| LiveUSB version of OLPC software targets netbooks |
Jun. 30, 2009
 Sugar Labs has issued a LiveUSB version of its "Sugar" Linux distribution and educational software, used by One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)'s XO-1. "Sugar on a Stick v1 Strawberry Learning Platform" can be plugged into any netbook or PC, offering 40 activities designed for K-12 students.
Available as a free download, the Sugar on a Stick distribution can be loaded onto a 1GB USB flash drive as a bootable LiveUSB distro, says Sugar Labs. Although released as a final stable version, following an earlier beta release, the Strawberry release is designed for classroom testing. Feedback from educators will be incorporated into another version, available around the end of the year, says Sugar Labs.
 
Sugar Chat (left) and Browse interfaces
(Click on either to enlarge)
Sugar Labs broke away from OLPC last year as a nonprofit provider of the Sugar Learning Platform. The Fedora Linux-based Sugar Platform has so far been distributed to about a million children worldwide.
Although it has been available separately as a free download, Sugar has primarily been deployed via the non-profit OLPC. The latter helped spawn the netbook form-factor with its XO-1 mini-laptop, which it sells at a discounted price to developing governments, with the agreement that the computers be given away free to schoolchildren.
OLPC XO-1, version 1.5
(Click for details) |
The open source Sugar on a Stick v1 Strawberry Learning Platform is essentially the same version of the Sugar software (version 0.84) that will appear on the OLPC's XO-1 version 1.5 (pictured), due to ship this fall. The revised version switches to a Via C7M processor, increases memory to 1GB of DDR2 RAM, and includes 4GB or 8GB of flash, says OLPC.
According to OLPC, the alternative x86 CPU will make revision 1.5 of the XO-1 compatible with existing software, and comparable to the original AMD Geode-based model in terms of battery life. (See our previous coverage for more on the XO-1 1.5 and the turbulent history of OLPC and Sugar Labs, here).
A collaborative learning environment
Sugar is designed as a creative, collaborative platform for children, enabling students and teachers to use the activities together. Designed to leverage the abilities of the XO-1's built-in WiFi, its "social-oriented interface" is built around mesh networking. The distro is said to enable WiFi-equipped netbooks to automatically recognize other Sugar-based PCs and interact with them.
Sugar's "Neighborhood" view checks on status of other nearby Sugar users
(Click to enlarge)
Sugar on a Stick's 40 default set of activities include Read, Write, Paint, and Etoys. Hundreds of additional activities are available free for download at the Sugar Activity Library. Existing educational applications have also been ported over to the platform, such as the GCompris suite of 100 activities, which include Chess, Geography, and Sudoku, says Sugar Labs.
Sugar on a Stick is said to be designed to work in conjunction with a School Server application. The School Server provides content distribution, homework collection, backup services, Moodle integration, and filtered access to the Internet, says the group.
Sugar Labs recently received a $20,000 grant from the Gould Charitable Foundation to implement Sugar at the Gardner Pilot Academy, a public elementary school located in Boston.
Stated Walter Bender, founder and executive director, Sugar Labs, "One year after its founding, Sugar Labs is delivering on its education promise for its second million learners. Sugar is preferred because it is a superior learning experience for young children: engaging while being affordable. Sugar on a Stick is a great way to try Sugar without touching your computer’s hard disk. It is also well suited to slower, older PCs and low-powered netbooks."
Availability
In addition to its native support for Linux, Sugar on a Stick can run on recent Macs when used with a special helper CD, as well as in Microsoft Windows using virtualization technology, says the group.
More information on Sugar on a Stick may be found here, and the Sugar Activity Library may be found here.
-- Eric Brown
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