Re: [IAEP] Suggestions Needed!
Thanks Tim, That is an excellent suggestion! With the tight budget constraints we have right now, it is easy to get caught up in the free part. Focusing on the quality programs available with the $0 cost to sweeten the deal sounds like a good approach. I'll sleep on it and do a revision tomorrow. Caryl Date: Sat, 9 Oct 2010 16:38:25 +1300 Subject: Re: [IAEP] Suggestions Needed! From: paperl...@timmcnamara.co.nz To: cbige...@hotmail.com CC: iaep@lists.sugarlabs.org; support-g...@laptop.org On 9 October 2010 12:14, Caryl Bigenho cbige...@hotmail.com wrote: Hi Folks... I'm working on the abstract for my proposed presentation at CUE 2011 in Palm Springs in March. The filing deadline is Monday, but I was hoping to put it in tomorrow morning since we will be traveling Sunday. They asked for an outline of the presentation in the abstract, that is why it is in that form. I want to focus mainly on Sugar and SoaS for this talk but still put in stuff about OLPC and volunteering. My main suggestion would be to change the focus from free educational software, e.g. no cost, to the benefits of the Sugar Learning Platform and the other packages you're highlighting as quality educational tools in and of themselves. I don't know if this makes sense, but I feel that promoting free software as no cost cheapens it to a degree. Tim ___ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
Re: [IAEP] Suggestions Needed!
Hi Caryl The abstract does not paint a picture of it's an education project. This applies to the whole abstract. You can even use these words it's an education project if it helps you clarify that Sugar is all about the learning. e.g. A. Moodle: similar to BlackBoard, but free. You do pay for support if needed Moodle is not similar to Blackboard - Moodle is based on a social constructionist pedagogy, you would find some similar theories to those floating around the education research office at MIT Media Labs. Try writing: Moodle: a learning management system designed with a social constructionist pedagogy as a guide. It is distributed under GPL so is free to use and has a community of support available as well as paid support. So now lets take the opening: This presentation will focus on free educational software that can be run on most computers from a usb thumb-drive or live CD: Sugar on a Stick (SoaS). This software is helpful when no internet is available, you do not wish students to have access to the web, or you do not wish to permanently install something new on the computer. This presentation will focus on the education tool known as Sugar on a Stick (SoaS); a learning platform that can run from a USB thumb drive or live CD, without need for installing anything onto a schools computers. Then perhaps quote Sugar Labs website: The award-winning Sugar Learning Platform promotes collaborative learning through Sugar Activities that encourage critical thinking, the heart of a quality education. Designed from the ground up especially for children, Sugar offers an alternative to traditional “office-desktop” software. As far as I know CUE2011 is a conference for educators who use computers, so try to appeal more to the educators. Hope this helps. Good luck! Kind regards Tabitha Roder eLearning specialist and olpc volunteer tabi...@tabitha.net.nz Cell +64 21 482229 http://tabitharoder.wordpress.com/ http://tabitharoder.blogspot.com/ On 9 October 2010 12:14, Caryl Bigenho cbige...@hotmail.com wrote: Hi Folks... I'm working on the abstract for my proposed presentation at CUE 2011 in Palm Springs in March. The filing deadline is Monday, but I was hoping to put it in tomorrow morning since we will be traveling Sunday. They asked for an outline of the presentation in the abstract, that is why it is in that form. I want to focus mainly on Sugar and SoaS for this talk but still put in stuff about OLPC and volunteering. If you have a few minutes to look over my attached abstract and give me suggestions for additions or corrections, I would really appreciated it! Thanks, Caryl ___ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep ___ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
Re: [IAEP] Suggestions Needed!
Hi Tabitha... Thanks for the great suggestions. I think I will steal some of your words! Actually, CUE is for Computer Using Educators, but that doesn't mean they are computer saavy. Basically they are all looking for a magic bullet that will make their lives easier and help their students get better test scores. I think I will leave out Moodle entirely... there is usually someone who will cover that. Last year when they did, they portrayed it as an inexpensive alternative to BlackBoard. No mention was made of constructionist pedagogy. In fact... no one is really mentioning that much. Getting students to do better on the standardized tests is what the teachers are interested in... their jobs may depend on it! You have to sneak it in... and Sugar-coat it! I think I will revise my Abstract to show how using Sugar, and other portable software, can be tied to preparing students for the tests... alas! That is what folks seem to need right now. We have to be stealth advocates of constructionist ideas. Too bad the focus is on prepping for tests, not prepping for life! Caryl BTW Teachers are definitely not in favor of teaching to the test, but it has become a scary fact of life whether they like it or not: http://projects.latimes.com/value-added/ http://www.neontommy.com/news/2010/09/los-angeles-teachers-protest-against-los-angeles-times http://projects.latimes.com/value-added/faq/ Date: Sat, 9 Oct 2010 19:38:59 +1300 Subject: Re: [IAEP] Suggestions Needed! From: tabi...@tabitha.net.nz To: cbige...@hotmail.com CC: iaep@lists.sugarlabs.org; support-g...@laptop.org Hi Caryl The abstract does not paint a picture of it's an education project. This applies to the whole abstract. You can even use these words it's an education project if it helps you clarify that Sugar is all about the learning. e.g. A. Moodle: similar to BlackBoard, but free. You do pay for support if needed Moodle is not similar to Blackboard - Moodle is based on a social constructionist pedagogy, you would find some similar theories to those floating around the education research office at MIT Media Labs. Try writing: Moodle: a learning management system designed with a social constructionist pedagogy as a guide. It is distributed under GPL so is free to use and has a community of support available as well as paid support. So now lets take the opening: This presentation will focus on free educational software that can be run on most computers from a usb thumb-drive or live CD: Sugar on a Stick (SoaS). This software is helpful when no internet is available, you do not wish students to have access to the web, or you do not wish to permanently install something new on the computer. This presentation will focus on the education tool known as Sugar on a Stick (SoaS); a learning platform that can run from a USB thumb drive or live CD, without need for installing anything onto a schools computers. Then perhaps quote Sugar Labs website: The award-winning Sugar Learning Platform promotes collaborative learning through Sugar Activities that encourage critical thinking, the heart of a quality education. Designed from the ground up especially for children, Sugar offers an alternative to traditional “office-desktop” software. As far as I know CUE2011 is a conference for educators who use computers, so try to appeal more to the educators. Hope this helps. Good luck! Kind regards Tabitha Roder eLearning specialist and olpc volunteer tabi...@tabitha.net.nz Cell +64 21 482229 http://tabitharoder.wordpress.com/ http://tabitharoder.blogspot.com/ On 9 October 2010 12:14, Caryl Bigenho cbige...@hotmail.com wrote: Hi Folks... I'm working on the abstract for my proposed presentation at CUE 2011 in Palm Springs in March. The filing deadline is Monday, but I was hoping to put it in tomorrow morning since we will be traveling Sunday. They asked for an outline of the presentation in the abstract, that is why it is in that form. I want to focus mainly on Sugar and SoaS for this talk but still put in stuff about OLPC and volunteering. If you have a few minutes to look over my attached abstract and give me suggestions for additions or corrections, I would really appreciated it! Thanks, Caryl ___ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep ___ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
Re: [IAEP] Ask! Please! (Re: how to ask a question)
On 9 October 2010 11:33, fors...@ozonline.com.au wrote: Quoting Edward Cherlin echer...@gmail.com: I have a partial draft of a textbook on the subject at http://www.booki.cc/discovering-discovery/ It encourages XO owners to explore on their own and find out what questions they have before we give them answers. I like the idea. It encourages users to jump in and take risks, experiment, not worry if they have incomplete understanding. Me too, and have added some feedback to NZ educators on why open source can aid education in ways that closed source can't[1]. From [1]: Here is one way that I can think that that open source benefits learners, based only on my own experience however. What I've witnessed from many computer uses is a sense of frustration and helplessness when something doesn't work as they think it should. People who buy software are trained to wait for automatic updates, or worse they are forced onto purchasing the next version. Processes inside organisations say, If you're having problems, call the helpdesk.* The feedback loop might be an automated report that is generated and sent to an anonymous server. I would like to think that open source software would enable a sense of critical analysis, exploration and problem solving. For me, when I have a problem with a piece of software that I use, I tend to go through a process of reflection: Is this issue something other people might be having? Can I reproduce the problem? Why is the system built like this, there must be a reason? It must be useful for something. Is the hassle of the computer problem larger than the hassle of my time to send feedback? How can I word a report to developers that explains what's going wrong? In short, I have the impression that users of paid software feel like they don't have the skills to contribute. They don't see themselves as a participant in a computer system. By computer system, I mean a system that includes software, hardware and the user to generate some useful output. Open source software has helped me by creating a sense of empowerment and discovery. I use the software that I want to run. When there's a problem, my involvement forms part of the solution. [1] http://groups.google.com/group/mle-reference-group/browse_thread/thread/3caf7421439020d6 (scroll to bottom) ___ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
