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OLPC's UI To Be Kid-Tested In February
dfoulger writes "The AP is reporting that kid testing of Negroponte's '$100 Laptop' starts in February. This article is some of the first mainstream coverage of just how different the user interface of the XO Computer is — it ditches the traditional office metaphors in favor of a 'neighborhood' and an activity-based journaling approach. Video of Sugar, as the UI is called, has been out on the net for a while, and Popular Science recently gave the color / monochrome display a 'Grand Award' in its 2006 technology roundup. What do you think of this new UI?"
``Maybe I'm just a fundamentalist, but children first need to learn basic skills like reading and writing.''
And then, after that? Wouldn't it be nice if they could use their reading and writing skills to enter the global information highway? Get access to the wealth of information on the web? Share their own stories and content?
There seems to be a misconception that countries in which computers aren't widespread also don't have high literacy. This is not true. Libya, one of the countries that signed up for OLPC has very high literacy; in fact, many Libyans have higher education. From what I'm told, Russia is another country with near-universal literacy, but without universal access to computers. I bet there are others.
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
First off, I'm a big supporter of the OLPC project. I think it's a fantastic idea that will do alot of good.
... accessible to students if they have the desire/skill to use it?). Hopefully that simple UI can be switched to a 'real' UI and this will be done for all but the youngest students.
The UI they have created (see video) seems like a strange choice, however. It is a very simple and seemingly restrictive interface. It appears childish and maybe even somewhat insulting to the user. I thought that the OLPC was supposed to specifically encourage children to (1) truly learn how to use computers (not merely use them as applicances), and (2) encourage them to tinker/modify the system.
With regard to (1) it should be clear that providing a contrived UI specifically tailored to 'kid tasks' may be useful for the first week, but ultimately is a disservice to the children, as they are not learning about the true power and beauty of computers. They are not learning about modern computer capabilities or conventions if they are stuck in a primitive UI.
With regard to (2), my understanding was that Linux was chosen as the OS specifically because it allows for the students to modify, tinker, extent, and customize. The idea was that (unlike with a proprietary OS), they would be able to learn about the inner functions of computers and become truly interested and skilled with computer work. A simplistic UI that hides the true behind-the-scenes working of the computer hardly accomplishes this goal.
I may be mistaken about the UI. Perhaps what we see in the demonstration is an introductory UI that will be used by very young students (with a more normal GUI and system behind the scenes?
Kids are very smart... and I believe they would have little trouble dealing with a modern, full-featured UI and OS. So why the simplistic interface?
Sadly, the three Rs are not enough to create a strong workforce. Computers are the most flexible and therefore most important tool we have and therefore it is important to learn. It also gives incredible access to a huge library of information and powerful communication tools. I'd say learning to read, do basic math, and use a computer should be the basics of education. As for writing I guess it's a cute historical footnote but not overly important. I'd teach basic block letters and of course grammar and spelling but wouldn't waste time on learning cursive.
At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
Actually, many countries claim to have 90 plus percent literacy, even those that supply as little as one year of education. When literacy figures are yes/no, the claims tend to be that they are quite high.
The extent of literacy is more important.
There, access to reading materials is important. For many countries, a town full of $200 laptops would be cheaper than building and maintaining a library with any significant amount of reading material.
That's were the 3R people are missing the point. A low cost computer is cheaper than paper, pencil, and books over even a short period of time.
But isn't this "fundamentalist" stuff off topic? I'm pleased to see that most subsequent threads focus on the UI.
Davis http://davis.foulger.net
Teachers are generally adults.
I thought it odd that they have a few too many similar icons -
... maybe they've addressed this with consistent placement (the "close task" circle always in a predictable location?) but it still seems a bit overloaded as a result of the simplified icons.
Circle+X in a circle = Home / kid splat
X in a circle = Close/end task
X-with-arrows in a circle = Move
I din't like having to depend on mouseovers to figure out which symbol I'm looking at each time
Did I say overlords? I meant protectors.
Correlation does not equal causation.
The size of the code wasn't the reason for using interpreted code; the important thing is that the kids can look at it and see how it works.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Maybe you're too young to remember a world before Microsoft Windows (TM), but at my advanced age I can recall many people meeting Windows for the first time as an adult (actually, using a computer for the first time as an adult, as I did) and getting by in a few days. Typing is the main "computer skill" in general use that takes time to learn and that is platform independent. Clciking on an icon isn't as intuitive as you may think, but it doesn't take long to learn; and the OLPC does use a desktop and icons.
Do you imagine that using this interface will warp their minds and make them forever incapable of clicking on a start button? Is giving a child a bicycle going to prevent them from learning to drive? Does playing football prevent you from learning basketball?
I know I am sceptical as to the real benefits of the One Laptop Per Child project as to it's contribution to fighting poverty in the world. It is possible for some time to download the virtual image of the OLPC Linux version and I decided to give it a test drive. The main criterium I looked for wass desktop usability. Does it make sense and will it make life easier on the kids that have to work with it.
The main screen looks okay, but navigating it is very awkward. You have to move the mouse to the top and only then the dark grey menu bar appears. Then you have to move around the edges to get to the bottom where the applications are located. The buttons in the top left corner deal with various screen layout options. One option allows you to set all applications to the center of the screen.
Then you realize there are actually only five applciations available: an RSS feed, a chat program, a program that identifies itself with a drum but that doesn't make sense initially and Abiword. Strange enough the webbrowser is not loaded in the center screen option, but it is there.
That's it. Five applications, three of which you need an internet connection for.
Abiword is already a very light and versatile word processor and adding it to the OLPC really makes sense. But why does it have to be an extremely stripped version of Abiword. Even the complete version leaves a very small footprint. And where is the ubiquitous spreadsheet program? Is it not necessary for the kids in poor countries to be able to calculate?
The inclusion of the webbrowser does make sense, but you can only hope that the schools or the villages are willing to spend some money on a decent internet connection. Since you can hardly expect that, it leads to the conclusion that the disk space spend on chat and the RSS feeds has been wasted.
The overall usability is low. Very low. The interface and the icons are far from intuitive. And, for heavens sake, who decided that purple, light grey and dark grey are attractive colors for children? That team should have been sent to the likes of Toys R Us.
Nope, this interface and the choice of applications only add to my scepticism. The idea behind the project might have been good, but in the end it is disappointing.