Hi Caryl and all, Last year we - as a community - made the exercise to document a list of technical and organizational goals here at the wiki:
https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/2016_Goals It may be the logical start point for an updated version. As for Objectives, and according with our mission*, earlier this year I suggested: [1] To sponsor any motivated, active individuals in need to continue doing the best they can to support our mission. [2] To make sure our servers are safe and our systems are distributed. [3] To maintain domains and trademarks. As for the official mission I would be on favor of eliminating the text "Originally part of the One Laptop Per Child project" just because it is irrelevant. >From https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Mission *Mission <https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Mission#mw-head> <https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Mission#p-search> Sugar Labs® <https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Trademark> is a volunteer-driven member project of Software Freedom Conservancy <http://www.sfconservancy.org/>, a nonprofit corporation. Originally part of the One Laptop Per Child project, Sugar Labs coordinates volunteers <https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Sugar_Labs/Getting_Involved> around the world who are passionate about providing educational opportunities to children through the Sugar Learning Platform. Sugar Labs® is supported by donations and is seeking funding <https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Donate> to accelerate development. Regards and looking forward for your comments, Laura Victoria 2017-04-10 11:58 GMT-05:00 Caryl Bigenho <[email protected]>: > Hi Folks, > > > First, thanks go to Walter for the very comprehensive review of Sugar Labs > and what has been done and is currently being done. It is very helpful. > However, it, in no sense of the words, represents goals and objectives for > SL going forward. > > > I know Sameer really does want to share more with us to assist in > developing a viable list of goals and objectives, but I also know he is > very busy with his teaching job. So, I have taken the time to find a > couple of resources from education that show what goals and objectives > really are and how the activities we choose to undertake are related. These > resources are attached. > > > The next thing that needs to be done is to go through Walter's fine > document and identify all the specific areas Sugar Labs works with and > write one goal for each. Don't do anything else until these goals are > written. These should be done in a sharable online document. Everyone who > wants to participate should be encouraged to do so. There should be no > special priority attached to any of these goals. At this point they would > be of equal value. > > > There should be one goal for each area... I suggest we start with these 4 > broad areas: > > > > 1. Sugar > 2. Sugarizer > 3. Stand Alone Projects > 4. School Server > > > Each goal should be concise and precise. *Preferably one sentence.* Under > each goal go objectives. There can be *more than one* objective per goal. > > > An objective should follow the form of *Who* is going to do *What* by > *When* and *How* will success be measured. > > > A goal can have several objectives under it... for example, the objectives > for Sugar could have objectives addressing both Raspian and Trisquel (two > separate categories). > > > Once the objectives are filled in, it will be time to start working on > activities. These will include actual activities like producing a new > version of Sugarizer, conducting a Music Blocks workshop, showing Sugar > Labs "products" and recruiting users and volunteers at Linux conferences > and educational conferences, etc. > > > After this every project proposed can be analyzed with the question in > mind, "How does this project help Sugar Labs achieve its stated objectives > (and thus its goals as well). > > > Please! Someone start a doc for this to all happen. Begin with just the 4 > (or 5 if you want to separate Raspian and Trisquel). Make a simple goal for > each. Then collaborate on getting the goals "just right" before moving on > to objectives. > > > Then do the same thing for objectives. > > > This may seem like a lot of "busy work." But, trust me it isn't. It will > give Sugar Labs a strong platform to work from, enabling the best use of > limited time and resources. > > > Caryl > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* IAEP <[email protected]> on behalf of Laura Vargas > <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Monday, April 10, 2017 7:31:18 AM > *To:* Samson Goddy > *Cc:* SLOBs; iaep; sugar-devel; Dave Crossland > *Subject:* Re: [IAEP] [Sugar-devel] 2017 Goals for Sugar Labs > > Thank you Samson > > > Then I guess the email format is not the best choice. Could you please > document it on a wiki page at the Sugar Labs wiki? > > Blessings and a nice week to all > > Laura Victoria > > > > 2017-04-10 8:25 GMT-05:00 Samson Goddy <[email protected]>: > >> If i am wrong, walter made it clear earlier that this is a "draft >> proposal" meaning you can input. >> >> Samson >> >> On Apr 10, 2017 2:15 PM, "Laura Vargas" <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> >> 2017-04-09 19:03 GMT-05:00 Walter Bender <[email protected]>: >> >>> >>> >>> On Sun, Apr 9, 2017 at 7:56 PM, Dave Crossland <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Hi >>>> >>>> Thanks Walter. I'd like to better understand some additional context >>>> before diving in :) >>>> >>>> Does this mean Sameer you have stopped the project planning process you >>>> started, and we should not expect you to restart it again? >>>> >>> >>> At the most recent SLOB meeting Samson brought up the fact that we were >>> still waiting and so I volunteered to write something up to get the >>> conversation going again. >>> >> >> Thanks for doing this Walter, >> >> After a quick read, I have to confess I feel sad and excluded because >> none of the projects I have worked on [1] is mentioned on your view of >> Sugar's history. >> >> >> Regards and blessings, >> >> Laura V >> >> [1] http://pe.sugarlabs.org/ir/Proyectos >> >> >>> >>> >>>> >>>> Walter, are these the goals for this year, or are they your proposal >>>> for the goals for this year? >>>> >>> >>> Not sure I understand what you are asking. I wrote up a draft of goals >>> but they are not "the goals" until we agree to them. >>> >>> regards. >>> >>> -walter >>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Apr 9, 2017 3:31 PM, "Walter Bender" <[email protected]> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> As per the discussion in the last Suagr Labs Oversight Board Meeting, >>>>> I had agreed to write a draft statement of goals for 2017. The document >>>>> below includes feedback from Samson G. I hope this document can serve to >>>>> revitalize our discussion from 2016 that never reached resolution. >>>>> >>>>> Sugar Labs Plans, Goals, Aspirations >>>>> >>>>> What is Sugar Labs? >>>>> >>>>> Sugar Labs creates, distributes, and maintains learning software for >>>>> children. Our approach to learning is grounded in Constructionism, a >>>>> pedagogy developed by Seymour Papert and his colleagues in the 1960s and >>>>> 70s at MIT. Papert pioneered the use of the computer by children to help >>>>> engage them in the “construction of knowledge.” His long-time colleague >>>>> Cynthia Solomon expanded up his ideas by introducing the concept of >>>>> engaging children in debugging as a pathway into problem-solving. Their >>>>> 1971 paper, “Twenty things to do with a computer”, is arguably the genesis >>>>> of contemporary movements such as the Maker Movement and Hour of Code. >>>>> >>>>> At the core of Constructionism is “learning through doing.” If you >>>>> want more learning, you want more doing. At Sugar Labs we provide tools to >>>>> promote doing. (We focus almost exclusively on tools, not instructional >>>>> materials.) However, we go beyond “doing” by incorporating critical dialog >>>>> and reflection into the Sugar learning environment, through mechanisms for >>>>> collaboration, journaling, and portfolio. >>>>> >>>>> Sugar Labs is a spinoff of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project and >>>>> consequently it has inherited many of its goals from that project. The >>>>> goal >>>>> of OLPC is to bring the ideas of Constructionism to scale in order to >>>>> reach >>>>> more children. A particular focus is on children in the developing world. >>>>> In order to meet that goal, Sugar, which was originally developed for >>>>> OLPC, >>>>> was by necessity a small-footprint solution that required few resources in >>>>> terms of CPU, memory, storage, or network connectivity. The major change >>>>> on >>>>> focus from the OLPC project is that Sugar Labs strives to make the Sugar >>>>> desktop available to multiple platforms, not just the OLPC XO hardware. >>>>> >>>>> Who develops Sugar? >>>>> >>>>> Sugar Labs is a 100% volunteer effort (although we do occasionally >>>>> raise money for paid student internships). Sugar development and >>>>> maintenance is incumbent upon volunteers and hence we strive to provide as >>>>> much control as possible to our community members, including our >>>>> end-users. >>>>> (In fact, one of our assertions is that by enabling our users to >>>>> participate in the development of the tools that they use will lead to >>>>> deeper engagement in their own learning.) Towards these ends, we chose the >>>>> GPL as our primary license. It has been said of the GPL that it “restricts >>>>> my right [as a developer] to restrict yours [as a user and potential >>>>> developer]”, which seems ideal for a project that wants to engage a broad >>>>> and diverse set of learners. But at Sugar Labs we go beyond the usual >>>>> goals >>>>> of FOSS: a license to make changes to the code is not enough to ensure >>>>> that >>>>> users make changes. We also strive to provide the means to make changes. >>>>> Our success in this goal is best reflected in the number of patches we >>>>> receive from our community. (We achieve this goal through providing access >>>>> to source code and development tools within Sugar itself. We also actively >>>>> participate in workshops and internship programs such as Google Summer of >>>>> Code, Outreaching, and Google Code-In.) >>>>> >>>>> Who uses Sugar? >>>>> >>>>> Ultimately, our goal is to reach learners (and educators) with >>>>> powerful tools and engage them in Constructionist learning. Currently we >>>>> reach them in many ways: the majority of our users get the Sugar desktop >>>>> preinstalled on OLPC XO hardware. We have a more modest set of users who >>>>> get Sugar packaged in Fedora, Trisquel, Debian, Ubuntu, or other GNU/Linux >>>>> platforms. Some users get Sugar on Live Media (i.e., Sugar on a Stick). >>>>> Recently Sugarizer, a repackaging of some of the core Sugar ideas for the >>>>> browser, has been finding its way to some users. There are also a number >>>>> of >>>>> Sugar activities that are popular outside of the context Sugar itself, for >>>>> example, Turtle Blocks, which has wide-spread use in India. Harder to >>>>> measure is the extent to which Sugar has influenced other providers of >>>>> “educational” software. If the Sugar pedagogy is incorporated by others, >>>>> that advances our goal. >>>>> >>>>> Who supports Sugar? >>>>> >>>>> When we first created Sugar Labs, we envisioned “Local Labs”—hence the >>>>> name “Sugar Labs”, plural—that would provide local support in terms of >>>>> local-language support, training, curriculum development, and >>>>> customizations. This model has not ever gained the scale and depth >>>>> envisioned (we can debate the reasons why), although there are still some >>>>> active local communities (e.g., Educa Paraguay) that continue to work >>>>> closely with the broader community. There are also individual volunteers, >>>>> such as Tony Anderson and T.K. Kang, who help support individual schools >>>>> in >>>>> Rwanda, Malaysia, et al. An open question is how do we support our users >>>>> over the long term? >>>>> >>>>> What is next for Sugar? >>>>> >>>>> We face several challenges at Sugar Labs. With the ebb of OLPC, we >>>>> have a contracting user base and the number of professional developers >>>>> associated with the project is greatly diminished. How can we expand our >>>>> user base? How can we attract more experienced developers? Why would they >>>>> want to work on Sugar as opposed to some other project? The meta issue is >>>>> how do we keep Sugar relevant in a world of Apps and small, hand-held >>>>> devices? Can we meet the expectations of learners living in a world of >>>>> fast-paced, colorful interfaces? How do we ensure that it is fulfilling >>>>> its >>>>> potential as a learning environment and that our users, potential users, >>>>> and imitators are learning about and learning from Sugar. Some of this is >>>>> a >>>>> matter of marketing; some of this is a matter of staying focused on our >>>>> core pedagogy; some of this a matter of finding strategic partners with >>>>> whom we can work. >>>>> >>>>> We have several near-term opportunities that we should leverage: >>>>> * Raspian: The Raspberry PI 3.0 is more than adequate to run Sugar—the >>>>> experience rivals or exceeds that of the OLPC XO 4.0 hardware. While RPi >>>>> is >>>>> not the only platform we should be targeting, it does has broad >>>>> penetration >>>>> into the Maker community, which shares a synergy with our emphasis on >>>>> “doing”. It is low-hanging fruit. With a little polish we could have an >>>>> image available for download from the RPi website. >>>>> * Trisquel: We have the potential for better leveraging the Free >>>>> Software Foundation as a vehicle for promoting Sugar. Their distro of >>>>> choice is Trisquel and the maintainer does a great job of keep the Sugar >>>>> packages up to date. >>>>> * Sugarizer: The advantage of Sugarizer is that it has the potential >>>>> of reaching orders of magnitude more users since it is web-based and runs >>>>> in Android and iOS. There is some work to be done to make the experience >>>>> palatable on small screens and the current development environment is—at >>>>> least my opinion—not scalable or maintainable. The former is a formidable >>>>> problem. The latter quite easy to address. >>>>> * Stand-alone projects such as Music Blocks have merit as long as they >>>>> maintain both a degree of connection with Sugar and promote the values of >>>>> the community. It is not certain that these projects will lead users >>>>> towards Sugar, but they do promote FOSS and Constructionist principles. >>>>> And >>>>> they have attracted new developers to the Sugar community. >>>>> * School-server: The combination of the School Server and Sugar >>>>> desktop is a technical solution to problems facing small and remote >>>>> communities. We should continue to support and promote this combination. >>>>> >>>>> Specific actions: After last year’s Libre Planet conference, several >>>>> community members discussed a marketing strategy for Sugar. We thought >>>>> that >>>>> if we could reach influencers, we might be able to greatly amplify our >>>>> efforts. There are several prominent bloggers and pundits in the education >>>>> arena who are widely read and who might be receptive to what we are doing. >>>>> One significant challenge is that GNU/Linux remains on the far periphery >>>>> of >>>>> the Ed Tech world. Although the “love affair” with all things Apple seems >>>>> to be over, the new elephant in the room—Chromebooks and Google Docs—is >>>>> equally difficult to co-exist with. Personally, I see the most potential >>>>> synergy with the Maker movement, which is building up momentum in >>>>> extra-curricular programs, where FOSS and GNU-Linux are welcome (hence my >>>>> earlier focus on RPi). (There are even some schools that are building >>>>> their >>>>> entire curriculum around PBL.) We can and should develop and run some >>>>> workshops that can introduce Sugar within the context of the Maker >>>>> movement. (Toward that end, I have been working with some teachers on how >>>>> to leverage, for example, Turtle Blocks for 3D printing.) It is very much >>>>> a >>>>> tool-oriented community with little overall discussion of architectural >>>>> frameworks, so we have some work to do. But there is lots of low-hanging >>>>> fruit there. >>>>> >>>>> regards. >>>>> >>>>> -walter >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Walter Bender >>>>> Sugar Labs >>>>> http://www.sugarlabs.org >>>>> <http://www.sugarlabs.org> >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep >>>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Walter Bender >>> Sugar Labs >>> http://www.sugarlabs.org >>> <http://www.sugarlabs.org> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) >>> [email protected] >>> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Laura V. >> *I&D SomosAZUCAR.Org* >> >> “No paradox, no progress.” >> ~ Niels Bohr >> >> Happy Learning! >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Sugar-devel mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/sugar-devel >> >> >> > > > -- > Laura V. > *I&D SomosAZUCAR.Org* > > “No paradox, no progress.” > ~ Niels Bohr > > Happy Learning! > > -- Laura V. * I&D SomosAZUCAR.Org* “No paradox, no progress.” ~ Niels Bohr Happy Learning!
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