A recompilation with Flash CS4 of the loader modules has been released to correct the bug mentioned in December 08. Adobe has made available an update to Flash CS4 v.10.0.2 that seems to fix the sound delay issue.

The application has been tested with all major browsers on all main platforms.  MS IE v.8 is not recommended (sound delay issue).

SugarCamp – OLPC France
La Cantine – Paris
May 16, 2009 – 10h00 to 19h00.  SugarCamp Link here.

Message to all Participants

As the creator and developer of the software, I’d like to invite you all to a discussion. We can start it now or simply wait until May 16th.

“Learning Now v1” should only be considered – for now – in order to visualize a concept which I feel is needed when bringing computer equipment to young people or adults in need of training (such as alphabetization, literacy, general training courses, high tech courses, etc…).  We all want for these computers to be used to bring people together and closer to each other, to learn about other cultures and systems and to establish links and relationships with people from their own community, surroundings and many other communities worldwide.

We want these computers to be used to preserve the people’s culture and environments, to archive their knowledge – savoir et savoir faire – and their art.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to load on an XO or on any computer – full of dust somewhere (or not!) – a piece of software that allows to do just that?  Educate, offer ways to open up to the world, to archive cultures, and to be able to evaluate the progress of each young one, to modify content when the response is not as positive as desired, to establish a global network where every single unit it connected?

Even the best computer fully loaded with all the best software won’t get us very far if we do not find a way to get the young users – via a “central nervous system” – to receive the education needed and to use the machine to create active and positive projects for themselves and their community. We need some piece of software here to get all these pieces linked together to hold their hand and guide them step by step until they can fly on their own. We also need to load the best GNU multimedia software available.

I’ve been working on this concept for 4-5 years – kind of my “personal obsession” – and the software that came out of my work – Learning Now v1 “ is offering a possible solution – although still not perfect nor completed. With it, you can:

- Use any type of computer (Windows, Linux or Apple).
- Create interactive Training Courses and Presentations of all types and for all ages (5 to 90 years old) – with tracking system of progress.
- Build Free Internet or Intranet Training Centers.
- Distribute courses and presentations on the web or on CDs to reach those who need free education worldwide.
- Create Electronic Community Centers (“local” web sites) filled with collections of cultural archives, story books, catalogs and interactive training courses developed and updated with the support of local educators and reflecting your own cultural identity.
- Easily adapt existing single or series of training courses to other languages, other cultural environment, respecting local belief and traditions.
- Motivate local community groups to join their efforts to preserve [digitize] their own culture, and to offer high tech training courses to young adolescents and adults to learn all the software tools required to feed the archive, personalize existing courses, etc…

I invite you to think about this and to get together at the SugarCamp for a brainstorm session. The more brains the better!

I like to think often that “there are no problems, only solutions”. Team work is a very powerful tool. And when one needs to move a big mountain, it’s easy when moving one stone at a time.

SugarCamp Link here.

Cheers and see you à La Cantine,

Fabrice

A new version of Learning Now – currently v. 1.2b1 – is available on the site. Both modules have been merged in part, offering now a single interface to enter the Student or the Editor Module.

The web site has been updated with new information and improved layout.

Learning Now v1 welcomes the new Library of Endangered Languages’ Project at http://endangeredLanguagesLibrary.org, an ambitious humanitarian project that will bring life to a new Web Service which task will be to link together all available resources on disappeared and endangered languages, currently spread all over the Internet. This Center will bring new value and interest to all of these resources and offer a massive library of resources that can be integrated into educational courses and electronic booklets, such as Languages Courses, Literacy, regional culture, Arts, etc.

On December 1st, 2008, the software has been renamed “Learning Now”. Since the term “skanking” carries various meanings – some not very positive – in different areas of the English spoken world, we decided to let go of the Jamaican name of our software and opted for a name that is more international. A French name “Apprendre Maintenant” is also now in use.

The demo and the site now require Adobe Flash v.10 or higher. I am currently updating and recompiling the two modules to support Adobe Flash CS4 new features.

On December 16, 2008, I finished recompiling all pieces of both modules with CS4 and for Flash Player 10. I also reorganized all the project files for easy sharing with other developers.

Since all files have been recompiled with Flash CS4, I’ve noticed a problem playing sounds (streamed MP3s) with the new version. Sounds are no longer in synch with the help figure and start too late in general. I am running more tests and will upload the new version when all tests are successful.

Update January 9th, 2009: After running many tests and trying many different procedures to load sounds, I discovered that there is a bug with Flash CS4 compiler. When a file is compiled with Flash CS3, the sound delay does not appear. However, if the same file is compiled with Flash CS4, a sound delay is noticeable. This is especially noticeable on older models of computers with slower processor.

Update January 18th, 2009: The solution – for now – has been to compile all the files with Flash CS4, except for the file that loads the application, which is still compiled with Flash CS3. I am running the last tests and will upload the new version shortly.

To open and manage an educational center with a small dozen of computers without spending a penny could seem unthinkable, inconceivable, or quite impossible. But in fact, it is not an impossible dream. You need some patience, initiative and a positive attitude.

I am preparing a report on this subject. I will present it here as soon as it’s ready. Meanwhile, if you have a few advices and/or information that could be useful to share, do not hesitate to let me know.

A new “Easy Skanking v1″ CD is now available upon request. The CD can be used to install Easy Skanking v1 on a MS Windows, Linux or Mac OS computer or on a network of computers.

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Welcome to our Blogosphere. This feature has been added to our Education Center in September 2008. You will find here new articles about Easy Skanking v1 and its deployment.