SUGAR Operating System

Adapted from: http://www.sugarlabs.org/index.php

One of the first things that users realize when they open an XO laptop is "This isn't Windows!"

The award-winning Sugar Learning Platform promotes collaborative learning through Sugar Activities that encourage critical thinking, the heart of a quality education. Designed from the ground up especially for children, Sugar offers an alternative to traditional “office-desktop” software.

Sugar is the core component of a worldwide effort to provide every child with equal opportunity for a quality education. Available in 25 languages, Sugar’s Activities are used every school day by one-million children in more than forty countries.

Originally developed for the One Laptop per Child XO-1 netbook, Sugar runs on most computers through a live USB or CD. Sugar is free/libre and open-source software.

What makes Sugar different?

· Sugar facilitates sharing and collaboration: Children can write, share books, or make music together with a single mouse-click.

· Activities, not applications. .

· Automatic backup of Activity work; no worrying about files or folders. Sugar’s Journal makes it almost impossible to lose any data.

· The Journal records everything you do: It is a place to reflect upon and evaluate your work.

· Sugar runs on most computer hardware, including slower machines.

· Sugar is free software: It is written in the modern Python language and easily customized.

· Sugar is documented by its users: It is easy to use and teachers worldwide have created a wealth of pedagogical materials for it.

What are the benefits of using Sugar?

· Hundreds of tools for discovery through exploring, expressing, and sharing: browsing, writing, etc.

· Built-in collaboration system: peer-to-peer learning; always-on support; and single-click sharing.

· The Journal is a built-in portfolio assessment tool that serves as a forum for discussion between children, parents, and teachers.

· A discoverable learning platform: it uses simple means to reach to complex ends.

· Designed for local appropriation : it has built-in tools for making changes and improvements and a growing global community of support. 25 languages are currently available.

· An emphasis on learning through doing and debugging: more engaged learners are able to tackle authentic problems.

· Available in a wide variety of forms: as part of GNU/Linux distributions; LiveCD, LiveUSB; and in a virtual machine.

What are the Sugar advantages?

· Superior pedagogical framework

· Unique collaboration and journaling (evaluation) features

· Large & successful installed base with hundreds of activities

· Large and committed community base (both developers and teachers)

· 24/7 community support; training and workshop materials available

· Rapidly expanding teacher-driven development

· Easily localizable and customizable

· Free open source software: no licensing fees

· A global project : no single point of dependency or failure

· Great potential for local job creation