slightly long and detailed proposal for documentation-translation workflow

Todd Kelsey tekelsey at gmail.com
Tue Oct 16 15:16:35 EDT 2007 

I have been struggling with my literary agent and trying to knock someone
over the head with a wet noodle into realizing that there *will* be a market
for a book, and trying to suggest going with an e-book, with editorial
support from a publisher, put it on amazon, develop the whole thing in a
robust authoring cms so updates and multilingual versions can be easily
made. one publisher responded with fear, blah blah blah, and I made an
attempt to provide rationales (including insights from Wikinomics, which has
helped me to be able to articulate some of the value propositions), but I'm
2 degrees away from throwing in the towel, and inviting whoever wants to
join me in making a multimodal community book. then maybe when the
publishers wake up they could license it and use their distribution channels
to put it in stores.

I don't know if the publishers realize how cool the little green xo is as a
way for people to get acquainted with Linux.

Ok I'm throwing in the towel. We could call it the Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Laptop. I don't care what the title is. The community could name it, write
it. If anyone is interested in helping learners who desire a book to get
acquainted with the very wonderful work you are doing, please feel free to
get in touch.

Maybe the proceeds from the book could go towards a series of laptop
libraries where the laptops could be checked out by kids.

I guess in the same time it took to write this email I could have written a
wiki page.

On 10/16/07, Steve Fullerton <fullerton.steve at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Good points.  The OLPC is designed around collaboration.  The model really
> works well where every child in a class has his/her own laptop, uses it in
> and out of school, and lives in close enough proximity to other class
> members to make the Mesh work.  In class one kid discovers how to do
> something and teaches the other kids (and teachers as well).
>
> In an address at Harvard Law, Negroponte said something like: "People ask
> me who is going to teach the teachers to teach the children how to use the
> XOs  --- and I wonder what planet are they on? ..."
>
> A child who gets one through G1G1 in isolation will not be able to fully
> benefit from collaboration and thus, along with parent/tutor, would
> definately benefit from user documentation in lieu of help from others in
> class.  Likewise, the Carlos Slims approach of putting them in Mexican
> libraries.
>
> If G1G1 goes big-time in November, you can sure bet that there will be
> "OLPC for Dummies" books, etc. by Christmas.
>
> On 10/15/07, Todd Kelsey <tekelsey at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I am amazed and inspired by all the wonderful projects and activities
> > that have arisen from the laptop project -- and though I was skeptical at
> > first, I have also come to appreciate the constructivist approach to
> > education; I didn't "get it" until I came to appreciate the notion of
> > allowing children to come to "aha" moments on their own. The fact that
> > children do fine without manuals at the present level of interaction is a
> > testament to the design of the computer and the philosophy behind it. As
> > generation xo grows older, I think they will want to get deeper into the
> > systems, and as they do, I think they will want more information, and I'd
> > like to help make that freely available.
> >
> > I think a user manual or documentation will be more helpful for adult
> > learners who will end up participating in the laptop community, and who
> > would find it helpful to have something to refer to. Perhaps users could
> > learn many things simply by exploring, and yet they might appreciate having
> > something to turn to. Other people may not have personal possession of a
> > laptop, but would be interested in learning how they could support the
> > project. Some people who order the laptops through www.xogiving.org will
> > get frustrated with the laptop if they have no resources to turn to, and I'd
> > like to help them have fun.
> >
> > I think the idea of  encouraging children to help each other learn is
> > wonderful;  I also appreciate the principle of inclusiveness, and I think
> > that one way to be inclusive is to address various learning styles.
> >
> > On 10/15/07, Steve Fullerton < fullerton.steve at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi Ed and all,
> > >
> > > I fully appreciate the detail.  However, IMHO I think that there is
> > > some re-thinking required re: the traditional "user" documentation.  The
> > > core  of the OLPC (literally one laptop per child; the model does not work
> > > as well if there is not possession of a laptop for each child) is that of
> > > collaboration.
> > >
> > > One child learning something and then teaching his/her classmates.
> > > OLPC machines are not meant to be used in isolation.  You could actually
> > > make a credible argument that user manuals are bad for the project.
> > >
> > > The highly intuitive design of Sugar and the experience of the pilots
> > > bears this out.  The children seem to do just great without manuals,
> > > discovery is enhanced, and many of the constructionist ideals are realized.
> > >
> > > What do you think?
> > >
> > > On 10/15/07, Ed Trager < ed.trager at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Hi, Michael,
> > > >
> > > > Just a few comments for consideration by everyone:
> > > >
> > > > > ...
> > > > > Doc writing conventions:
> > > > >
> > > > > Some linguistic research has been done on "simplified English" as
> > > > a
> > > > > subset of English to use for low-level learners, and I think that
> > > > it
> > > > > might be a good place to look for ways to simplify the
> > > > source_docs.
> > > > > But just thinking intuitively, I have cooked up the following
> > > > > suggestions in order to generate discussion:
> > > > >
> > > > >     * Pronouns.
> > > > >           o Use the first-person singular pronoun "I" to represent
> > > > the
> > > > > author of the docs,
> > > > >           o the second-person singular pronoun "you" to represent
> > > > the
> > > > > reader of the docs, and
> > > > >           o the first-person plural pronoun "we" to represent the
> > > > OLPC project.
> > > > >
> > > > >           o Examples. "We have designed a screen that switches to
> > > > > black-and-white to conserve energy. I will explain how to switch
> > > > your
> > > > > screen to black-and-white. First, you press the X button on your
> > > > > keyboard...." Because we want the docs to be easily translated and
> > > > > easily understood, the tone should be personal, using "I" for the
> > > > > voice of the writer. This will be easier for amateur translators
> > > > to
> > > > > translate and easier for younger readers to understand. This will
> > > > also
> > > > > help the writer avoid the passive construction, which is very
> > > > > difficult for some non-native English speakers to understand.
> > > >
> > > > I agree completely that the English passive construction should be
> > > > avoided at all times.
> > > >
> > > > I mostly agree with your suggestion on use of pronouns.  Use of "I"
> > > > and "we" are fine.
> > > >
> > > > REGARDING THE PRONOUN "YOU" IN ENGLISH:
> > > > ----------------------------------------------------------
> > > >
> > > > However, as a native English speaker, I find the use of the pronoun
> > > > "you" in the imperative mood often quite jarring.
> > > >
> > > > Imperative sentences in which the "you" is absent are understood by
> > > > native speakers of English to convey a softer, less imperative tone.
> > > >
> > > > Such sentences are considered more polite. Compare:
> > > >
> > > > (A) "First you press the X button on the keyboard."
> > > >
> > > > ... versus:
> > > >
> > > > (B) "First, press the X button on the keyboard."
> > > >
> > > > One or two instances of "you" in imperatives or directions in spoken
> > > >
> > > > or written English may not seem too bad, but after a series of them,
> > > > it becomes irritating.
> > > >
> > > > So while I have no objection to simple English which will be easily
> > > > understood by younger learners of the language, we must also be sure
> > > >
> > > > that we do not proscribe an incorrect idea regarding the usage of
> > > > the
> > > > pronoun "you" in imperative sentences in English.
> > > >
> > > > In short, it is *not* OK to use "you" repeatedly in a series of
> > > > imperatives or directions (such as instructions for using a laptop).
> > > > The absence of the pronoun "you" is preferred when giving directions
> > > > in English.
> > > >
> > > > REGARDING POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS:
> > > > -----------------------------------------------
> > > >
> > > > Look again at the sentances Michael used for his example:
> > > >
> > > > > I will explain how to switch your screen to black-and-white.
> > > > > First, you press the X button on your keyboard...."
> > > >
> > > > English speakers make frequent use of possessive pronouns, as is the
> > > >
> > > > case here with : "your screen" , "your keyboard" .
> > > >
> > > > But in many other languages (perhaps most other languages?) we would
> > > > not use possessive pronouns here at all.  All of these English
> > > > "your"s, if translated quite directly into foreign languages,
> > > > results
> > > > in very annoying and unnatural sounding texts in my experience.
> > > >
> > > > So I would advise we try to fix the English from the start by
> > > > avoiding
> > > > unecessary invocations of possessive pronouns, especially "your":
> > > >
> > > >       I will explain how to switch the screen to black-and-white.
> > > >       First, press the X button on the keyboard...."
> > > >
> > > > I basically agree with the rest of Michael's suggestions, so that's
> > > > all the comments I have.
> > > >
> > > > -- Ed Trager
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > Devel mailing list
> > > > Devel at lists.laptop.org
> > > > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Regards,
> > >
> > > Steve
> > > ____________________________
> > > Steven C. Fullerton
> > > email: fullerton.steve at gmail.com
> > > cell/voice mail: 619.339.9116
> > > ____________________________
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Devel mailing list
> > > Devel at lists.laptop.org
> > > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Todd Kelsey
> > 630.808.6444
>
>
>
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Steve
> ____________________________
> Steven C. Fullerton
> email: fullerton.steve at gmail.com
> cell/voice mail: 619.339.9116
> ____________________________




-- 
Todd Kelsey
630.808.6444
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