[Sugar-devel] Planning for the future (Samuel Greenfeld)
Lionel Laské
lionel at olpc-france.org
Tue Feb 24 04:10:14 EST 2015
Hi Samuel,
Thanks to share your vision. I think you're right, SugarLabs lack of a
clear long-term vision that we could share with all contributors. Hope that
your mail we'll give us opportunity to share our thought on that.
Here's mine.
If Sugar want live, it can't be limited to a niche platform: neither the
XO, neither a Fedora computer. I'm sure we're all convinced that the better
platform for education is a computer but today all others decision maker in
the world seems to think that it's a tablet or even a mobile.
So the question is how we could answer to requests for these new platforms
thought keeping our roots: an unique UI for children, a reflection tool
(Journal), a collaborative platform (Presence) and the most important -
free an open source contents.
My point of view is that we must not invest time to think how we could be
compliant with a new platform, we need to think in another way: how we
could port Sugar on Any platform ? Any computer (from the bigger one to the
tiny one: raspberryPI), any laptop, any tablet, any mobile.
And the answer is simple: web technologies allow every device to run very
complex software. It's the only solution to be compliant with any device.
It's where we need to put our investments.
It's why I've got a personal engagement on Sugar for the Web from years:
- First to allow Sugar activities to be written using web technologies.
From Sugar 0.100 thanks to Sugar Web, every developer could write new Sugar
activities using exclusively HTML5/JavaScript - without any line of
Python/Gtk.
- Second to create a Sugar container for the web - named Sugarizer -
that could host any Sugar Web activities and that reproduce the unique
Sugar features: Sugar UI, Journal and Presence.
Sugar for the Web is not the Sugar successor, Sugar for the Web is a way to
do a transition from Sugar for the XO to an universal version of Sugar that
could run on any device so that could be used by any children anywhere on
the world.
Most important with Sugar for the Web we don't leave alone our current base
of Sugar users, with Sugar 0.100+: any new Sugar Web activities will be
usable both on Sugar on "old" devices and Sugar on new devices.
With Sugarizer and Sugar Web, Sugar for any device already exist. But to
become a reality, we need to invest more on it:
- Have a clear roadmap of transition between "old" Sugar activities to
Sugar Web activities.
- Convince a more important community to join us. Sugar is the better
learning platform, with Sugar for the Web, it should be easy to convince
other communities to help us. I think specifically to Mozilla because they
have a clear engagement on web and open source and Google because of their
wish to embrace education with Chrome. We need to ask help from them.
- Experiment: we need to start deployment as soon as possible to
demonstrate. At OLPC France, we've got ambition to start a first
experimental deployment of Sugarizer before the end of the year.
All of us spent years on promoting the Sugar philosophy. We have the choice
to look backward or look forward. My choice is clear: with Sugar for the
Web I will give to every children the same opportunities I gave to XO users.
Best regards from France.
Lionel.
> Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2015 18:36:34 -0500
> From: Samuel Greenfeld <samuel at greenfeld.org>
> To: IAEP SugarLabs <iaep at lists.sugarlabs.org>
> Subject: [IAEP] Planning for the future
> Message-ID:
> <CA+cAqjM7=
> hQOu47mHMr9AQtNBzKRmjDb00nxbzENnBO+1WKvdA at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Disclaimer: The following are my views, and not the views of my current or
> past employers.
>
> About a year ago, I privately expressed concern that Sugar needed to ensure
> it had long-term sponsorship and a long-term user base.
>
> Since then, both the historical US-based OLPC organization and Sugar Labs
> have not publicly said much about their long-term plans, with OLPC also
> being rather closemouthed about the present.
>
> Meanwhile contributors silently leave. It is hard to justify volunteering
> when you don't know who will benefit besides mysterious "customers."
>
> Everyone seems happy to cite their past successes. No one corrects the
> press when they report stale information in their favor.
>
>
> There is no shame in being a smaller project. But we need to ask the hard
> questions. With Sugar, getting users and developers for a niche platform
> is a problem. With OLPC, everyone seems to love repeating the 2 or 2.5
> million number for laptops historically shipped. Rarely is it asked how
> many XOs been shipped in the past year or are in active use & where.
>
> Sugar & OLPC need to come up with long-term strategies. While there is
> nothing public I have seen stopping One Education's XO Infinity from
> running Sugar, I haven't seen anything stopping it from running anything
> else. It is also unclear how much One Education is willing to engage with
> the historical Sugar & OLPC communities (or how much they can tell us at
> this time).
>
>
> Historically there have been many philosophical questions like "Does there
> need to be a physical machine?" and "Have we succeeded if every child has a
> computer, but from someone else?"
>
> I do not believe Sugar or OLPC is down for the count. But in order to
> engage One Education, governments, and other educational groups, both Sugar
> and the historical OLPC structure need to have plans to transition to the
> future. Otherwise these plans will be written for us.
>
> I suspect I know how things will end; but I wish it was not happening
> though silence.
>
> ---
> SJG
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> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2015 02:31:23 -0300
> From: Gonzalo Odiard <godiard at sugarlabs.org>
> To: Sora Edwards-Thro <sora at unleashkids.org>
> Cc: Chris Leonard <cjl at sugarlabs.org>, grassroots
> <grassroots at lists.laptop.org>, olpc-open <
> olpc-open at lists.laptop.org>,
> Aaron Borden <adborden at live.com>, olpc-sf <
> olpc-sf at lists.laptop.org>,
> iaep <iaep at lists.sugarlabs.org>, Nick Doiron <
> ndoiron at mapmeld.com>
> Subject: Re: [IAEP] OLPC-SF February meeting
> Message-ID:
> <CAJ+iPVSKb3puCeQc57Kc3TUA4Df1=
> AkVtwdPT0abj-aQrUHYqA at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Only a English version is available right now.
>
> There are another activity with a older version in French, but the last
> version is from 2009
> http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4195
>
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 12:44 PM, Sora Edwards-Thro <sora at unleashkids.org>
> wrote:
>
> > Gonzalo, if a French translation exists and it's easy to include both it
> > and the English translations when making the templates, that would be
> > great. But if there's only room for one language, please have it be
> > English.
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > On Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 9:12 AM, Gonzalo Odiard <godiard at sugarlabs.org>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Thanks Nick.
> >>
> >>
> >> On Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 11:11 AM, Nick Doiron <ndoiron at mapmeld.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> I believe the official language code is HT
> >>> On Feb 23, 2015 9:09 AM, "Gonzalo Odiard" <godiard at sugarlabs.org>
> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> I can create the templates to do the translation and sent to you.
> >>>> Or I can upload and you can translate them online.
> >>>> The process is a little different than with the pottle server used to
> >>>> translate activities,
> >>>> but the idea is the same.
> >>>> I need the localization code you are using to Haitian Creole
> >>>>
> >>>> Gonzalo
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> On Sat, Feb 21, 2015 at 7:28 PM, Sora Edwards-Thro <
> >>>> sora at unleashkids.org> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> Good to see it's been updated! I look forward to checking it out to
> >>>>> see what content we're using in Haiti that it's missing. We've been
> using
> >>>>> our customized course guide
> >>>>> <http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Haiti_Course_Guide> to help teachers
> >>>>> design lesson plans, but materials that provide a basic overview of
> the
> >>>>> activities themselves would also be helpful. How would I go about
> helping
> >>>>> with translation efforts into Haitian Creole?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> On Sat, Feb 21, 2015 at 4:37 PM, Gonzalo Odiard <
> godiard at sugarlabs.org
> >>>>> > wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> A little unrelated, but could be useful. The new version of Help
> >>>>>> activity added information about more activities,
> >>>>>> including many you named.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4051
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Help activity content can be translated if you or other are
> >>>>>> interested.
> >>>>>> Actual content is based in the work of many volunteersin this list,
> >>>>>> and more content can be easily added.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Gonzalo
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> On Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 2:44 AM, Sora Edwards-Thro <
> >>>>>> sora at unleashkids.org> wrote:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Thanks for passing that on, Gonzalo! (note to self: when embarking
> >>>>>>> on a project, first go to Sugar Labs and search extremely-relevant
> terms
> >>>>>>> like "Story" instead of just assuming the stuff you've seen / used
> before
> >>>>>>> is the only stuff that exists).
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> I like the open-endedness of Story. It also looks like it might not
> >>>>>>> be hard to modify the images it's using - kids could nominate
> different
> >>>>>>> pictures, or you could take examples from stories the class had
> read.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 9:50 PM, Gonzalo Odiard <
> >>>>>>> godiard at sugarlabs.org> wrote:
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> You can add Story
> >>>>>>>> http://activities.sugarlabs.org/es-ES/sugar/addon/4565
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> On Fri, Feb 13, 2015 at 2:01 AM, Sora Edwards-Thro <
> >>>>>>>> sora at unleashkids.org> wrote:
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> Hello all,
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> We're looking for programming help on student writing software;
> >>>>>>>>> hope some OLPC SF folks can become involved! I'm over on the
> East Coast,
> >>>>>>>>> but I can join in over Skype / respond to questions via email if
> folks are
> >>>>>>>>> interested.
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> Here are some more details:
> >>>>>>>>> Unleash Kids recently received recognition
> >>>>>>>>> <http://www.unleashkids.org/blog/> for our iloominate
> >>>>>>>>> <http://iloominate-haiti.herokuapp.com/edit> app (shout-out to
> >>>>>>>>> Caryl Bigenho for her input and Mike Dawson, whose Ustad Mobile
> project was
> >>>>>>>>> also recognized). The app helps teachers write books
> >>>>>>>>> <
> https://projectrive.wordpress.com/2014/12/27/lascahobas-workshops-final-review/
> >
> >>>>>>>>> for beginning readers by recommending easy words; now we're
> shifting our
> >>>>>>>>> focus to supporting student writers.
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> There are already several excellent writing activities for the
> >>>>>>>>> Sugar, which we're including as we design lessons for a summer
> writing
> >>>>>>>>> workshop for our XO projects in Haiti:
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> -Labyrinth
> >>>>>>>>> <http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4078>, a
> >>>>>>>>> mindmapping activity that gets kids thinking
> >>>>>>>>> <
> http://www.unleashkids.org/2013/07/31/story-activity-continued-and-the-results/
> >
> >>>>>>>>> about how to lay out their ideas on paper
> >>>>>>>>> -Fototoon <
> http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4253>,
> >>>>>>>>> comic-book style creations; a perpetual favorite
> >>>>>>>>> <
> https://projectrive.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/first-week-of-classes/>
> >>>>>>>>> -Newspaper <http://seeta.in/j/products/37.html>, an example of
> >>>>>>>>> how templates can enable kids
> >>>>>>>>> <http://blog.unleashkids.org/2013/08/01/journal-mission-of-hope/
> >
> >>>>>>>>> to explore new formats
> >>>>>>>>> -Prompt
> >>>>>>>>> <http://olpc-yokwe.tumblr.com/post/39897602954/prompt-activity>,
> >>>>>>>>> literally just presents students with a random image from a
> library for
> >>>>>>>>> them to write about...proof that simple stuff can be powerful
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> We want to supplement these great activities with some new stuff,
> >>>>>>>>> based on teacher recommendations. A lot of the focus will be on
> creating
> >>>>>>>>> templates and scenarios that kids can use as inspiration - for
> example, we
> >>>>>>>>> can present the kids with a scene of people talking, where the
> speech
> >>>>>>>>> bubbles aren't filled in, and ask them to fill in the speech
> bubbles.
> >>>>>>>>> That's one of many ideas for an effective tool.
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> We also hope to make use of the XSCE schoolserver installed
> >>>>>>>>> on-site to enable the kids to collaborate and share the finished
> products
> >>>>>>>>> with one another.
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> Our most dire need is help with the programming, but we also
> >>>>>>>>> welcome input on any and all aspects.
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> Thank you everyone!
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> Sora Edwards-Thro
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> On Thu, Feb 12, 2015 at 1:49 AM, Aaron Borden <adborden at live.com
> >
> >>>>>>>>> wrote:
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> Hello,
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> OLPC San Francisco will be hosting our monthly meeting Saturday,
> >>>>>>>>>> February 14th, from 10AM - 1PM at the downtown SFSU campus, 835
> >>>>>>>>>> Market
> >>>>>>>>>> Street, Room 597 (the fishbowl).
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> Our meetings are held on the second Saturday of every month.
> >>>>>>>>>> Everyone is
> >>>>>>>>>> welcome to join us for our monthly meeting! We'll be discussing
> >>>>>>>>>> the
> >>>>>>>>>> latest in OLPC events and give updates on our local (and global)
> >>>>>>>>>> projects. There will be plenty of XO laptops with the latest
> >>>>>>>>>> builds to
> >>>>>>>>>> play around with, too. Please post with any additional agenda
> >>>>>>>>>> items.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/325843320953044/
> >>>>>>>>>> Google+
> >>>>>>>>>> https://plus.google.com/events/crf7g4e84aag78ssn761danaj8s
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> --
> >>>>>>>>>> Aaron Borden
> >>>>>>>>>> Human and Hacker
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>>>>>>> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> >>>>>>>>>> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>>>>>>>>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>>>>>>> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> >>>>>>>>> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>>>>>>>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> --
> >>>>>>>> Gonzalo Odiard
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> SugarLabs - Software for children learning
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> --
> >>>>>> Gonzalo Odiard
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> SugarLabs - Software for children learning
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> --
> >>>> Gonzalo Odiard
> >>>>
> >>>> SugarLabs - Software for children learning
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> >>>> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> >>> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> >>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Gonzalo Odiard
> >>
> >> SugarLabs - Software for children learning
> >>
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Gonzalo Odiard
>
> SugarLabs - Software for children learning
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>
> _______________________________________________
> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
>
> End of IAEP Digest, Vol 83, Issue 17
> ************************************
>
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