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 <div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 8:27 AM, Walter Bender <<a href="mailto:walter.bender@gmail.com">walter.bender@gmail.com</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Maybe we need to get Karen to write our pitch... -walter ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: K Freundlich <<a href="mailto:kfreundlich@comcast.net">kfreundlich@comcast.net</a>> Date: Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 8:23 AM Subject: Fwd: "Sugar" for Stuart To: Walter Bender <<a href="mailto:walter.bender@gmail.com">walter.bender@gmail.com</a>> Begin forwarded message: From: K Freundlich <<a href="mailto:kfreundlich@comcast.net">kfreundlich@comcast.net</a>> Date: December 19, 2008 8:19:31 AM EST To: Anne Pierpont <<a href="mailto:apierpont@stuartschool.org">apierpont@stuartschool.org</a>> Cc: joel freundilich <<a href="mailto:joelf@princeton.edu">joelf@princeton.edu</a>> Subject: "Sugar" for Stuart <a href="http://sugarlabs.org/go/Main_Page" target="_blank">http://sugarlabs.org/go/Main_Page</a> 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 (<a href="http://www.laptop.org/en/" target="_blank">http://www.laptop.org/en/</a>). 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 (<a href="http://www.laptop.org/en/" target="_blank">http://www.laptop.org/en/</a>). 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 <a href="http://www.sugarlabs.org" target="_blank">http://www.sugarlabs.org</a> _______________________________________________ Marketing mailing list <a href="mailto:Marketing@lists.sugarlabs.org">Marketing@lists.sugarlabs.org</a> <a href="http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/marketing" target="_blank">http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/marketing</a> </blockquote></div> -- Caroline Meeks Solution Grove Caroline@SolutionGrove.com 617-500-3488 - Office 505-213-3268 - Fax