Ubuntu Wiki

   1 [01:01] <ClassBot> Logs for this session will be available at http://irclogs.ubuntu.com/2011/01/30/%23ubuntu-classroom.html following the conclusion of the session.
   2 [01:02]  * MichelleQ steps to mic
   3 [01:02] <MichelleQ> Hi y'all
   4 [01:02] <mhall119> hello
   5 [01:03] <MichelleQ> I'm MichelleQ, and mhall119 happens to be my husband and star assistant.  We're the founders of Qimo, the desktop for kids.  :-)
   6 [01:03] <MichelleQ> And I'd like to take a few to talk about entertaining kids using linux, and perhaps educating them while we're doing so.
   7 [01:05] <MichelleQ> There are multiple distributions available for kids, ranging from Edubuntu - which focuses more on classrooms, and Qimo - for young kids, to things like the Miley Cyrus distro, to Fluffy, which is lovely shades of pink.
   8 [01:05] <MichelleQ> There are lots of options for kids.
   9 [01:05] <MichelleQ> Let me address the first issue of safety, before we talk about *how* to entertain kids.
  10 [01:06] <MichelleQ> Safety is the first and foremost requirement of a distro for kids.   Qimo is made to be stand-alone, without internet access, but there are all sorts of options for filtering.
  11 [01:06] <MichelleQ> Dan's Guardian is perhaps the most well known.   It is a good content filter, but does require a significant amount of tinkering to set it up.
  12 [01:07] <mhall119> http://dansguardian.org/
  13 [01:07] <MichelleQ> SquidGuard is similar to Dan's Guardian.
  14 [01:07] <mhall119> http://www.squidguard.org/
  15 [01:07] <MichelleQ> OpenDNS filters DNS servers, to keep kids from visiting a website they shouldn't.
  16 [01:07] <mhall119> both squidguard and dansguardian use an HTTP proxy that filters websites
  17 [01:08] <MichelleQ> And then we've found KidZui, which, though it is a subscription service, is an exceptionally good internet-browser for children.
  18 [01:08] <mhall119> OpenDNS has special DNS servers that will block blacklisted pages
  19 [01:08] <MichelleQ> We have installed KidZui for both of our children.
  20 [01:08] <mhall119> http://www.kidzui.com/
  21 [01:09] <MichelleQ> KidZui has worked with us in the past, as well, giving subscriptions to kids who receive Qimo computers from our charity.
  22 [01:10] <MichelleQ> Edubuntu has a feature called GnomeNanny, which does things like set time limits on the computer.
  23 [01:10] <MichelleQ> Any questions on the nitty-gritty before I move onto exploding pink ponies?
  24 [01:10] <mhall119> http://projects.gnome.org/nanny/
  25 [01:11] <MichelleQ> OK, so, how the heck do we actually entertain kids on Linux?
  26 [01:11] <MichelleQ> There are, of course, a whole swath of games that are well known, but there are others that deserve recognition.
  27 [01:12] <MichelleQ> I'm going to start at the top, and work my way down, just to give an overview and age range of games.
  28 [01:12] <MichelleQ> I'd like to start with gCompris, which I am overly fond of.
  29 [01:12] <mhall119> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/AppGuides/gcompris
  30 [01:13] <MichelleQ> It's a suite of games, targeting kids 3 to about 12, and while on the surface looks like it may be very elementary, it scales up with kids quite well.
  31 [01:13] <MichelleQ> Games range in difficulty from basic, gross-motor, mouse skill games, to the intricacies of electrical engineering.
  32 [01:14] <MichelleQ> There are multiple layers of games within the gCompris navigation system, and then, there are multiple layers of difficulty in on top of those.
  33 [01:14] <MichelleQ> The electrical engineering game, for instance, teaches kids about circutry, switches, etc.
  34 [01:15] <MichelleQ> It's quite astounding to come into a room to find your four year old figuring out how to wire switches, batteries, and light bulbs together to turn the bulbs on.
  35 [01:15] <mhall119> it's actually built on top of GnuCAP, a circuit analysis library
  36 [01:15] <mhall119> so all the voltages and everything are correct
  37 [01:16] <MichelleQ> The second suite, of which I am quite fond, is Child's Play.  It has multiple memory-building games, but it also has a nifty pac-man style game that encourages beginning spellers.
  38 [01:16] <mhall119> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/AppGuides/childsplay
  39 [01:16] <MichelleQ> The games are all positive-reinforcement games, meaning that a child can't lose, per se.  It's exceptionally good for the younger set.
  40 [01:17] <MichelleQ> Tux Paint, I'm sure, we're all familiar with, but did you know that you can add both stamps, and coloring pages, into the program?
  41 [01:17] <mhall119> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/AppGuides/tuxpaint
  42 [01:17] <MichelleQ> We've added stamps of our kids' heads, which they find rather amusing.
  43 [01:18] <MichelleQ> Qimo also comes with Qimo and Ila coloring pages.
  44 [01:18] <MichelleQ> Tux Type and Tux Math are asteroids-style games.
  45 [01:18] <mhall119> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/AppGuides/tuxtype and https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/AppGuides/tuxmath
  46 [01:19] <MichelleQ> Type encourages emerging keyboarding skills, and Math helps build up math skills, from addition and number recognition, to division.
  47 [01:19] <MichelleQ> There are three very excellent space/exploration applications.
  48 [01:20] <MichelleQ> Stellarium is a star-observation tool - kids can explore the night sky.
  49 [01:20] <mhall119> http://www.stellarium.org/
  50 [01:20] <MichelleQ> they can learn about the planets in the solar system, etc.
  51 [01:21] <MichelleQ> Stellarium will be replacing KStars in Edubuntu in 11.04
  52 [01:21] <MichelleQ> Celestia allows children to explore a simulated universe.
  53 [01:21] <mhall119> BTW, all the games we've talked about so far are in the Ubuntu repositories
  54 [01:21] <mhall119> http://www.shatters.net/celestia/
  55 [01:21] <MichelleQ> And Marble is a 3-D geography application.  Allows children to explore Earth, learn about its geography
  56 [01:22] <mhall119> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/AppGuides/marble
  57 [01:22] <MichelleQ> Ri-li is a wooden train game, for those of you with kids obsessed, like mine, with all things train.
  58 [01:22] <mhall119> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/AppGuides/ri-li
  59 [01:23] <MichelleQ> The purpose of the game is to clear the track for the train to run on, but it is interspersed with quizzes about things like human rights.
  60 [01:23] <MichelleQ> Laby and KTurtle are both basic programming games.  Laby allows kids to learn rudimentary python, C, or Java, and Kturtle has a self-defined programming language.
  61 [01:24] <mhall119> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/AppGuides/laby
  62 [01:24] <MichelleQ> The goal of both is to code a series of instructions for a little character on screen.
  63 [01:24] <mhall119> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/AppGuides/kturtle
  64 [01:24] <MichelleQ> Laby has little mazes from which you have to rescue an ant.  KTurtle just allows a child to expore making a character move through programming instructions.
  65 [01:25] <mhall119> we got our son started on Laby when he was 5, after about 20 minutes explaining the python commands, he finished the first 2 mazes by himself
  66 [01:26] <MichelleQ> There is also Alice, which is a 3D game designed for girls.  Like Laby, and KTurtle, the purpose is to program in a series of instructions, but in Alice, the goal is to make the figure skater dance.  the intention is to get little girls interested in programming by giving them a character they can relate to.
  67 [01:26] <MichelleQ> Additionally, there is Scratch, also a rudimentary programming game.  Quite expansive.
  68 [01:27] <mhall119> http://scratch.mit.edu/
  69 [01:27] <MichelleQ> Pink Ponies is a tron-esque racing game
  70 [01:27] <ClassBot> sebsebseb asked: What games would you recommend for a 9 year old, for example?
  71 [01:27] <MichelleQ> Definitely any of the programming games, Tux Math or Type, and things like Tux Racer, which we'll cover in a few minutes.
  72 [01:28] <mhall119> also gcompris, which still has enough challenging and entertaining games for a 9 year old
  73 [01:28] <MichelleQ> Pink Ponies is quite mindless fun, the goal is to keep your pony from crossing the path of another pony.  If you don't, your pony explodes into a ball of glitter.
  74 [01:28] <MichelleQ> very, very young-girl appealing.
  75 [01:29] <MichelleQ> KTuberling is a delight.  Think Mr. Potato Head meets the computer.
  76 [01:29] <mhall119> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/AppGuides/ktuberling
  77 [01:29] <MichelleQ> You can configure your potato into all sorts of fashions, place him in different environments, etc.  Little ones love it, because they love to make the potato's face look silly.
  78 [01:30] <MichelleQ> TuxRacer is really quite fun.  The goal is to race your penguin through a course, and go as fast as you can, collecting as many fish as you can, without flinging your penguin into a ravine.
  79 [01:30] <mhall119> it can be quite difficult too, and addictive
  80 [01:30] <MichelleQ> then there is Bouncy The Hungry Rabbit
  81 [01:31] <MichelleQ> it's a little game that requires problem-solving skills.  The goal is to keep your rabbit happy and fed, by stealing the farmer's crops, without getting caught by the farmer.
  82 [01:31] <MichelleQ> It's Beatrix Potter meets Linux.
  83 [01:31] <ClassBot> himuraken asked: Is there a way to time restrict each game?
  84 [01:31] <mhall119> not each game, no
  85 [01:32] <mhall119> but there are some session timers out there that will boot the user back to the login screen after a set time
  86 [01:32] <ClassBot> sebsebseb asked: Ever played Hannah's Horse?  Like Pacman for those that don't know and in the repos :) and aimed at kids.
  87 [01:32] <MichelleQ> I haven't ever seen Hannah's Horse, but it is definitely one I will look into - sounds right up my daughter's alley
  88 [01:33] <MichelleQ> Finally, I wanted to mention both SuperTux, and SuperTuxRacer.
  89 [01:33] <MichelleQ> Think Mario, with penguins.
  90 [01:33] <mhall119> Mario Kart that is
  91 [01:33] <mhall119> for SuperTuxRacer
  92 [01:33] <mhall119> 20:34 < hajour> i would say something about the games .it would be nice if there could be  choose from language you want it.my youngest have trouble with english wile  Netherlands is here native language.
  93 [01:34] <mhall119> hajour: many of the games are translated, some will use the system's language settings, while others ignore than and provide their own way of switching
  94 [01:34] <mhall119> some are translated upstream, others use Launchpad
  95 [01:35] <mhall119> if you find one without support for a language you want, the best thing to do is file a bug against it in Launchpad, and the game's maintainers will forward it on to where it can be fixed
  96 [01:35] <MichelleQ> I'm runnign way short tonight, so if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask
  97 [01:36] <MichelleQ> There are tons of other entertainment options out there - but these handful are things that we use regularly with our children.
  98 [01:36] <mhall119> There's a pretty complete list of the games in both Edubuntu and Qimo here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/AppGuide
  99 [01:36] <MichelleQ> And let's be honest, here, we've found ourselves spending a little too much time playing Pink Ponies.
 100 [01:36] <mhall119> each page has a section for user feedback too, so if you use any of them please leave a little message
 101 [01:37] <ClassBot> himuraken asked: Qimo is built on Ubuntu. What version of Ubuntu is it currently based on?
 102 [01:37] <mhall119> Qimo 2.0 is based off Ubuntu 10.04
 103 [01:38] <mhall119> you can also apt-get install qimo-session in 10.04 or 10.10
 104 [01:38] <mhall119> we're planning a 3rd release to coincide with Ubuntu 11.04
 105 [01:38] <MichelleQ> Both Qimo and Edubuntu can be added ontop of an already existing Ubuntu install
 106 [01:38] <ClassBot> sebsebseb asked: What do you think of Tuxpaint? I love that app especially with the extra stamps.
 107 [01:38] <MichelleQ> Tuxpaint is brilliant, on so many different levels.
 108 [01:39] <MichelleQ> It's very, very intuitive for kids to follow, particularly little ones without reading skills.
 109 [01:39] <mhall119> sebsebseb: while making the installer slideshow for Qimo 2, I asked out son what he liked best about tuxpaint, he said "Everything is fun in tuxpaint"
 110 [01:39] <mhall119> and that's pretty much the truth
 111 [01:39] <MichelleQ> We love being able to add in our own coloring pages, too.  The kids love being able to color Qimo into bright red clothing.
 112 [01:40] <mhall119> tuxpaint probably has the broadest appeal in terms of age, we've seen 2 year olds up to 16 year olds playing with it
 113 [01:40] <MichelleQ> Heck, we've spent more than a little time playing with it ourselves.
 114 [01:40] <mhall119> 20:41 < hajour> are there spoken guidings in the games?3 of my 4 children got dyslectic
 115 [01:41] <mhall119> hajour: I don't think so
 116 [01:41] <MichelleQ> hajour: not that I'm aware of.
 117 [01:41] <mhall119> I've been trying to get Orca working so I can test it against some of our games
 118 [01:41] <mhall119> but alas, I've had no luck with Orca
 119 [01:41] <MichelleQ> gpc: definitely booth the children out of the house and off the computer.  We stress that it's not a babysitting service.
 120 [01:41] <mhall119> a lot of what is in gCompris and childsplay doesn't require reading though, ours started using them before they could read
 121 [01:42] <ClassBot> himuraken asked: One of my children just turned 3, is it likely too advanced for him?
 122 [01:42] <MichelleQ> himuraken: definitely not.  mhall119's looking for something, can't remember the name of it.  It was a simple mouse-movement game.
 123 [01:43] <MichelleQ> Gamine.
 124 [01:43] <MichelleQ> that's it.
 125 [01:43] <MichelleQ> It responds positively to *any* input.
 126 [01:43] <mhall119> it's nothing but direct feedback from using the mouse
 127 [01:43] <MichelleQ> there are very basic games in gCompris, too, that work well for a 3yo.
 128 [01:44] <mhall119> himuraken: gcompris has a section of games specifically for that age range
 129 [01:44] <mhall119> it'll teach them how to use the mouse and keyboard properly
 130 [01:44] <ClassBot> sebsebseb asked: There's a artwork gallery on the Tuxpaint site of  users submitted art work, is any of your kids in there? Probably not.
 131 [01:44] <MichelleQ> No, not our kids personally.
 132 [01:44] <MichelleQ> We've actually discussed setting up an artwork gallery for Qimo on the website, though.
 133 [01:45] <mhall119> sebsebseb: I just found http://www.tuxpaint.org/gallery/
 134 [01:45] <ClassBot> himuraken asked: Can you give a brief history of the project?
 135 [01:46] <MichelleQ> A brief history of Qimo?  Sure.  It started off as a simple adjustment to a desktop for my autistic son.
 136 [01:46] <MichelleQ> And we realized that our daughter loved it, too, and so we shared the adjustment with some friends, and the mhall119 suggested we actually do it right, and make it it's own distribution.
 137 [01:47] <mhall119> mind you, I had no idea how to make it it's own distro when I suggested that
 138 [01:47] <MichelleQ> My brother-in-law is a graphics artist who kindly donated his talents for the art.
 139 [01:47] <MichelleQ> and away we went.
 140 [01:47] <ClassBot> gpc asked: How old is Qimo?
 141 [01:47] <MichelleQ> two and a half years now
 142 [01:48] <mhall119> Qimo 1 was released in February of 2009
 143 [01:48] <mhall119> and based on Ubuntu 8.10
 144 [01:48] <MichelleQ> Our son, Quinn, is almost 7.  He was four when we started on this
 145 [01:48] <ClassBot> sebsebseb asked: Do you know of maybe some older people who are using Tuxmath to learn Maths? I know it can be rather useful and fun for anyone who wants to learn maths.
 146 [01:49] <MichelleQ> sebsebseb: we've actually been asked similar questions quite often, and we've been discussing formulating something strictly for older adults.
 147 [01:50] <MichelleQ> When we have gross amounts of freetime, hopefully we'll be able to get around to turning Qimo into a distribution for elderly or dementia patients, to work on cognative skills.
 148 [01:50] <mhall119> sebsebseb: you may also be interested in Cognitionplay, it's a variant of Childsplay designed for use with the elderly and adults with mental diseases: http://www.schoolsplay.org/
 149 [01:50] <ClassBot> habeous asked: How far does Tuxmath go in the curriculum? Does it go to algebra?
 150 [01:51] <ClassBot> There are 10 minutes remaining in the current session.
 151 [01:51] <MichelleQ> dang it, wrong room
 152 [01:51] <mhall119>  hajour tuxmath only goes up to multiplication and division
 153 [01:52] <mhall119> for algebra, check out https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/AppGuides/kalgebra
 154 [01:52] <MichelleQ> gpc: the easiest thing to do is email me.
 155 [01:52] <ClassBot> hajour asked: can the games also run on light weight programs like lubuntu
 156 [01:52] <MichelleQ> hajour: for the most part, yes
 157 [01:52] <mhall119> yes, the games will run on any desktop environment
 158 [01:52] <mhall119> we use Xfce for Qimo because it's a good balance between weight and features
 159 [01:53] <ClassBot> gpc asked: is there a Qimo foundation or some way we can donate funds/hardware ?
 160 [01:53] <MichelleQ> the easiest thing to do is email me.  since the website is down at the moment, that's the best bet.
 161 [01:53] <MichelleQ> Once the website is back up, there's a donations page, you're welcome to visit there.
 162 [01:54] <MichelleQ> The server apparently needs a technical tap.  :-/
 163 [01:54] <mhall119> but if you have a computer, the best thing you can do is install Qimo or Edubuntu on it yourself and give it to a family or daycare facility that could benefit from it
 164 [01:54] <MichelleQ> Any other questions before we go?
 165 [01:54] <MichelleQ> Anyone, anyone?
 166 [01:55] <ClassBot> sebsebseb asked: Are either of school teachers for example or something like that?  A bit of a different question I know.
 167 [01:55] <MichelleQ> Are either of us school teachers?
 168 [01:55] <MichelleQ> No, we're not.  Mike's a programmer by trade.  I'm an at-home mom, though if I were working, I'd be teaching.
 169 [01:56] <ClassBot> There are 5 minutes remaining in the current session.
 170 [01:56] <MichelleQ> I've spent most of the past five years concentrating strictly on teaching my own children.
 171 [01:56] <MichelleQ> Someday I'll be back in a classroom, though.  :-)
 172 [01:57] <MichelleQ> Any other questions, before classbot boots me?
 173 === xindz is now known as xindz`off
 174 [01:57] <mhall119> I know MichelleQ mentioned it earlier, but it's worth repeating: all of this technology is a wonderful tool to help teaching children, but it still requires parental involvement and other activities
 175 [01:57] <MichelleQ> Absolutely.  Supervision is vitally important, and so is remembering to hit the off button.
 176 [01:58] <ClassBot> sebsebseb asked: What touch typing software would you recommend?
 177 [01:58] <mhall119> sebsebseb: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Edubuntu/AppGuides/ktouch is the only one I'm aware of
 178 [01:58] <mhall119> we haven't gotten to the touch typing stage yet with our kids
 179 [01:59] <MichelleQ> Thank you so much, folks.  :-)
 180 [01:59] <MichelleQ> Feel free to track Mike or I down, should you have any further questions.
 181 [01:59] <mhall119> remember, you can always go to #edubuntu and #qimo channels to learn more