[Tux4kids-discuss] GSoC Proposal/Questions

[Neetish Bhat]

Hey there , I'm Neetish I'm currently pursuing my bachelors in computer
science , I just went through your idea , it's a really cool idea , and I
really feel that we could build on this and introduce more and more
concepts on a level basis , for example if the kid wants to go a location
nearby his place , then probably we could teach him dijkstra's algorithm to
find the shortest path to his location , so this was just an example , I
have many more ideas and thanks Arya for proposing it , I'd like to build
on this :)
On Mar 6, 2015 8:00 PM, "Arya Ghodsi" <arya.ghodsi at gmail.com> wrote:

> To whom it may concern,
>
> Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Arya Ghodsi, 24 soon to be 25,
> and I am a masters software Engineering student at the University of Ghent,
> Belgium. I recently stumbled upon the Tux4kids on the Google Summer of Code
> page. I will be as honest with you guys as I can be (throughout my
> communication) concerning what I have to tell. I will not try to tell you
> the stuff you want to hear because that what would get me though to the
> next round, it ’s what I personally believe in.
>
> I have heard of Tux4kids, but..it has been a long time, I came across the
> apps of Tux4kids when I first came in touch with Linux when I was 12 (Ahh,
> Ark Linux, I loved that distro)) but until now I have not contributed to
> any open source program. Given the opportunities provided by GSoC I want to
> bring a change in that. Why? Because I honestly love linux and opensource
> and I am an advocate of educating our younger generation because - how
> cliche this may sound - they are the future.
>
> This is why I am sending my proposal to this list (and I won’t deny it,
> the opportunity is great). After reading the ideas on
> https://code.google.com/p/google-summer-of-code-2015-tux4kids/wiki/IdeasList there
> was not much that gave me that “WOW”-feeling until I read the last bullet:
>
>    - *Develop Mobile applications for Tux4kids* This "Idea" has a great
>    deal of flexibility. The main goal is to extend our project beyond
>    installed desktop software into such areas as web-based applets and
>    educational games for mobile platforms (Android and iOS).
>
>
> And that ’s where I ‘d like to enter the play. So what do I have to sell?
> Honestly, my passion. The program I follow at my university (Master of
> Computer Science: Software Engineering, full program disclosed here
> http://studiegids.ugent.be/2014/EN/FACULTY/E/MABA/EMCOMT/EMCOMT.html)
> doesn’t include anything mobile and that ’s a pity, because I also
> personally believe that mobile is the future. The uprise of the smartphone
> market is a vital sign of that. So I started learning on myself, I learned
> how to program for Windows Phone, Android and iOS (through elective
> courses, an internship and a lot of Googling). However the program has
> given me an expert level knowledge of Java and Software Engineering
> principles such as design patterns etc.
>
> I am proposing to build a mobile app/game (given the restriction of
> Windows Phone and  iOS) in Android that introduces something totally new to
> the Tux4kids platform. I am suggesting to build an application that allows
> them to learn *coding*. IT is one of the most important field that
> enables our society to run as we know it and we know that there is a
> shortage of IT people, so why not already tickle their curiosity or give
> them some coding skills. I am of course not talking about teaching them
> full-fledged coding skills and drawing up UML cases (Hm, maybe they can use
> Tux Paint to make UML diagrams..Just kidding). I am talking about learning
> them the basic concepts of variables (e.g. why not explain them using a
> closet analogy where they can store stuff) and based on their age we can
> approach with more “difficult” concepts such as if/else clauses and loops
> (Telling them a tale, where the character has two main paths where he has
> to chose can be a way of introducing if/else clauses or explaining to buy a
> cookie they need to save money by putting a coin in piggy bank every day
> can be used to explain loops).
>
> The game would be something they can play in a narrative kind of way, just
> like levels they unlock they get new concepts. As I said before, I want to
> be as honest with you as I can be, so here we go, I have had almost no
> exposure to programming full graphical games, but I am willing to work hard
> and learn as well as contribute to Tux4kids.
>
> This is my initial idea, I am tossing it here to see whether there is
> interest coming from the Tux4kids project in such an idea for GSoC, if so I
> will make detailled report of this idea and fill in the application form on
> http://www.google-melange.com/gsoc/org2/google/gsoc2015/tux4kids.
>
> Thank you very much for you time and consideration,
> Kind regards,
>
> Arya Ghodsi
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tux4kids-discuss mailing list
> Tux4kids-discuss at lists.alioth.debian.org
> http://lists.alioth.debian.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tux4kids-discuss
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/tux4kids-discuss/attachments/20150306/69246231/attachment.html>