Port help.sl.o Documentation

help/Activities/Abacus.md

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+# Activities - Abacus
+## Table Of Contents
+1. [About](#ABOUT-ABACUS)
+2. [Using Abacus](#USING-ABACUS)
+3. [Toolbars](#TOOLBARS)
+4. [Learning With Abacus](#LEARNING-ABACUS)
+5. [Extending Abacus](#EXTENDING-ABACUS)
+6. [Reporting Problems](#REPORTING-PROBLEMS)
+
+## Abacus
+### <a name="ABOUT-ABACUS"> About
+
+![Abacus Main Page](../assets/AbacusMain.png)
+
+Abacus lets the learner explore different representations of numbers using different mechanical counting systems developed by the ancient Romans and Chinese. There are several different variants available for exploration: a suanpan, the traditional Chinese abacus with 2 beads on top and 5 beads below; a soroban, the traditional Japanese abacus with 1 bead on top and 4 beads below; the schety, the traditional Russian abacus, with 10 beads per column, with the exception of one column with just 4 beads used for counting in fourths; and the nepohualtzintzin, a Mayan abacus, 3 beads on top and 4 beads below (base 20). There is also a binary abacus, a hexadecimal abacus, and several abacuses that lets you calculate with common fractions: 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/8, 1/9, 1/10, and 1/12. And there is a customization toolbar that lets you design your own abacus. The Incan abacus (Yupana) as a standalone program.
+
+### <a name="USING-ABACUS"> Using Abacus
+__Clearing The Abacus__
+
+Before you start an arithmetic operation, you need to “clear” the abacus. The upper beads should be positioned against the top of the frame and the lower beads should be positioned against the bottom of the frame. This is the default position for the abacus when you launch the activity.
+
+Note that some of the abacuses (e.g., the schety) do not have any upper beads. In such cases, all of the beads should start in the down position. Also note that the Clear Button on the main toolbar will also clear the abacus for you.
+
+__Reading The Abacus__
+
+In each column, the bottom beads represent 1s and the top beads represent 5s. (The exception is the column in the schety with only 4 beads. These are 1/4 each.) So for each bead you raise up from the bottom in a column add 1 and for each bead you lower from the top in the same column, add 5.
+
+The columns themselves represent decimal positions from right to left, e.g., 1s, 10s, 100s, 1000s, etc. (There are some exceptions: (1) the nepohualtzintzin uses base 20, e.g., 1s, 20s, 400s, 8000s, etc.; (2) on the schety, the beads to the right of the column with just four beads are 0.1s, 0.01s, 0.001s, and 0.0001s; the black beads on the Caacupé abacus are fractions; and the custom abacus lets you choose whatever (integer) base you want.)
+
+The current value is always displayed on the frame. Experiment and you will quickly learn to write and read numbers.
+
+Examples: In the gallery below, several simple examples are shown. In the gallery of images above, the number 54321 is shown on each of the different abaci.
+
+![Displaying 54321 In Abacus 1](../assets/AbacusReading1.png)
+
+From left to right,
+  * 1 bottom bead is up, corresponding to 1 unit
+  * 1 top bead is down, corresponding to 5 units
+  * 5 bottom beads are up, also corresponding to 5 units
+  * 1 bottom bead is up and 1 top bead is down, corresponding to 6 units
+
+Note: The display always assumes a fixed unit column, but you can override this choice.
+
+__Addition__
+
+To add, simply move in more beads to represent the number you are adding. There are two rules to follow: (1) whenever you have a total of 5 units or more on the bottom of a column, cancel out the 5 by sliding the beads back down and add a five to to the top; and (2) whenever you have a total of 10 units or more in a column, cancel out the 10 and add one unit to the column immediately to the left. (With the nepohualtzintzin, you work with 20 rather than 10.)
+
+__Subtraction__
+
+Subtraction is the inverse of addition. Move out beads that correspond to the number you are subtracting. You can “borrow” from the column immediately to the left: subtracting one unit and adding 10 to the current column.
+
+__Multiplication__
+
+There are several strategies for doing multiplication on an abacus. In the method used in the example below, the multiplier is stored on the far left of the abacus and the multiplicand is offset to the left by the number of digits in the multiplier. The red indicator is used to help keep track of where we are in the process.
+
+__Division__
+
+Simple division (by a single-digit number) is the inverse of multiplication. In the example below, the dividend is put on the left (leaving one column vacant for the quotient) and the divisor on the right.
+
+__Fractions__
+
+The fraction abacus lets you add and subtract common fractions: 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/8, 1/9, 1/10, and 1/12, The fractional value is determined by the number of black beads on a rod, e.g., to work with thirds, use the rod with three beads, to work with fifths, use the rod with five beads.
+
+The rods with white beads are whole numbers in base 10; from left to right 100000, 10000, 1000, 100, 10, and 1.
+
+### <a name="TOOLBARS"> Toolbars
+
+![Main Toolbar](../assets/AbacusToolbar1.png)
+
+From left to right:
+  * __project-toolbar button__: see below
+  * __edit-toolbar button__: see below
+  * __abacus-toolbar button__: see below
+  * __customization-toolbar button__
+  * __clear button__: clear the abacus
+  * __stop button__: exit the activity
+
+![Copy/Paste Toolbar](../assets/AbacusToolbar2.png)
+
+From left to right:
+  * __Copy__: copy current value to clipboard
+  * __Paste__: paste a value from the clipboard into the abacus
+
+![Mode Toolbar](../assets/AbacusToolbar3.png)
+
+From left to right:
+  * __Decimal button__: decimal abacus
+  * __Soroban button__: Japanese abacus
+  * __Saupan button__: Chinese abacus
+  * __Nepohualtzintzin button__: Mayan abacus
+  * __Hexadecimal button__: hexadecimal abacus
+  * __Binary button__: binary abacus
+  * __Schety button__: Russian abacus
+  * __Fraction button__: fraction abacus
+  * __Caacupe button__: fraction abacus with +/–
+  * __Rod button__: Cuisenaire-like abacus
+  * __Custom button__: your custom abacus
+
+![Settings Toolbar](../assets/AbacusToolbar4.png)
+
+From left to right:
+  * __rods__: select the number of rods:
+  * __top beads__: select the number of beads on the top of the frame
+  * __bottom__: select the number of beads on the bottom of the frame
+  * __factor__: select the multiplication factor of top beads (e.g., on the Chinese abacus, each top bead counts as 5× the value of a bottom bead on the same rod)
+  * __base__: select the base to determine the value of bottom beads across rods; this is 10 on most conventional abacuses, but 20 on the Mayan abacus, 16 on the hexadecimal abacus, and 2 on the binary abacus.
+  * __create__: you must push this button to activate the selections you’ve made
+
+### <a name="LEARNING-ABACUS"> Learning With Abacus
+Some lesson plans for using Abacus are found [here](http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Activities/Abacus/Worksheet).
+
+Using beads or pebbles, you can make an abacus. What is the difference between the abacus on the computer and a physical abacus?
+
+It is possible to create a custom abacus. I often use the example of Sumerian mathematics: the Sumerians counted on the digital bones (phalanges) of their fingers, so the base of their counting system was 12. All of the 12s (and 60s) we have in our mathemateics, e.g., 12 hours, 60 seconds, etc. have their roots in Sumerian math. But the Sumerians never invented an abacus. What would a Sumerian abacus look like?
+
+### <a name="EXTENDING-ABACUS"> Extending Abacus
+  * A fun project is to compare calculations using Abacus with the Calculate Activity. Which is faster? Which is more accurate? Which is better for estimating? Which is better for comparing?
+  * Abacus supports paste, so you can take numeric values from other programs and paste them into the abacus to see what their representations are; for example, I often paste numbers into the hexadecimal abacus as a quick way of converting decimal to hexidecimal.
+  * Abacus also supports copy, so you can take a sum calculated on an abacus and export it into SimpleGraph or some other data-visualization Activities.
+  * A fun collaborative mode might be to have a number randomly selected and each sharer work independently to post it on the abacus of their choice first. There could be a tally of beads awarded for each correct answer.
+
+### <a name="REPORTING-PROBLEMS"> Reporting Problems
+If you discover a bug in the program or have a suggestion for an enhancement, please file a ticket in our bug-tracking system.
+You can view the open tickets [here](https://bugs.sugarlabs.org/query?status=accepted&status=assigned&status=new&status=reopened&component=Abacus).
+
+The wiki page is [here](http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Activities/Abacus).

help/Activities/Browse.md

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+# Activities - Browse
+## Table Of Contents
+1. [About](#ABOUT)
+2. [Using Browse](#USING-BROWSE)
+3. [Learning With Browse](#LEARNING-BROWSE)
+4. [Extending Browse](#EXTENDING-BROWSE)
+5. [Reporting Problems](#REPORTING-PROBLEMS)
+
+## Browse
+### <a name="ABOUT"> About
+The Browse activity is your means to explore a wider source of information and content that can be found in what’s called the World Wide Web (Internet or Web for short). Although there are some built-in information included on this activity (OLPC Library), to make the most of this activity you need an internet connection. Please see the chapter on “Neighborhood View and Connecting to the Internet”.
+
+The first thing that you will see when you first click on the Browse icon from the Home View is what’s called the Home page.
+
+![Browse Homepage](../assets/BrowseHome.png)
+
+### <a name="USING-BROWSE"> Using Browse
+
+![Browse Main Toolbar](../assets/BrowseToolbarMain.png)
+
+1. Activity Tool
+2. Text/Edit Tool
+3. View Tool
+4. Home
+5. Address Bar (URL)
+6. Refresh/Reload
+7. Navigation Arrows (Back & Forward)
+8. Bookmark
+9. Stop
+10. Window tab
+
+(Note: To see the name of the tool/button, you can put your mouse arrow on top of its picture)
+
+__Activity Tool__
+
+![Browse Activity Toolbar](../assets/BrowseToolbarActivity.png)
+
+__Browse Journal Entry Name__ - This will serve as the name of the Journal entry. Change this to something distinctive especially when you have multiple window tabs opened that’s related to one particular topic.
+
+__Browse Description Bar__ - This will serve as the Browse activity description in the Journal.
+
+__Privacy Tool__ - Use this to change the privacy setting of the current Browse activity. The default is set to Private.
+
+__Text Finder and Edit Tool__
+
+![Browse Text Toolbar](../assets/BrowseToolbarText.png)
+
+__Undo__ - The Browse activity remembers the last change that you’ve made on the page. Use this button to step back to the last change that you made.
+
+__Redo__ - Use this button to go back to the current changes that you made after doing an “Undo”.
+
+__Copy__ - This is used to copy a text or passage from the current page you are viewing. To do this, you need to first highlight (left-click while dragging your mouse arrow) the text. You know you’ve highlighted a text when its background color turned grey. Then, press this tool to copy it to the clipboard. A small image on the left hand side of the frame will appear. This “holds” the text you just copied. You can now “paste” this text or just simply click and drag it to other activities. The copied text will disappear once the XO is restarted or shutdown.
+
+__Paste__ - This tool is for pasting texts from other activities into the current page that you are viewing. You can only paste texts on areas of the page where pasting is allowed. It will remember this text until the XO is restarted or shutdown.
+
+__Text Search Bar__ -This tool is great to use when you need to quickly find a text on a current page you’re viewing. Press the enter key to go down the page. The text that you are looking for would be highlighted in green. Press the little “x” symbol on the right of the bar to erase the text.
+
+__Text Search Navigation Arrows__ - While you can press the Enter key to search down the page, these arrows are useful to search the page. Use the left arrow to go back up the page and the right arrow to go down the page.
+
+__View Tool__
+
+![Browse View Toolbar](../assets/BrowseToolbarView.png)
+
+__Zoom Out__ - When you want to see more of the page, use this tool to make it smaller.
+
+__Zoom In__ - When you want to see things better, use this tool to make the page bigger.
+
+__Full Screen__ - You can press this to see the entire page without the toolbar.
+
+__Tray Toggle button__ - This tool only works when you have things on the tray (the space on the bottom of the Browse page) like pages that you have bookmarked (Please see bookmark description). Use this tool to make the tray visible or invisible. Browse remembers your bookmarked pages even when the tray is not visible. Just simply make it visible again to see those bookmarks.
+
+__Home Icon__
+
+Clicking this takes you back to the Home Page. Useful when you’re lost and need a starting point.
+
+__Address Bar__
+
+Each page on the internet has its own address. The address bar shows you the current web address of the page you are viewing. If you know the web address of a page, you can type it on this bar and press the enter key to navigate to that page.
+
+__Bookmark__
+
+Sometimes it is useful to remember the pages that you visited. Clicking this icon will save the web address of the current page you are viewing. A small thumbnail image of this page will appear on the bottom(tray). Bookmarks are saved only on the current Browse activity. They will not show up when you open a new Browse activity.
+
+__Stop Activity Tool__
+
+Closes the current Browse activity.
+
+__OLPC Library__
+
+The Browse activity has built in books, information and pages that you can access even without a connection to the internet. Click on any of the texts to see what you can find. Have fun exploring!
+
+__Copying Images From The Web__
+
+Note: Every time you create something whether it’s a poem, a book or a nice picture, you own those works. The internet is filled with information and works that result from hard work and creativity of other people. Some owners of those work like to share them freely, but others don’t or require that you give them the credit. Sometimes this information can be found on the page you are viewing. When in doubt make sure to make a note in your documentation on where you found the information. A great page for further reading [here](http://www.copyrightkids.org/)
+To copy an image, point your mouse arrow on the picture and right-click on it (press the button on the bottom of your track pad that has a circle on it). A box similar to the picture shown above will appear with information on the source or web address of the picture along with the file name of the picture. There are two ways to copy an image:
+
+__Keep Image__ - this will put a copy of the image to the Journal.
+
+__Copy Image__ - this will place a copy of the image to the clipboard, which you can then drag and drop to another activity. This copy is temporary and will disappear from the clipboard when you shutdown the XO. So if you need to save the image, it is best to do a “Keep Image” instead.
+
+### <a name="LEARNING-BROWSE"> Learning With Browse
+Browse gives access to the internet which is a powerful information and communication tool and allows students to participate in the global community and experience. There are so many things on the web that you can use and incorporate in your classroom, but one of the many great ways to start is to help students make sense of where they are in relation to this global context. How far are they from the earthquake’s epicenter that rocked Japan? Where is their country’s capital? How big is their country compared to others? Where are the historical places in their country and the world that shaped human history and culture? One of the many great tools on the web that can be readily and freely accessed is Google maps (type this on the address bar): http://maps.google.com/
+
+![Google Maps On Browse](../assets/BrowseLearning.png)
+
+If you live in an area that is adequately mapped by Google Maps, you can ask students to use the “Get directions” tool on the page to see how they can go from one place to another. The directions tool can also teach students a sense of distance by showing how far two places are from each other. Example, how far do they travel every day for school (Given that sense of distance, how far and how long will it take to get to the nearest city or town)?
+
+### <a name="EXTENDING-BROWSE"> Extending Browse
+There’s a built in Google search bar on the home page of Browse that you can direct students to aid in their research. Help them narrow or expand their search texts to come up with better search results.
+
+To allow students to be active participants in the global community, communication tools can be freely and readily accessed via Browse: from creating free e-mail accounts to tools that allow people to create their own internet sites and pages.
+
+But like with any type of exploration, you have to start with caution. Not all information on the internet is good. Start with educating kids to safely use and explore the internet. You can check out sites like [this](http://www.wiredkids.org/kids/index.html) for more information.
+
+### <a name="REPORTING-PROBLEMS"> Reporting Problems
+In [http://bugs.sugarlabs.org](http://bugs.sugarlabs.org), component Browse.
+
+Browse was developed and maintained by: Lucian, Sascha Silbe, erikos, manuq
+
+Browse can be downloaded from the [Sugar Labs Activities repository](http://activities.sugarlabs.org/).