1. Constructionist learning with Sugar and the Beagle Board
Bernie Innocenti
Sugar Labs Foundation

2. Outline Early research The Sugar environment Contructionist learning
Distinctive technologies
Hardware platforms
Q&A
Hack hack hack! ;-)

3. A dream?
Same Opportunities
Access
Equity
A bright and open future

6. “Technology is anything that was invented after you were born
“Technology is anything that was invented after you were born.” —Alan Kay

8. Outline Early research The Sugar environment Contructionist learning
Distinctive technologies
Hardware platforms
Q&A
Hack hack hack! ;-)

9. Sugar reinvents the use of computers in education.

24. Outline Early research The Sugar environment Contructionist learning
Distinctive technologies
Hardware platforms
Q&A
Hack hack hack! ;-)

25. Sugar
Sugar is the first serious attempt to create a user interface that is based on both cognitive and social constructivism: learners engage in authentic exploration and collaboration.

26. Constructionism
In short,
“we learn by doing”

27. Sugar's pedagogical base
John Dewey
Jean Piaget
Paulo Freire
Seymour Papert
Lev Vygotsky
Donald Schön
Alan Kay

28. Ban Samhka, Thailand

29. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

30. Outline Early research The Sugar environment Contructionist learning
Distinctive technologies
Hardware platforms
Q&A
Hack hack hack! ;-)

31. network centric

32. collaboration Features Benefits
collaboration – w or w/o Internet access
Benefits
peer-to-peer learning
always-on support
1-click sharing

33. collaboration Features Benefits
collaboration – w or w/o Internet access
Benefits
peer-to-peer learning
always-on support
1-click sharing

34. Journal Features Benefits auto-generated journal auto-saved work
“portfolio assessment tool
place of reflection

35. Discoverable interface

36. discovery through exploring, expressing, and sharing
web browsing
reading
chatting
playing media
playing games
word processing
reflecting (Journal)‏
creating graphics
creating rich media
programming

37. appropriate to appropriate
Features
everything is free and open
Benefits
community of support
easy to fix and change
Transparency is empowering. Free and open source software and content empowers children and their teachers to reshape, reinvent, and reapply.

38. “View Source” button

39. Easy to change
def _calculate_position(self, radius, icon_size, index, count):
width, height = self.box.get_allocation()‏
angle = index * (2 * math.pi / count) - math.pi / 2
x = radius * math.cos(angle) + (width - icon_size) / 2
y = radius * math.sin(angle) + (height - icon_size -
style.GRID_CELL_SIZE) / 2
return x, y
def _calculate_position(self, radius, icon_size, index, count):
width, height = self.box.get_allocation()‏
angle = index * (math.pi / (6 + index / 12)) - math.pi / 2
radius = ((radius - _MIN_RADIUS) * (index * 1.1) / count) +
_MIN_RADIUS
x = radius * math.cos(angle) + (width - icon_size) / 2
y = radius * math.sin(angle) + (height - icon_size -
style.GRID_CELL_SIZE) / 2
return x, y

40. Sugar's unique technologies
Network-centric interface
Presence service
Easy collaboration, no infrastructure needed
Journal interface, datastore engine
One-click installable activity bundles
Activity isolation
100% free software, based on open standards
Easy to change and extend

41. Sugar Labs
A non-profit foundation whose mission is to produce, distribute, and support the use of the Sugar learning platform
Supports the community of educators and software developers who want to extend the platform

42. Sugar Labs
Sugar is a community project available under the GNU General Public License (GPL) to anyone who wants to use or extend it.

43. Outline Early research The Sugar environment Contructionist learning
Distinctive technologies
Hardware platforms
Q&A
Hack hack hack! ;-)

44. Try Sugar on Linux
Gentoo
Fedora
Debian
Ubuntu
QEMU

45. Try it on the XO-1

46. Try it on the Classmate

47. Try it on the EEE PC

48. Try it with the “Live USB”

49. Try it on the Beagle Board!

50. Current state 0.82 software released 0.84 roadmap being worked on
~400,000 children in ~20 countries use Sugar
feedback from educators, students
Large community of volunteers
Core developers funded by OLPC and Red Hat

51. Help us make ourselves obsolete
...by providing better learning tools to the next generation of humans.

52. Thank you Q?

53. Resources & Contacts Wiki: http://sugarlabs.org/
Mailing lists: lists.sugarlabs.org
It's an education project
Weekly community news
IRC: #sugar on FreeNode