Sugar Learning Platform

Last weekend I attended the Vietnam Tech Conference 2014 in Hanoi. The event brought together educators from across south east asia to learn and share about the use of technology within the classroom.

My talk introduced the Sugar learning platform that was developed for OLPC laptops. Designed from the ground up especially for children. Sugar User Interfaces moves away from traditional 'desktop' metaphor. It makes collaborative learning a fun experience. There are numerous activities that promotes self-learning.

What is Sugar on a stick?

Sugar on a Stick is a Fedora® Spin Live USB operating system featuring the award-winning Sugar Learning Platform and designed to fit on an ordinary USB thumbdrive ("stick").

It will run on any recent x86-based computer that can boot from a USB stick (check the BIOS settings if it doesn't work straight away). This includes most Windows and Linux PCs and x86 Macs.

You can use SoaS to demo Sugar almost anywhere without disturbing the contents of the computer you use, and if people like what they see, you can install Sugar on a Stick to their hard drives or other sticks from the demo stick.

Learn more about Sugar on a stick here.

WakaWaka Compact Solar Power Charger and Light

Growing up in rural India, we experienced severe shortage of electricity. I spent many nights finishing home work by the light of the gas lantern. The lack of electricity adversely effect education and the overall development of the country. The WakaWaka project ('Shine Bright' in Swahili) aims to bring low-cost solar-powered LED lamps to developing countries. The project was successfully funded on Kickstarter crowdfunding site and went into production two weeks later.

What is WakaWaka Power?

A sturdy, highly efficient, sustainable, solar-powered LED lamp. The WakaWaka Light is as much an indispensable product for those in the West, as it is the solution for the 1.3 billion people living without electricity. It is twice as efficient as any other solar lamp on the market and is making a significant impact around the world.