I have been struggling with my literary agent and trying to knock someone over the head with a wet noodle into realizing that there *will* be a market for a book, and trying to suggest going with an e-book, with editorial support from a publisher, put it on amazon, develop the whole thing in a robust authoring cms so updates and multilingual versions can be easily made. one publisher responded with fear, blah blah blah, and I made an attempt to provide rationales (including insights from Wikinomics, which has helped me to be able to articulate some of the value propositions), but I'm 2 degrees away from throwing in the towel, and inviting whoever wants to join me in making a multimodal community book. then maybe when the publishers wake up they could license it and use their distribution channels to put it in stores.
I don't know if the publishers realize how cool the little green xo is as a way for people to get acquainted with Linux. Ok I'm throwing in the towel. We could call it the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Laptop. I don't care what the title is. The community could name it, write it. If anyone is interested in helping learners who desire a book to get acquainted with the very wonderful work you are doing, please feel free to get in touch. Maybe the proceeds from the book could go towards a series of laptop libraries where the laptops could be checked out by kids. I guess in the same time it took to write this email I could have written a wiki page. On 10/16/07, Steve Fullerton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Good points. The OLPC is designed around collaboration. The model really > works well where every child in a class has his/her own laptop, uses it in > and out of school, and lives in close enough proximity to other class > members to make the Mesh work. In class one kid discovers how to do > something and teaches the other kids (and teachers as well). > > In an address at Harvard Law, Negroponte said something like: "People ask > me who is going to teach the teachers to teach the children how to use the > XOs --- and I wonder what planet are they on? ..." > > A child who gets one through G1G1 in isolation will not be able to fully > benefit from collaboration and thus, along with parent/tutor, would > definately benefit from user documentation in lieu of help from others in > class. Likewise, the Carlos Slims approach of putting them in Mexican > libraries. > > If G1G1 goes big-time in November, you can sure bet that there will be > "OLPC for Dummies" books, etc. by Christmas. > > On 10/15/07, Todd Kelsey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > I am amazed and inspired by all the wonderful projects and activities > > that have arisen from the laptop project -- and though I was skeptical at > > first, I have also come to appreciate the constructivist approach to > > education; I didn't "get it" until I came to appreciate the notion of > > allowing children to come to "aha" moments on their own. The fact that > > children do fine without manuals at the present level of interaction is a > > testament to the design of the computer and the philosophy behind it. As > > generation xo grows older, I think they will want to get deeper into the > > systems, and as they do, I think they will want more information, and I'd > > like to help make that freely available. > > > > I think a user manual or documentation will be more helpful for adult > > learners who will end up participating in the laptop community, and who > > would find it helpful to have something to refer to. Perhaps users could > > learn many things simply by exploring, and yet they might appreciate having > > something to turn to. Other people may not have personal possession of a > > laptop, but would be interested in learning how they could support the > > project. Some people who order the laptops through www.xogiving.org will > > get frustrated with the laptop if they have no resources to turn to, and I'd > > like to help them have fun. > > > > I think the idea of encouraging children to help each other learn is > > wonderful; I also appreciate the principle of inclusiveness, and I think > > that one way to be inclusive is to address various learning styles. > > > > On 10/15/07, Steve Fullerton < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > Hi Ed and all, > > > > > > I fully appreciate the detail. However, IMHO I think that there is > > > some re-thinking required re: the traditional "user" documentation. The > > > core of the OLPC (literally one laptop per child; the model does not work > > > as well if there is not possession of a laptop for each child) is that of > > > collaboration. > > > > > > One child learning something and then teaching his/her classmates. > > > OLPC machines are not meant to be used in isolation. You could actually > > > make a credible argument that user manuals are bad for the project. > > > > > > The highly intuitive design of Sugar and the experience of the pilots > > > bears this out. The children seem to do just great without manuals, > > > discovery is enhanced, and many of the constructionist ideals are > > > realized. > > > > > > What do you think? > > > > > > On 10/15/07, Ed Trager < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > > > Hi, Michael, > > > > > > > > Just a few comments for consideration by everyone: > > > > > > > > > ... > > > > > Doc writing conventions: > > > > > > > > > > Some linguistic research has been done on "simplified English" as > > > > a > > > > > subset of English to use for low-level learners, and I think that > > > > it > > > > > might be a good place to look for ways to simplify the > > > > source_docs. > > > > > But just thinking intuitively, I have cooked up the following > > > > > suggestions in order to generate discussion: > > > > > > > > > > * Pronouns. > > > > > o Use the first-person singular pronoun "I" to represent > > > > the > > > > > author of the docs, > > > > > o the second-person singular pronoun "you" to represent > > > > the > > > > > reader of the docs, and > > > > > o the first-person plural pronoun "we" to represent the > > > > OLPC project. > > > > > > > > > > o Examples. "We have designed a screen that switches to > > > > > black-and-white to conserve energy. I will explain how to switch > > > > your > > > > > screen to black-and-white. First, you press the X button on your > > > > > keyboard...." Because we want the docs to be easily translated and > > > > > easily understood, the tone should be personal, using "I" for the > > > > > voice of the writer. This will be easier for amateur translators > > > > to > > > > > translate and easier for younger readers to understand. This will > > > > also > > > > > help the writer avoid the passive construction, which is very > > > > > difficult for some non-native English speakers to understand. > > > > > > > > I agree completely that the English passive construction should be > > > > avoided at all times. > > > > > > > > I mostly agree with your suggestion on use of pronouns. Use of "I" > > > > and "we" are fine. > > > > > > > > REGARDING THE PRONOUN "YOU" IN ENGLISH: > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > > > > However, as a native English speaker, I find the use of the pronoun > > > > "you" in the imperative mood often quite jarring. > > > > > > > > Imperative sentences in which the "you" is absent are understood by > > > > native speakers of English to convey a softer, less imperative tone. > > > > > > > > Such sentences are considered more polite. Compare: > > > > > > > > (A) "First you press the X button on the keyboard." > > > > > > > > ... versus: > > > > > > > > (B) "First, press the X button on the keyboard." > > > > > > > > One or two instances of "you" in imperatives or directions in spoken > > > > > > > > or written English may not seem too bad, but after a series of them, > > > > it becomes irritating. > > > > > > > > So while I have no objection to simple English which will be easily > > > > understood by younger learners of the language, we must also be sure > > > > > > > > that we do not proscribe an incorrect idea regarding the usage of > > > > the > > > > pronoun "you" in imperative sentences in English. > > > > > > > > In short, it is *not* OK to use "you" repeatedly in a series of > > > > imperatives or directions (such as instructions for using a laptop). > > > > The absence of the pronoun "you" is preferred when giving directions > > > > in English. > > > > > > > > REGARDING POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS: > > > > ----------------------------------------------- > > > > > > > > Look again at the sentances Michael used for his example: > > > > > > > > > I will explain how to switch your screen to black-and-white. > > > > > First, you press the X button on your keyboard...." > > > > > > > > English speakers make frequent use of possessive pronouns, as is the > > > > > > > > case here with : "your screen" , "your keyboard" . > > > > > > > > But in many other languages (perhaps most other languages?) we would > > > > not use possessive pronouns here at all. All of these English > > > > "your"s, if translated quite directly into foreign languages, > > > > results > > > > in very annoying and unnatural sounding texts in my experience. > > > > > > > > So I would advise we try to fix the English from the start by > > > > avoiding > > > > unecessary invocations of possessive pronouns, especially "your": > > > > > > > > I will explain how to switch the screen to black-and-white. > > > > First, press the X button on the keyboard...." > > > > > > > > I basically agree with the rest of Michael's suggestions, so that's > > > > all the comments I have. > > > > > > > > -- Ed Trager > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Devel mailing list > > > > [email protected] > > > > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > Regards, > > > > > > Steve > > > ____________________________ > > > Steven C. Fullerton > > > email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > cell/voice mail: 619.339.9116 > > > ____________________________ > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Devel mailing list > > > [email protected] > > > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Todd Kelsey > > 630.808.6444 > > > > > -- > Regards, > > Steve > ____________________________ > Steven C. Fullerton > email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > cell/voice mail: 619.339.9116 > ____________________________ -- Todd Kelsey 630.808.6444
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