I really like "Basics"... it is concise, and will be reassuring to teachers I think.
Sean On Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 4:09 PM, Bert Freudenberg<b...@freudenbergs.de> wrote: > On 11.06.2009, at 15:17, Walter Bender wrote: > >> Maybe "Getting Started" might be a better name? > > How about "Basics"? > > - Bert - > >> Just to complicate things, Nubae and I were discussing collaboration >> on IRC. It is another theme people may be interested in searching. >> Activities that a whole class can share, e.g., Browse, and activities >> that are designed as "duets". >> >> -walter >> >> On Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 9:10 AM, Sean DALY<sdaly...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> Bert - many thanks, I understand much better now. >>> >>> We're expecting a traffic peaks at the end of the month with our media >>> push, that's why this work on clarity/simplicity is important. >>> >>> I'm afraid "Fructose" as a left-hand category on ASLO is obscure, it >>> really should be "base" or "core" or "base install", this last I like >>> best because it's very clear. Note: a search for "Fructose" in ASLO >>> returns no results! >>> >>> I actually don't think it's that hard to set a list; it's really just >>> a Get Started list which covers online/offline, younger/older >>> Learners, and super-helpful to have even if off-ring (Terminal...). >>> >>> I agree some deployments will want to zap some Activities, but as long >>> as it's clear that there's no technical barrier to doing so we're >>> fine. >>> >>> The list of 13 Fructose Activities at >>> http://download.sugarlabs.org/sources/sucrose/fructose/ >>> does not match the list of 11 Fructose Activities on ASLO >>> >>> (http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/browse/type:1/cat:112?sort=name). >>> I imagine Image is off the bus (replaced by Image Viewer), but is the >>> omission of Write intentional? I couldn't find it on ASLO at all :-( >>> >>> (N.B. Write is always the first Activity I choose to demonstrate >>> classroom collaboration; people understand collaboration instantly >>> when each of two machines can edit the same document live. My kids' >>> nanny who is in her early 60s and does not use computers understood >>> right away the usefulness of XOs in a classroom when she saw that, she >>> got all excited and started asking me questions!) >>> >>> So I think the ASLO Fructose list, plus Write, can certainly be >>> qualified as 12 "base install" Activities: >>> >>> Browse >>> Calculate >>> Chat >>> Etoys >>> ImageViewer >>> Jukebox >>> Log >>> Pippy >>> Read >>> Terminal >>> TurtleArt >>> Write >>> >>> However I think it would be judicious to add Help to this list. Help >>> is very reassuring during discovery of the totally unfamiliar >>> interface. I'm aware there are issues right now building a new Help >>> from the FLOSS Manuals source, but I believe Help aids teachers and >>> parents significantly with the Sugar GUI learning curve. >>> >>> Are there any other candidates today for the Fructose list we should >>> consider? Not to open a can of worms - adjusting the pantheon is much >>> less urgent than the discoverability/usability issues - but a review >>> before each SoaS version seems judicious to me, especially since a >>> choice needs to be made about which Activities are in the ring and >>> which are off. I would suggest: >>> >>> Clock >>> Help >>> Maze >>> Memorize >>> Moon >>> Read ETexts >>> Speak >>> Tux Paint >>> >>> I hesitated over: >>> * Record which kids adore, but which I understand is iffy due to wide >>> hardware variations, also teachers don't seem to like it much :-) >>> * the TamTams which would make the list longish... (though my >>> four-year-old figured out TamTam Mini in ten seconds the other day and >>> loved every second with it) >>> * GCompris Chess, since no 2-player yet. >>> >>> >>> Our introduction to Sugar has a page with an attractive smorgasbord of >>> Activities >>> (http://www.sugarlabs.org/index.php?template=page&page=about_activities), >>> and a link to ASLO. We listed the Activities in teacher/parent >>> interest order: reassuring basics, net stuff, >>> games/language/multimedia, the TamTams, tech/system utilities. Image >>> Viewer and Jukebox are missing from this page, I propose to add them >>> and two others to the matrix so the complete Fructose set (minus >>> Image) is present. The Journal starts the list due to its special >>> status, but it really should be broken out as a "special" Activity >>> that is always there, saves everything automatically, allows resuming >>> of work, etc. ASLO should have a brief mention of the Journal in the >>> orientation intro I want to edit; telling inexperienced Sugar >>> admins/teachers/parents/Learners that it is always in Sugar and can't >>> be installed or uninstalled. This "super-Activity" distinction is >>> important because the Journal icon occupies the same spot under the >>> central XO avatar as the current Activity. Note that each icon links >>> to the OLPC page (the intro site was published on a tight deadline >>> just before the March 16th press release :-), I think we can update it >>> to link to the ASLO pages now. >>> >>> Note: we have been doing some "star marketing" of Activities in our >>> PR: Write, InfoSlicer, Mindmap, Portfolio. We chose these to appeal to >>> teachers; they are differentiators. Some press articles have mentioned >>> the star Activities, recognizing that they are interesting and unique >>> to Sugar. Library for example is an Activity I'm not quite sure does >>> what, but its name and logo will be irresistible to parents and >>> teachers. >>> >>> OLPC has their list (http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Activities/All) and we >>> need to get that page to link to ASLO, the information there is uneven >>> (contains some stillborn/abandonware). Perhaps the easiest fix would >>> be to link from each Activity position on that page to that Activity's >>> ASLO page; people searching the Activity population would quickly >>> understand the different/parallel nature of the OLPC page and ASLO. As >>> far as I know, there aren't any issues with the very latest versions >>> running on XO-1s, would I be correct in assuming this? Or does OLPC >>> prefer to identify "known good" version, the ones updated through the >>> XO Control Panel? >>> >>> Google search ranks highly this 6-month-old page: >>> http://www.spitting-image.com/OLPC/ , an indicator of the need for >>> ASLO's rating system. >>> >>> By "Activity Pack" I mean a set of Activities. >>> * Activity Set: clear and concise, but dullish. >>> * Activity Pack: implies a "box" containing a bunch of chosen >>> Activities; my favorite, because it sounds like you're getting >>> something. >>> * Activity Group: will be confused with Learners. >>> * Activity Bundle: bundle clearly means something already, so that's >>> out. I'm afraid I don't know what a "content bundle" is. >>> * Activity Hive: fits with honey metaphor, but obscure. >>> >>> Activity packs can have a very useful role in promoting Sugar, e.g. >>> "our updated Multimedia Pack is perfect for budding musicians and >>> artists" or "our Games Pack has been specially selected for 2 or more >>> player learning fun". As our Activity offer becomes richer, we >>> encourage potential installers to jump through the hoops of >>> downloading an ISO, installing VirtualBox or loading a USB stick, >>> learning the new interface, etc. >>> >>> Echoing James' mail which started the thread, I agree Featured >>> Activities will ideally be: >>> >>> * non- base install >>> * interesting >>> * different each month, encouraging return traffic >>> >>> In short, the place to go for "extras" beyond what you start out with. >>> >>> The "base install" grouping will be very useful to replace an >>> accidentally deleted Activity or offer further information about an >>> Activity with a learning curve (link to author's page etc). >>> >>> A parent or teacher who successfully installs Sugar and then >>> successfully upgrades and adds to its Activities will fully understand >>> the key advantages of the platform's openness and extensibility. >>> >>> Does this seem like a good path? >>> >>> thanks >>> >>> Sean >>> >>> >>> >>> On Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 12:03 PM, Bert Freudenberg<b...@freudenbergs.de> >>> wrote: >>>> >>>> On 11.06.2009, at 09:51, Sean DALY wrote: >>>> >>>>> ultimately, the question is: are there (or not) Activities common to >>>>> every, or nearly every instance of Sugar? >>>>> >>>>> Browse >>>>> Read >>>>> Write >>>>> etc. >>>> >>>> >>>> At least the Fructose activities should always be there: >>>> >>>> http://download.sugarlabs.org/sources/sucrose/fructose/ >>>> >>>> - Bert - >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) >>>> i...@lists.sugarlabs.org >>>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep >>>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Marketing mailing list >>> market...@lists.sugarlabs.org >>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/marketing >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Walter Bender >> Sugar Labs >> http://www.sugarlabs.org > > > > _______________________________________________ Sugar-devel mailing list Sugar-devel@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/sugar-devel
