version for the OLPC XO-1 as well."
>
> As part of an ongoing effort to make Sugar on a Stick classroom- 
> ready, Sugar Labs has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Gould  
> Charitable Foundation to implement Sugar at the Gardner Pilot  
> Academy, a public elementary school located in one of the most  
> culturally and linguistically diverse sections of Boston,  
> Massachusetts.  <Gould and/or GPA quote>
>
> Learning Activities are at the heart of Sugar. Sugar on a Stick  
> includes a dozen Activities interesting for the classroom: <X, Y,  
> Z>. Dozens more Activities are available free for download at  
> <ASLO>. Most "Sugarized" Activities have student collaboration built- 
> in; students work, play, and learn on the same Activities together.  
> The Sugar Learning Platform is open, so by leveraging the work of  
> other free open source developers, existing software for children  
> can be integrated. The GCompris suite of 100 Activities developed  
> over the past five years was recently added to Sugar, bringing  
> chess, geography and <xxx> Activities to the platform. In another  
> recent development, teachers and parents interested in Sugar's  
> Activities and its modern interface for children can watch films on  
> the Sugar Labs Dailymotion channel <URL>
>
> Sugar is the core software of the One Laptop per Child project, a  
> worldwide effort to provide every child with an equal opportunity to  
> a quality education. Over 1.2 million distinctive, green and white  
> XO-1 laptops have been distributed to children in 40 developing  
> countries speaking 26 languages. New XO-1s are being produced at a  
> rate of 50,000 per month. An updated version of the OLPC laptop, the  
> XO-1.5, will arrive in the fall. It will ship with the 0.84 version  
> of Sugar (released in March). Sugar on a Stick brings Sugar's  
> Activities to teachers and parents who already have access to a  
> computer. Sugar can even run on recent Macs using virtualization.
>
> Sugar Labs is a community of volunteers passionate about giving  
> children tools to learn and celebrates the founding of the first  
> Local Labs structures in Colombia and Washington, DC; others are  
> starting to take form. Local Labs will provide valuable relays  
> between Sugar Labs deployers and schools evaluating and using Sugar.
>
>
> -- 
> Caroline Meeks
> Solution Grove
> Caroline at SolutionGrove.com
>
> 617-500-3488 - Office
> 505-213-3268 - Fax
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Caroline Meeks
> Solution Grove
> Caroline at SolutionGrove.com
>
> 617-500-3488 - Office
> 505-213-3268 - Fax
>
>
>
> -- 
> Kavita Venkatesh
> Gardner Pilot Academy
> Grade Four Learning Specialist
> 614-893-6913
>
>
>
> -- 
> Caroline Meeks
> Solution Grove
> Caroline at SolutionGrove.com
>
> 617-500-3488 - Office
> 505-213-3268 - Fax
>
>
>
> -- 
> Kavita Venkatesh
> Gardner Pilot Academy
> Grade Four Learning Specialist
> 614-893-6913
>
>
>
> -- 
> Caroline Meeks
> Solution Grove
> Caroline at SolutionGrove.com
>
> 617-500-3488 - Office
> 505-213-3268 - Fax
>
>
>
> -- 
> Kavita Venkatesh
> Gardner Pilot Academy
> Grade Four Learning Specialist
> 614-893-6913
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