Enough Sugar in Your Educational Technology Diet?

I've heard more than a few people say they are confused by the XO's user interface. Biggest hint for working with Sugar: think verbs rather than nouns. (More on this below.) Learning the Sugar GUI is an intellectual challenge-- we are so fascile with the Mac and PC interfaces that we forget there are design decisions behind them. Just as learning a new language helps you understand your native language better, contemplating Sugar will make you think about what's behind the GUIs you are familiar with and human-computer interactions in general.

David Thornburg wrote a thoughtful paper Is There Enough Sugar in Your Educational Technology Diet? (available here: Scribd) that revisits the development of the graphical user interface (see a screen shot of the first from Xerox) and explains how the XO's Sugar evolved based on the question: What interface works best for kids? Seymour Papert advised that a computer for children would be verb (action) oriented rather than noun (object) oriented. Instead of folders and documents (nouns) on which familiar UIs are based, think writing playing, chatting, drawing (verbs) and time (journal: what activities did I do yesterday?)

Other small computer designers are looking at kids as kids rather than proto-adults, and are grappling with appropriate design-- Check out SNS Project Inkwell, which imagines a variety of computing devices designed especially for children. Take a look at PI's functional requirements for student devices (pdf).

Photos from the XO Camera in VoiceThread

All the features of VoiceThread function here - poke around!



You must give VoiceThread a try! I was introduced to it by Terry Smith, an outstanding teacher in Hannibal, MO. Free accounts for schools! Become a contributor who comments on this photoset in voice or the written word HERE.

Focus on Solutions

Imagine a conversation that engages thousands of students and other community members about their shared future. Now imagine the dialogue leading to real action--action that just might save the planet. That's the idea behind Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America. Here's how it works. On Jan. 31, at K-12 schools and college campuses across the country, business as usual will be replaced by a national teach-in on global warming. The emphasis is on solutions so that students will come away informed and prepared to act. This is a chance to put real-world, project-based learning strategies into action. Intrigued? Check out the Focus the Nation site to learn more about webcasts for K-12 schools, video chats with politicians, and the wealth of resources available to help inform the conversation. And if your school is taking part, please tell us about your plans--and the actions your students decide to take.