[Olpc-open] Question for Sameer about Moodle and repository software (library)

Sat Dec 8 12:15:09 EST 2007

Sameer, 

I am setting up the LMS and e-library for Nepal's pilot of OLPC.

I have been playing around w/ Moodle and have been quite annoyed to find
that it doesn't have a built-in or standard repository server. All
resources are specific to a particular course and it seems hard to share
them across courses.

What is SF State using for its repository?

What are you using for your repository server. I have been looking at
fedora (not the linux distro) and been quite impressed www.fedora.info

appreciate your comments.

Bryan W. Berry
Open Learning Exchange Nepal, www.olenepal.org

On Sat, 2007-12-08 at 12:00 -0500, olpc-open-request at lists.laptop.org
wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
> 
>    1. Re: Windows XP OLPC in January??!!! (Sameer Verma)
>    2. Re: Windows XP OLPC in January??!!! (Bert Freudenberg)
>    3. Re: Specific vs generalization (Yoshiki Ohshima)
>    4. Re: Homeschool Pilot using XO's (sholton)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2007 09:10:21 -0800
> From: Sameer Verma <sverma at sfsu.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Olpc-open] Windows XP OLPC in January??!!!
> To: olpc-open at lists.laptop.org
> Message-ID: <47597E7D.1050002 at sfsu.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
> 
> Ed Montgomery wrote:
> > This has just hit the wires.  M$ is going to have an
> > "XO" system running in January?  How appalling.  Still
> > doing their dammedest to ensure the world's computer
> > users remain hooked, ignorant and locked in.
> >
> > Microsoft's renewed interest in participating in OLPC
> > might be viewed by skeptics as an admission that a
> > rival offering for developing markets called Classmate
> > -- which uses an Intel processor on Microsoft software
> > -- has failed to catch on.
> >
> > Virtually all major U.S. tech vendors are looking to
> > emerging markets to drive the bulk of their sales
> > growth in the 21st century, and are loathe to see
> > rivals establish an early footprint.
> >
> > Microsoft on Wednesday said it's planning "limited
> > field trials" in January of an XO system running
> > Windows XP.
> >
> > Microsoft's renewed interest in participating in OLPC
> > might be viewed by skeptics as an admission that a
> > rival offering for developing markets called Classmate
> > -- which uses an Intel processor on Microsoft software
> > -- has failed to catch on.
> >
> > Virtually all major U.S. tech vendors are looking to
> > emerging markets to drive the bulk of their sales
> > growth in the 21st century, and are loathe to see
> > rivals establish an early footprint.
> >
> > Microsoft on Wednesday said it's planning "limited
> > field trials" in January of an XO system running
> > Windows XP.
> >
> > http://itnews.com.au/News/66442,microsoft-wants-ne-laptop-per-child-system-to-run-windows-xp.aspx
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >       ____________________________________________________________________________________
> > Never miss a thing.  Make Yahoo your home page. 
> > http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
> > _______________________________________________
> > Olpc-open mailing list
> > Olpc-open at lists.laptop.org
> > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-open
> >   
> 
> 
> The article says ""We asked the OLPC to add a slot for an internal SD
> card that will provide the 2 Gbytes of extra memory," Utzschneider
> wrote. It was not immediately clear if the OLPC has responded to
> Microsoft's request. "
> 
> For a news media site they aren't very well informed, are they?
> 
> Sameer
> 
> -- 
> Dr. Sameer Verma, Ph.D.
> Associate Professor of Information Systems
> San Francisco State University
> San Francisco CA 94132 USA
> http://verma.sfsu.edu/
> http://opensource.sfsu.edu/
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2007 18:55:13 +0100
> From: Bert Freudenberg <bert at freudenbergs.de>
> Subject: Re: [Olpc-open] Windows XP OLPC in January??!!!
> To: olpc-open at lists.laptop.org
> Message-ID: <EFB674D9-E389-49BA-9939-38398B892B36 at freudenbergs.de>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
> 
> On Dec 7, 2007, at 18:10 , Sameer Verma wrote:
> > For a news media site they aren't very well informed, are they?
> 
> As usual, the mainstream media just relays and misquote second-hand  
> information.
> 
> Here's some better info:
> 
> http://blogs.technet.com/jamesu/archive/tags/OLPC/default.aspx
> 
> - Bert -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 3
> Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:09:43 -0800
> From: Yoshiki Ohshima <yoshiki at vpri.org>
> Subject: Re: [Olpc-open] Specific vs generalization
> To: olpc-open at lists.laptop.org
> Message-ID: <uhciuw18o.wl%yoshiki at vpri.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
> 
>   Hi, Ed,
> 
> > "The software in which kids can open the hood,
> > explore, and learn is
> > good.  Its UI should invite exploration."
> > 
> > I would agree with these statements.  However, your
> > beginning statement was 'good software', which is much
> > more far reaching and general.  Your statement above
> > is much more specific, concerning looking at
> > algorithms, etc., which I wholeheartedly agree with. 
> > But 'good software' covers much, much more than this.
> 
>   Well, the context was about education (I stretched it a bit away
> from reading/writing, etc., I admit).  Anyway, "defining what is good"
> wouldn't take us anywhere.
> 
> >   How about Jerome Bruner?
> > 
> > Insufficient data.  I had a quick look at his
> > wikipedia entry (which I will assume is mainly
> > accurate :-))
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bruner
> > 
> > And immediately saw a few loopholes (which if you wish
> > more details, please email privately). I don't want to
> > start filling this list with hundreds of pages of
> > articles, links, arguments pro and con, etc.  But saw
> > lots of value as well.  However, without any
> > interaction with him to find out his current levels of
> > thinking/understanding, etc., I find that I cannot
> > comment on whether I would, IMHO, consider him, or
> > anyone else a 'good' or 'bad' academic.
> 
>   Insufficient... data?  Read his books.
> 
>   I'm not asking you to judge how good he is, so don't worry.  (But
> you asked me to give an example.)
> 
>   More information about him is around on the net (like about
> "MACOS").  However, in general, don't judge a living person from the
> bio on Wikipedia.  Among other things, the NPOV way of writing tend to
> diminish real contribution the person made.  Nobody is perfect, of
> course, and, "loopholes", I could imagine but if you want to point
> that out, just post them here.
> 
>   You sure doesn't mean that one has to meet the person, and find out
> his "current" thinking/understanding to comment on the persons
> academic contribution, right?
> 
>   (BTW, his theory on psycology has strong influence on the computer
> graphical user interfaces used today.)
> 
>   (BTW, I attended a lecture given by him a few years ago.  He kept
> talking one and half hours standing.  He was 90 years old, but just
> like 60 or such.  He is also amazing in that regard.)
> 
> > Oh, I dunno.  The abacus, a computing machine, has
> > been around for awhile, etc. :-)
> 
>   Oh, come on.  Today's computer is not a computing machne but media
> and meta-media, you know?  We should be more interested in that
> aspect, not the calculating machine aspect.
> 
> > Then I guess we'll just have to disagree on this
> > point.  I find any suggestion that computers are not
> > useful to children is extreme.  Displays a total
> > disregard for the overwhelming evidence around us,
> > similiar to someone who declares the earth is flat,
> > regardless of overwhelming evidence around them, etc. 
> > There must be SOME reason that computers are becoming
> > more and more ubiquitous, etc. :-)
> 
>   Computers can be useful, for sure.  But "they are ubiquitus" cannot
> be a reason for claiming it is good.  TV is more ubiquitus but what is
> on TV in these days?  (MS Windows?)
> 
>   I reiterate basically my sole point; with the idea of more laptop
> computers in classrooms lately pushed by the OLPC and other efforts,
> the world will change.  But computer is strong technology and the
> changes it impose were not/are not/will not be all positive.  It is
> better understand what a computer is to prepare ourselves.  For that,
> criticism is healthy.
> 
> -- Yoshiki
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 4
> Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2007 23:04:22 -0500
> From: sholton <sholton at mindspring.com>
> Subject: Re: [Olpc-open] Homeschool Pilot using XO's
> To: Seth Woodworth <seth at isforinsects.com>
> Cc: Olpc-open at lists.laptop.org,	"grassroots at lists.laptop.org"
> 	<grassroots at lists.laptop.org>
> Message-ID: <475A17C6.9060805 at mindspring.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> 
> Since the lack of access to Active Antennas won't be a show-
> stopper, I'll get to work building one from scratch immediately.
> It's something I can do while I'm waiting for the XO's to arrive.
> 
> My wife owns the curriculum; and the "multiple ages learning
> together"was a basic thesis of hers as well as the impetus
> behind our homeschooling decision. I'm just the techno-geek.
> 
> And since I'm a stickler for documenting what I do, I'll probably
> add a wiki page to help blaze the path for others. If there isn't
> a roadmap already, I guess that's as good a place as any to start.
> 
> I'll post again when I have a URL.
> 
> Seth Woodworth wrote:
> > Greetings,
> > 
> > Yes, it is very feasible to set up a pilot program for your homeschool. I've
> > crossed paths with several people doing or considering it but mostly in
> > co-op homeschooling.  What I haven't seen is anyone doing the same with
> > multiple ages.  I would love to see how it works out.
> 