Release Notes

• Runs on Build 542
• Seven Creative Activities: Jigsaw Puzzle(NEW), Poll Builder, Slider Puzzle, Story Builder, Learning Center, Cartoon Builder and MaMaMedia Creative Center
• New Activity: Jigsaw Puzzle – Classic puzzle-solving game. Full screen interface with one-person gameplay and lesson plans.
• New Features: Poll Builder and Slider Puzzle feature mesh-based creative and collaborative sharing. In Poll Builder you can vote in other user’s polls and see vote tallies, in Slider Puzzle you can share puzzle pictures.
• We recommend testing Poll Builder mesh functionality in a mesh environment backed by the Jabber server. In the current peer-to-peer mesh, vote tallying only works for a new poll – it will not work for the existing "Favorite Color" sample poll. See Poll Builder notes below for more details.
• Teacher Center: is renamed "Learning Center" to make it inviting for both teachers and students. Students can also benefit from the introductory materials and Learning Tips presented with each creative activity.
• New Milestone: Story Builder now works in SUGAR. The olpcgames wrapper has just been enhanced to support Story Builder. This important update will allow us to complete the Story Builder Mesh and Journal integration in September. There is still a new bug that prevents story typing from working correctly, but that is being addressed.
• More Sugar Features: All activities have begun leveraging the stabilized Sugar features -- Journal, Clipboard, Tubes for sharing. More Sugar integration work is in progress for Release 1.3 (mid-September).
• New Lesson Plans for Jigsaw Puzzle: We have received great feedback on our Custom Learning Tips and Lesson Plans that are already integrated in Cartoon Builder, Slider Puzzle and Poll Builder.
• The MaMaMedia Creative Center Launcher: Based on Focus Group testing and Sugar design principles, a decision will be made in the next couple of weeks about whether or not to keep the Launcher.
• Full-screen Interface: We introduce a full-screen design for the Jigsaw Puzzle interface. We seek your feedback.
• Thank You: We thank Carla, SJ, Lauren, and Walter for their insightful feedback on our last release. Thank you Lincoln, Eben, and Marco for your collaboration with our developers Morgan, Carlos, Terrence, and Ed. We look forward to many more people testing and communicating back to us!

• See Additional notes below on each activity.

XO bundles (please download and install on BUILD 542)

Jigsaw Puzzle

Jigsaw Puzzle Interface

Jigsaw Puzzle is based on the classic picture-constructing game, but has the option to add your own pictures. It strengthens visual, spacial and problem solving skills and offers a context to creatively reflect on and explore any subject.

Beta 1.2: v1.0 has a full screen interface with one-person gameplay and lesson plans.

Functionality:

• Based on MaMaMedia.com and MyGLife.org “Jigsaw” activities
• Re-written in Python to run locally on the XO laptop
• Full game logic and interface integrated within the OLPC framework
• Puzzle-solving functionality includes Picture Selector, Timer, Change Shapes, Board Hint, Solve and 3 difficulty levels
• Board size is set to take 60% of available space on at least one side (the largest one relative to the available space) and keeps the image aspect ratio.
• The larger side will have the number of pieces set to that of the level being played, but the other side may have less pieces. An attempt is always made to make the pieces almost square, so an image with a 4:3 aspect ratio on the highest level will get 8x6 pieces.
• The way pieces are cut is not fixed, so new connector types can be implemented.
• Set of customized Lesson Plans accessible in-app via "Lesson Plans" button

Poll Builder

Choose a Poll

Vote

Build a Poll

A poll is a research tool that helps explain what a group of people think about a topic. Poll Builder allows you to create your own poll, collect votes, examine the results and think about what they mean.

Beta 1.2 update: Poll Builder v1.1 features Mesh-based voting, integration with Journal.

Users can now access and vote in one another’s polls via the mesh. We recommend testing Poll Builder mesh functionality in a mesh environment backed by the Jabber server. In the current peer-to-peer mesh, vote tallying only works for a new poll – it will not work for the existing "Favorite Color" sample poll.

As of build 542, XOs do not automatically connect to the Collabora server as with previous builds, so the following process must be done to connect to the server:

• Go to the dev console terminal
• vi ~/.sugar/default/config
• Change "server = " to "server = olpc.collabora.co.uk" (leave "registered = False")
• shutdown and switch on again to reboot

Functionality:

• Can share a poll with a buddy (shares application and current data) who can vote on it from their XO
• Polls can be multiple times (e.g. X can share it with Y who can share it with Z).
• Uses Telepathy for interacting with other XOs
• Updates all XOs that are sharing the activity with current data (while Poll is being shared)
• When receiving data, author's activity eliminates duplicates and updates votes with the latest vote from a given XO
• Ability to create multiple polls, each with a title, question, 2-5 answer choices and a "votes to collect" limit
• Display running total with number of votes (numeric tally) and percentage of total votes cast (bar graph) for each answer
• Ability to “Delete” the Poll
• Ability to “See Results’ after the Poll closes
• Polls are stored in the Data Store and accessible via the Journal
• Multiple translations available (user selectable on-the-fly.)
• Set of 4 customized Lesson Plans accessible in-app via "Lesson Plans" button

Slider Puzzle

Slider Puzzle

Slider Puzzle is a classic logic game that challenges a player to slide tiles around to form a picture or pattern. This digital version provides a fun context for learners to explore basic functions of the XO, learn problem solving skills, and develop creative projects that reflect understanding of a topic they are studying.

Beta 1.2 update: Slider Puzzle v1.2 features Mesh-based puzzle sharing. The functionality existed in Release 1.1 but runs better and is easier to test in Build 542.

Functionality:

• Sequencing puzzles and corresponding lesson plans
• The interface was enlarged (still not full screen - this will be addressed.)
• Functionality added to let users share puzzles via the Mesh.
• Based on MaMaMedia.com activity “Jumbler” -- re-written in Python to run locally on the XO laptop
• Full game logic and interface integrated with the OLPC framework
• Puzzle functionality includes number of pieces (9, 12, 16), timer, solve, jumble
• A filesystem based directory structure for image storage, having an intermediate directory for subject grouping
• Fixed set of starter images, organized by subject
• "My Own Pictures" subject allows user to build a set of their own XO-made images to solve as puzzles
• User can select an image made with the XO drawing tool or camera and saved locally on the laptop, open it in the Jumbler activity, and solve it as a puzzle.
• Multiple translations available (user selectable on-the-fly.)
• Set of 6 customized Lesson Plans accessible in-app via "Lesson Plans" button
• Keyboard shortcuts for all game interface buttons:

 '1' - select 9 pieces
 '2' - select 12 pieces
 '3' - select 16 pieces
 'enter' - jumble selected image
 ',' - show previous image in category
 '.' - show next image in category
 '/' - show/hide Category Selector
 '?' - My Own Picture
 '=' - Solve
 'Escape' or 'q' - end activity

Story Builder

Story Builder Interface

Story Builder is a graphical story constructor tool. Drag & drop a variety of characters (stamps) into a background, and create an imaginative scene. Simple word-processing capability is included to encourage and facilitate free-form creative writing and the saving of original stories. When finalized, users will also be able to add their own images (created with Paint, Camera, etc.) and share their stories via the mesh.

Beta 1.2 update: Story Builder v1.0b now runs in Sugar and also has sound, thanks to recent enhancements made to the olpcgames wrapper by Lincoln Quirk. However, the ability to type in your title and story is not working correctly under Sugar yet. While this bug is being addressed, you can test the writing and saving of text by running the application from the Developer's console on your XO. We recommend looking at it both ways.

To test the activity outside of Sugar:

• Alt+0 and select Terminal tab, then type the following:
• su
• mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
• cd /mnt
• cp StoryBuilder-8.xo.zip /home/olpc
• cd /home/olpc
• su olpc
• unzip StoryBuilder-8.xo.zip
• sugar-install-bundle StoryBuilder-8.xo
• cd Activities/StoryBuilder.activity/
• python ./StoryBuilder.py
• Alt 0 to see the activity
• Press Esc to quit Story Builder

Functionality:

• Written in Python and tailored to the OLPC Sugar environment
• Original activity logic and interface recreated
• Select a background / theme (from fixed set of provided themes and images)
• Place the animated characters freely on the background
• Select placed characters and move them around or remove them
• Selecting a character which overlaps with others brings it to the front
• Clear Picture
• Add the story title and text
• Save (Store the story in the Journal)
• Customized Lesson Plans included

Learning Center (formerly Teacher Center)

Learning Center (formerly Teacher Center) is a space for educators and students filled with starter ideas on how to integrate the XO laptop and the MaMaMedia activities into the their learning experiences.

Beta 1.2 update: "Teacher Center has been renamed "Learning Center".

This version is a simple framework to showcase some initial content ideas. It offers five tabbed sections:

• Welcome - orientation and explanation of what to expect
• Explore the XO - lesson ideas for exploring the XO as a class
• Activities - List of MaMaMedia activities that describes the game and its learning value.
• Glossary - definitions of key terms from lessons and XO interface
• About - Background on Constructionist educational philosophy

Future updates will incorporate a full screen interface with more visual design elements, additional translations, and links to an Educators wiki for those with an internet connection.

MaMaMedia Creative Center

Creative Center

MaMaMedia Creative Center (Formerly MaMaMedia Activity Center) is a colorful Menu Page and activity launcher for introducing all the MaMaMedia activities.

Beta 1.2 update:

• There is shared code and images stored in the Activity Center now, to avoid duplication of assets and save space.
• Six activity bubbles are active (from top left): Jigsaw Puzzle, Story Builder, Learning Center, Slider Puzzle, Poll Builder and Cartoon Builder.
• The necessity and value of using an Activity Launcher such as this one in the Sugar environment is being discussed. Based on Focus Group testing and Sugar design principles, a decision will be made in the next couple of weeks about whether or not to keep the Launcher.

Cartoon Builder

Cartoon Builder Interface

Cartoon Builder allows you to create your own cell-animation sequences, by positioning and manipulating a playful cartoon character inside a filmstrip, and by using provided media assets -- backgrounds, characters in multiple poses, sound effects. You can play the sequence at different speeds, and save it. “Make Your Own” functionality lets you produce original cartoons that incorporate character poses, backgrounds and sounds you made yourself using other XO applications (Paint, Camera, Microphone, etc.)

Beta 1.2 Update: Cartoon Builder now runs in Build 542; no other functionality updates.

Functionality:

• Can place 6 character poses in the filmstrip by selecting the cell/frame and then select the character pose you want to go in it.
• Character, Background and Sound selectors (Scroll through background options using "Back" and "Forward" buttons. The one in view will be used in the cartoon.)
• Three starter characters (Space Blob, Elephant, Turkey), 12+ starter backgrounds, and four starter sounds
• "Add Character," "Add Background," "Add Sound," "Open" and "Save"
• Changing the animation speed -- fast and slow range
• Clear All (removes images from all cells of the filmstrip)
• Play/Pause
• Saving/loading animations (locally on the XO)
• Can take drawings created with the XO Paint activity and make them into poses and background images in Cartoon Builder.
• Can take photos with the XO camera and use the photo files as images in Cartoon Builder.
• Can take sounds recorded with the XO microphone, TamTam, or other sources and use them in Cartoon Builder.

FEEDBACK

Please send your feedback and ideas about Beta 1.2 to info at WorldWideWorkshop.org

PREVIOUS RELEASES:

Beta Release 1.0 (JUNE 20, 2007)

Beta Release 1.1 (JULY 17, 2007)