#4545 NORM Never A: Request to include: Cartoon Builder

[Zarro Boogs per Child]

#4545: Request to include: Cartoon Builder
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 Reporter:  edstoner  |       Owner:  jg            
     Type:  defect    |      Status:  new           
 Priority:  normal    |   Milestone:  Never Assigned
Component:  distro    |     Version:                
 Keywords:  killjoy?  |    Verified:  0             
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 Cartoon Builder was developed for MaMaMedia

 Git source is at dev.laptop.org/git/mamamedia/cartoon-builder

 XO bundle is at http://www.worldwideworkshop.org/olpcwiki/images/b/b3
 /CartoonBuilder-RC-1.7.xo.zip

 Motivation:

 A. Epistemological impact—to what degree does this activity positively
 impact learning?
 Cartoon Builder lets you explore the cartoon-making process. Place six
 different pictures of a character in a filmstrip, add a background and
 sound, and watch the pictures play in sequence, like a movie. It helps you
 learn to learn the fundamentals of animation, to put creative ideas into
 action, and to express ideas you may not yet have words for. It provides a
 fun context for learners (and beginning XO users) to explore how basic
 functions of the XO laptop. The capacity to share original cartoons over
 the mesh also has a positive impact on the learning process as students
 can inspire and learn from each other. Integrated Lesson Plans give
 teachers and learners usage tips and structured ideas for using this
 activity in class.

 B. Fun—is it fun? engaging?
 Yes. Cartoon Builder is a colorful, noisy, playful and joyous learning
 activity that lets users explore the cartoon-making process. Place six
 different pictures of a character in a filmstrip, add a background and
 sound, and watch the pictures play in sequence, like a movie.  Add your
 own backgrounds and sounds by selecting them from the Journal. Share your
 creations over the mesh.

 C. Quality—is the activity sufficiently robust in its implementation that
 it will not compromise the integrity or supportability of the system? Is
 the overall quality of the implementation adequate to meet our standards?
 Can the community be engaged in the process of testing and "certifying"
 and maintaining the activity?
 Yes. Cartoon Builder is robust and has been coded specifically to work
 within the system requirements of the XO.  It has been in development
 since May and has been through four comprehensive rounds of testing by the
 development team, the OLPC team and OLPC community volunteers.

 D. Sugerized—to what extent has the activity been integrated into Sugar,
 including UI, Journal, security, internationalization, etc.?
 The Cartoon Builder has been fully Sugerized to ensure that it runs well
 within the Sugar framework and UI. It provides incentive for creating
 images with other core tools, like Paint and Record and it offers a
 seamless process for incorporating those assets in an original cartoon. It
 leverages the Journal for keeping and resuming instance and for locating
 and incorporating images and sounds. It utilizes the mesh network for
 sharing cartoons.

 Does the activity require the folding in of additional libraries and
 resources? (This has impact on robustness—positive and negative—support,
 bloat, and the overall usability, aesthetics, and perception of quality of
 the machine.)
 Cartoon Builder has a small library of sample images and sounds – an
 essential component for new and very young users. The library takes up
 very little space.

 E. FOSS—is the activity and all of its dependencies free and open?
 Yes, Cartoon Builder is fully open and free.
 F. Extensible—is the activity something the community can extend? Does it
 span multiple needs? (And does it have—or the potential of having—an
 upstream community of support?)
 Yes Cartoon builder is designed to be expandable and transformable by the
 user, educator and developer communities. Learners can create new assets
 for it and Educators can create new Lesson plans for it. Developers and
 aspiring developers can add new features and customize the code. It is
 completely open and ready for Community use and expansion.

 G. Uniqueness—does the activity add a unique feature to the core?
 Yes. This a unique Cartoon creating tool for the XO which offers a unique
 opportunity to incorporate creations made with other XO activities (images
 and sounds) and to share creative output over the mesh. It also features
 integrated Lesson Plans, another unique and expandable feature.

 H. Expectations—does the activity meet the expectations of (children,
 teachers, parents, G1G1 audience, etc.)?
 Yes. Cartoon Builder is suitable for children, teachers and families
 worldwide, as well as G1G1 and other OLPC initiatives.

 I. Discoverable—is the core activity discoverable? (This is not to say
 that it shouldn't be hard work to fully exploit the power of an activity,
 but it should have a low barrier to entry.)
 Yes, Cartoon Builder presents a low barrier to entry because it utilizes a
 set of friendly, kid-made starter images and a simple, intuitive UI. New
 users can have lots of fun simply creating cartoons from the starter
 components. More advanced users can use the more complex and extensible
 learning and play features, such as incorporating original and imported
 images, sharing original cartoons over the mesh, and experimenting with a
 set of Lesson Plan ideas.

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Ticket URL: <https://dev.laptop.org/ticket/4545>
One Laptop Per Child <https://dev.laptop.org>
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