diff --git a/_posts/2024-09-20-sweet-spot.md b/_posts/2024-09-20-sweet-spot.md index a0c16f11..1bef5b5b 100755 --- a/_posts/2024-09-20-sweet-spot.md +++ b/_posts/2024-09-20-sweet-spot.md @@ -1,6 +1,7 @@ --- layout: post title: "The Sweet Spot – Issue 001" +author: "Sugar Labs" date: 2024-09-20 categories: community --- diff --git a/_posts/2024-12-29-sweet-spot-002.md b/_posts/2024-12-29-sweet-spot-002.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..d2d779dc --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2024-12-29-sweet-spot-002.md @@ -0,0 +1,217 @@ +--- +layout: post +title: "The Sweet Spot – Issue 002" +author: "Sugar Labs" +date: 2024-12-29 +categories: community +--- + +*Recent news for December 29, 2024* + +Welcome to the second issue of the "Sweet Spot", a newsletter for +Sugar Labs-related news in development, student and teacher work, +events, how to get involved, and other news and information. This +newsletter will be published semi-regularly for now, but the plan is +to publish it on a bi-monthly, perhaps even monthly, basis in the +future. Our aim with this newsletter is to help keep the growing body +of Sugar Labs contributors on the same page, all while documenting our +growth for our own and others' reference. + +These first issues are meant to set a precedent of communication and +documentation, as well as to help inform the community of our current +status, recent progress, and future plans. Its predecessor is the +[“Sugar Digest”][1], which still serves as an important catalog of our +activities. Like Sugar Digest, this newsletter is intended to keep +community members in the loop about everything going on within Sugar +Labs. It will highlight any recent publications from us. It will +occasionally include links to third-party news and updates that our +community finds relevant. + +[1]: https://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/community-news/ + +## Updates + +### Today, help Sugar Labs continue to transform education + +*December 3, 2024* + +
Your donation helps us in many +ways.
+ +Sugar Labs is in the middle of a campaign to raise funds necessary for +outreach, software development, project maintenance, mentorship, and +more. Having left Software Freedom Conservancy in 2020, this year is +the first that Sugar Labs is investing financially in its own growth, +and we’d love to have your participation in this pivotal moment. We’ve +been particularly heartened to see volunteers in our community assist +with various aspects of this campaign, such as making improvements to +our website. You may also participate in our fundraiser, while getting +something nice for yourself or a loved one, by purchasing Sugar Labs +merchandise from our new store on Bonfire. + +Read executive director Devin Ulibarri’s letter to the community to +learn more about the work we’ve done this year, consider making a +donation or purchasing merchandise, and please help spread the word. + + +* +* Make a donation to the current campaign: +* See our new donation banner, created by volunteers in our development community: +* Contribute to Sugar Labs by purchasing Sugar Labs brand merchandise: + +### Sugar Labs election information and results + +*December 19, 2024* + +Sugar Labs completed an election for three seats to its Board of +Directors for the 2025-26 cycle. The results are out, and the winners +are Devin Ulibarri, Sumit Srivastava, and Sebastian Silva. Read the +articles to learn more about Sugar Labs’s election process and how you +can prepare to participate in the next election. + +* +* +* + +### Sugar Labs expands its social media presence to Bluesky and WhatsApp + +*December 9,2024* + +Sugar Labs is now on Bluesky and WhatsApp. Sugar Labs continues to +maintain a presence on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Mastodon, +Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Github. We decided to join Bluesky +and WhatsApp in an effort to expand our reach. For those active on any +of these platforms, please follow Sugar Labs to help our outreach +efforts. + +* + +Newly joined social media platforms: + +* Follow us on Bluesky: +* Reach out on WhatsApp: + +*Note: For a complete list of our official social media channels, + please see the “Social and Communication Links” section at the bottom + of this newsletter.* + +### Reflections from Constructing Modern Knowledge 2024 + +*November 27, 2024* + +This past July, Sugar Labs executive director and Music Blocks +co-maintainer Devin Ulibarri attended Constructing Modern Knowledge +(CMK). In this post, Ulibarri shares his experience at the teacher +institute, what he learned, and what it could mean for Sugar Labs. He +also shares his group’s “Lego Notation for the Blind” project, which +is a step toward using physical Lego blocks as musical notation to +convert to a programming language such as Sugar Labs’s Music +Blocks. By taking Lego blocks, configured pitch-over-time on a +baseplate, a camera connected to a computer can image the Legos and +translate them into musical code. While the system is not yet +complete, the article gives insight into what Music Blocks can do, how +Sugar Labs is approaching outreach (as well as learning from other +educators), and a glimpse at what we’re looking to create in the +future. + +* + +### James Simmons’s Sugar Story: Writing new Activities and sharing Sugar with youth + +*September 3, 2024* + +Sugar Labs community member James Simmons shares his story about his +involvement with Sugar Labs. Simmons tells us how he began +contributing to the Sugar Learning Platform by expanding the +functionality of the Read Activity and adding support for e-texts. In +addition to authoring Read ETexts, he also created View Slides and +Read SD Comics Activities to support the ability to read comic books +in CBZ format. Having had this experience writing Activities for +Sugar, he wrote *Make Your Own Sugar Activities\!* as a manual for +anyone interested in writing their own Activities for Sugar. + +* +* Download *Make Your Own Sugar Activities!* From Internet Archive: (English) and (Spanish) +* See all of James’s Activities: + +## (Volunteer) Help wanted + +Sugar Labs is seeking volunteer assistance in the following +ways. Sustained, committed help in any of the following areas will +help us grow as an organization. If you are passionate or curious to +learn more about any of these roles, and are able to commit the time +necessary, then we encourage you to apply. Send a notification of your +interest to info@sugarlabs.org, including some information about +yourself, what interests you about the volunteer role, and what +experience/qualities make you a good candidate for the position. + +Sugar Labs is a growing organization. We don't currently have the +resources to hire people to fulfill these roles. Our hope is that we +one day will be able to, but, for now, we are looking for volunteers +who can work with the executive director and the board to work +diligently to improve our operations. What we can provide, in return, +for your help, is assistance in conducting your role and mentorship +(especially in the case of technical roles). Plus, you'll gain the +experience and satisfaction of working with an organization that aims +to do good in society. + +Please see: and + + +## Upcoming events and meetings + +Sugar Labs hosts events and meetings for the community. The current +list of scheduled events and meetings are as follows: + +* Music Blocks meetings: Every Sunday at 7:00 EST (12:00 UTC) on +* Sugar Activity meetings: Every Wednesday at 7:00 EST (12:00 UTC) on +* Sugar Labs Board of Directors meetings: Every Wednesday at 14:30 EST (19:30 UTC) on + +## About Sugar Labs + +Sugar Labs® is a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a +global mission to create educational opportunities in technology to +youth around the world. Volunteer mentors and contributors work +together to develop activity-focused software for children. All +software is developed with learning as the primary goal, necessitating +the need for source code to be published publicly for study, licensed +under a Free/Libre license for explicit permission to share and remix, +and openly worked upon within a community where students are invited +to make contributions, under guidance of experienced mentors. You can +learn about how to make a donation to support the work of Sugar Labs +at . + +## Social and Communication Links + +Below is a complete list of all the official social media and other +communication channels for Sugar Labs. If you are on any of the social +media platforms, such as Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or +X/Twitter, we encourage you to show your support for Sugar Labs by +following us. If you are interested in testing and development, GitHub +and Matrix are where you can report issues and ask questions. + +Communications on our official channels must abide by our [Code of +Conduct](https://github.com/sugarlabs/sugar-docs/blob/master/src/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md). + +* Bluesky – +* Facebook – +* GitHub – +* Instagram – +* LinkedIn – +* Mailing lists – +* Mastodon – +* Matrix – +* Medium – +* Snail mail and phone – +* Twitter/X – +* Wiki – +* WhatsApp – +* YouTube – + +## Back issues of “The Sweet Spot” + +You can find this issue and past issues of “The Sweet Spot” at + \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/assets/post-assets/donation-banner.jpg b/assets/post-assets/donation-banner.jpg new file mode 100644 index 00000000..20709c6b Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/post-assets/donation-banner.jpg differ