OLPC + Ubuntu

2010 January 11
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by Grant
Image via http://wiki.laptop.org

As my son’s interest in computing grows, so do his requests for new applications and functions.  Although Sugar, the default desktop environment for the OLPC, is great both in its design and function - the time required to customize .xo activities for Gabriel soon became a near impossible task.

After some digging I found a great project that tailors Ubuntu 8.10 for the OLPC.  All you need is:

* an OLPC developer key ( just need to request one via the OLPC browser activity )
* the .bz2 archive of the customized Ubuntu files ( .torrent of file found here )
* a 2 GB USB key
* a 2 GB SD Card

A group of fantastic folks put some great work into this port and it works like a charm.  They have outlined the installation and technical docs at the project wiki.  If you have an OLPC kicking around gathering dust, this will inject some new fun and life into the machine.  Once installed, you can use the Synaptic package manager to easily install new apps.

I installed Pidgin ( multi client IM app ) so my son and I can IM over GTalk and also installed Ekiga so we can make video conference calls.  Both of these apps worked flawlessly with the integrated OLPC hardware.

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Image via infomo@flickr

By far the coolest new functionality now present in my son’s OLPC is its new function as eComic Reader.  With some keybinding tweaks to open source app Comix, the OLPC now functions as a very slick Comic reader.  The keybindings in Comix 4 allow Gabriel to use the gamepad buttons on the sides of the OLPC screen to ‘turn the pages’ without using the keyboard - so he can use it as a full screen eBook reader. For the uninitiated, digital comics are basically high res scans of book pages that are sequenced & archived in .cbr and .cbz files.  The Comix reader will index imported files and allows users to tag and organize their comic collections.  There are scores of fantastic sites that offer .cbr and .cbz files for download - among my favorites is the Comic Books Archive which offers up scores of Golden Age classics.

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Kids’ Edtech Xtravaganza!

2010 January 6
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by Grant

This Christmas was kind to the Potter kiddies and brought some fantastic loot - among this loot were some particularly interesting edtechie toys that I thought would be just the thing to blow the dust of ye olde blog. So, inspired in part by the epic toy blogging brought forth by the Bava I give you both the Jedi Force Trainer and the Discovery Night Vision Camcorder.

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The Night Vision Camcorder packs a 3 megapixel camera and night vision sensor into a small package that withstood the battery of tests my son and I put it through.  From front sled-cam duties to closet Blair Witch sequels - this little toy packs lots of fun into a $40 package.  Submit for your approval - this pretty spooky monster story told in a dark bedroom and captured with night vision magic.

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The Jedi Force Trainer takes the science kit to the next level with wireless brain monitoring and coaching from no other than Yoda himself.  The wireless headset features dry EEG sensors that detect your alpha and beta brainwaves.  Fluctuations in signals are then translated to a fan in a column.  Depending on the degree and direction of your concentration, you are able to control the fan and movement of the ball. I am happy to report that I am at level 6, but Yoda and I have met an impasse.  I keep feeling like I need to flee my training to find my friends in need of my help …

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Canadian eLearning Conference 2009

2009 June 20
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by Grant

Just back from three great days at the Canandian eLearning Conference where post-secondary educators from across Canada gathered to share educational technology projects, products, and directions.  I enjoyed many sessions but a few stood out for me:

North Island College - Remote Science Lab

Ron Evans and Albert Balbon from North Island College illustrated how the Remote Science Lab mixed technologies to create a unique application for distributed learning.  With some creative customization, the lab allows students to remotely control lab equipment by robotic arm.  Sensors in the remote lab equipment can be calibrated using an embedded Flash application with resultant data retrieved within the same application.   We were treated to an impressive live demo of the lab in action but what impressed me most was the presenters’ sense of enthusiasm and spirit of exploration when discussing both the development and future plans for the project.  Although the equipment being leveraged in the project is quite costly, the methods and software driving the project are being offered by NIC to all BC post-secondary institutions who wish to explore a similiar project.  Although I don’t see a robotics project on my horizon, I certainly came away from the session energized by the team’s DIY ethos and courage in taking on such an ambitious project.

Poster Presentation - Is the Past Present

A well researched application of serious gaming challenging students to gain an understanding of how difficult and disorienting it was for aboriginal children to attend residential schools.  Topics such as language barrier, isolation from family, and cultural displacement are explored through use of cinematic sequences, role play simulations, and links to articles, audio, and video, among which are a collection of first-person testimonies.  I lived in Aklavik, NWT for 4 years where I worked as a teacher and school administrator.  Aklavik had 2 residential schools that left a legacy of painful memories for many aboriginal people in the Northwestern Arctic.  This project resonated with me and is a resource that would be a very valuable use in Arctic public schools as a way to effectively communicate to northern aboriginal youth the endurance and courage of elders who surived these trials.

Just Plain Fun

I had the good fortune to jam with Scott Leslie and Brian Lamb in two Wordpress workshops - one intro session and another on aspects of using Wordpress in Education.  From my perspective, there appears to be a rising interest in supporting more open forms of student discourse in higher ed.  If the feedback immediately following the session is any indication, I think we will be seeing more WordPress fuelled creativity in the coming year(s).  Major props to Novak, Enej, Andre, and all the UBC Wordpress crew who shine a bright light for other BC institutions leveraging Wordpress for education within their own contexts.

As always, getting together with ETUG folks is just plain fun.  This gathering was particularly fun as it was the 15 year anniversary of ETUG.  I am grateful to be working with such a creative group of people who encourage and support me as I experiment with my crayons ( tip of the hat to Barbara Ganley for the metaphor ).  For some literal digital crayons check out Brian and I having some crayon fun on the Wii-hacked surface Shauna, Jeff, and I managed to get rolling during lunchtime in the ETUG party room.

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Sporeboard

2009 March 20
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by Grant

Thought I would take some time today to try out Smoothboard and Spore in the family room with the kids. A little reconfiguration of the home media centre, along with some calibration and screen resolution tweaks and we were gaming surface style. Another game that worked really well was World of Goo. Next up - Edusim.

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Sugar on a Stick

2009 March 18
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by Grant

I updated my son’s XO laptop to the latest firmware 767 yesterday.  Reflashing the base system was surprisingly easy, but I found ’sugarizing’ apps to be a bit more labor intensive.  To ’sugarize’ an app is to place an app icon in the graphical interface called Sugar ( pictured left ).  Although the OLPC wiki has lots of sugarized apps available, OLPC’s Sugar is a branch of Fedora linux and can run a vast array of linux apps - from the command line.  Not so cool for a 7 year old.

I started poking around for a Sugar VM and found a few, but stumbled upon a gem called Sugar-on-a-Stick (SoAS).  This project packages up Sugar into a bootable USB flash drive allowing you to experiment with the OLPC operating system and user interface on the go.  Just what I needed.  The whole process took under 30 minutes, and now I have a 1 GB flash disk with a fully funcational OLPC installation to tinker with.  I have managed to install Skype on my son’s OLPC and sugarize the app so he can point’n'click to use - worked out the trial and error of this entire process on my sugar-on-a-stick.  The disk image and installation instructions can be found at the SoAS wiki.

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