diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'source/sugar_ui.markdown')
| -rw-r--r-- | source/sugar_ui.markdown | 141 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 141 deletions
diff --git a/source/sugar_ui.markdown b/source/sugar_ui.markdown deleted file mode 100644 index 8b29ca0..0000000 --- a/source/sugar_ui.markdown +++ /dev/null @@ -1,141 +0,0 @@ -% The Sugar User Interface -% -% - -The Sugar platform encourages learning through personal expression. - -The user interface differs from the traditional Desktop metaphor. It -uses a "zooming" metaphor—each view represents a different scale of -interaction. You move between a view of the network "neighborhood", your -"friends", your "home page", and your currently open application -("Activity"). Each view occupies the entire screen. There are no -overlapping windows to deal with. - -With Sugar, you zoom between views: from your network neighborhood to -your current Activity. - -Sugar supports sharing and collaboration by default. Sugar brings many -of the rich collaboration mechanisms we are accustomed to from the -Internet directly into the user interface. Sharing a file, starting a -chat, collaborating in a writing exercise, or playing a game with other -people are never more than a single click away. - -Sugar incorporates a Frame around the border of the screen; the Frame -holds status information, such as alerts, a clipboard, open activities, -and your current collaborators. - -Sugar maintains a Journal (or diary) of everything you do; it is a place -for reflection. You do not need to save files or create folders; -Activities automatically save your work to the Journal. - -Sugar emphasizes discovery. Every object in the interface has a menu -that reveals more details and options for action. Many Activities -include a "view source" option; for example, the Browse activity lets -you examine the HTML code that reveals how a web page is created. Most -Activities are written in the Python scripting language. You can see how -they work, and make changes to them. - -Sugar has clarity of design. There is no need to "double click". There -are no overlapping windows. Sugar uses color and shape throughout the -interface to provide a fun, expressive, approachable platform for -computing. - -For parents and teachers -======================== - -**Activities, not Applications** - -Sugar does not have applications in the traditional sense. Activities -are distinct from applications in what they focus on (collaboration and -expression) and in their implementation (journaling and iteration). This -is more than a new naming convention; it represents an intrinsic quality -of the learning experience we hope the children will have when using -Sugar. - -**Presence is always Present** - -Everyone has the potential for learning and teaching. Sugar puts -collaboration at the core of the user experience in order to realize -this potential. The presence of other learners encourages children to -take responsibility for others' learning as well as their own. The -exchange of ideas amongst peers makes the learning process more engaging -and stimulates critical thinking skills. Sugar encourages these types of -social interaction with the laptops. - -Most activities have the potential to become network enabled. For -example, consider the Browse activity. With typical computer interfaces, -you browse in isolation. In Sugar, sharing links is an integral part of -Browse, transforming web-surfing into a group collaboration. - -**Tools of Expression** - -Sugar emphases thinking, expressing, and communicating using technology. -Sugar starts from the premise that we want to use what people already -know in order to make connections to new knowledge. Computation is a -"thing to think with". Sugar makes the primary activity of the children -one of creative expression, in whatever form that might take. Most -activities focus on the creation of some type of object, be it a -drawing, a song, a story, a game, or a program. In another language -shift describing the user experience, we refer to objects rather than -files as the primary stuff of creative expression. - -As most software developers would agree, the best way to learn how to -write a program is to write one, or perhaps teach someone else how to do -so. Studying the syntax of the language is useful, but it doesn't teach -one how to code. We apply the principle of "learning through doing" to -all types of creation. For example, we emphasize composing music over -downloading music. We also encourage the children to engage in the -process of collaborative critique of their expressions and to iterate -upon this expression as well. - -Turning the traditional file system into objects speaks more directly to -real-world metaphors: instead of a sound file, we have an actual sound; -instead of a text file, a story. In order to support this concept, -activity developers can define object types and associated icons to -represent them. - -**Journaling** - -The concept of the Journal, a written documentation of everyday events, -is generally understood, albeit in various forms across cultures. A -journal typically chronicles the Activities one has done throughout the -day. We have adopted a journal metaphor for the file system as our -approach to file organization. The underlying implementation of the -journal does not differ significantly from file systems in contemporary -operating systems. The file system layout is less important than the -journal itself. - -The journal embodies the idea of storing a history of the things a child -has done and the activities a child has participated in. The child, -parent, and teacher can reflect on the journal to assess progress. - -The Journal stores objects created while the student runs an Activity. -This function is secondary, although important. The Journal naturally -lends itself to a chronological organization. Objects in the Journal can -be tagged, searched, and sorted by a variety of means. The Journal -records what a child has done, not just what the child has saved. The -Journal is a portfolio or scrapbook history of the child's interactions -with the machine and also with peers. - -The Journal includes entries explicitly created by the children with -entries that are implicitly created through the child's participation in -an Activities. Developers must think carefully about how an activity -integrates with the Journal more so than with a traditional file system -that functions independently of an application. The Activities, the -objects, and the means of recording all tightly integrate to create a -different kind of computer experience. - -author -: - -> © Walter Bender 2008 -> -> adam hyde 2008 -> -> Brian Jordan 2008 -> -> David Farning 2008 -> -> Janet Swisher 2008 -> -> Rob Mason 2008 |