I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for the great experiences of being an Developer Evangelist.  Why?  This story is a superb example:

On last week, during my XBOX Gaming applab session (XNA) at Atlanta University (Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University) , I asked one of the really astute, very bright, & sharp students how old he was & what year in school. ....Turns out that he (Stephen) is 15 YEARS old (yes 15) and is a JUNIOR at Morehouse College. He started taking College classes in Morehouse at the age of 11 years old, and was officially taking full coursework at 13 years as a Sophomore.

He was AMAZING...HE was figuring out and writing the code along with me and sometimes before I could even get out the coding task he had already inferred the next step.  He was answering all of the coding questions, helping others with their code and quite frankly blowing the 18 - 21 year olds in the class away.   I soon came to find that I wasn’t the only one amazed by his genius, as he had previously been interviewed by multiple Media Outlets as a Child Prodigy.  Stephen Stafford was Home Schooled by his parents into what seems to be the Right Stuff!

Check out interviews with Stephen and his Mother when he was between 11 – 13 and just starting college.

Whiz Kid Stephen Stafford

Meet Stephen Stafford

          

Guys this kid INSPIRED ME to step up MY game and push harder to gain more knowledge on….umm I don’t know, I guess gain more knowledge on EVERYTHING!  So my son (ironically named Stephen) should beware, he’s 12 and is going to have to step up his game too!

So, I say again for opportunity to gain these types of experiences being a Developer Evangelist; I am Thankful.

For those of you interested in building an Windows Phone app or putting the finishing touches on your Windows Phone applications  Let me offer a little assistance so you can make a SPLASH and become the Big App on Campus and Win some COOL PRIZES.  Check out my blog for more details on the contest.

I am providing a LOT of Windows Phone Resources below, but I have outlined them in such a way that you should be able to pick and choose what resources are best needed to assist in completing your first app or apps. 

As always if you want to have a Windows Phone 7 appLab (Hands-On Windows Phone Coding & Learning Session) on YOUR Campus.

  Email me directly to get it started.

Windows Phone 7 Resources – Getting Started:

• Windows Phone for Absolute Beginners Series:For true beginners http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/Windows-Phone-7-Development-for-Absolute-Beginners/Series-Introduction
• Windows Phone Development Quick Starts: Code Walkthroughs & samples of the dev. features/scenarios for creating Windows Phone applications: http://create.msdn.com/en-us/education/quickstarts
• Create your first Game for Windows Phone:Code Walkthrough for building a simple game on Windows Phone: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff472340(v=VS.92).aspx
• Developing a Windows Phone Application from Start to Finish Walkthrough: Complete walkthrough with downloadable companion application full code solution for those who want to see what steps were taking to complete this app and follow along with code: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg680270(v=PandP.11).aspx
• Getting Started with MVVM: Students that attended the appLabs are aware of the Model-View-View Model pattern that we implemented when building our Twitter app, but this link provides good practice for those who are not aware of this pattern: http://weblogs.asp.net/dwahlin/archive/2009/12/08/getting-started-with-the-mvvm-pattern-in-silverlight-applications.aspx

Code Samples for Common Tasks:

Panorama/Pivot View Sample:

• Instructions/Pivot: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff941123(v=VS.92).aspx
• Instructions/Panorama: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff941092(v=VS.92).aspx
• Code: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=229124

Location Service/GPS Sample:

• Instructions: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff431782(v=VS.92).aspx
• Code: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=229128

Use Sensor Data Sample (Accelerometer/Gyroscope/Compass:

• Instructions/Accelerometer: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff431810(v=VS.92).aspx
• Instructions/Gyroscope: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh202943(v=VS.92).aspx
• Instructions/Compass: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh202974(v=VS.92).aspx
• Instructions/Combined: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh202984(v=VS.92).aspx
• Code: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=219085

Process and Use RSS Feeds in Win Phone:

• Instructions: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh487167(v=VS.92).aspx
• Code: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=229151
• NOTE: If a student attended an appLab, a simpler example is Twitter app built during lab also showing MVVM.

Isolated Storage (3 Scenarios):

• Instructions/Settings Page: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff769510(v=VS.92).aspx
• Instructions/Files & Folders: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff626519(v=VS.92).aspx
• Instructions/Relational Data (non-MVVM): http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh202876(v=VS.92).aspx

Local Database App w/MVVM for Win Phone:

• Instructions: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh286405(v=VS.92).aspx

• Code (C#): http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=219066

AD Control Sample: For those students who want to make money on their Phone app via including advertising in their apps:

• AD Control Explanation/Walkthrough: Instructions/Using Visual Studio Designer: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/advertising-mobile-windows-phone-7-visual-studio-designer(v=MSADS.20).aspx
• Instructions/Using Silverlight Ad API for WP: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/advertising-mobile-windows-phone-7-silverlight-adcontrol-csharp(v=MSADS.20).aspx
• Instructions/Using XNA Ad API (Win Phone Game): http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/advertising-mobile-windows-phone-7-xna-api(v=MSADS.20).aspx
• Code: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=229112

It’s a great time to be a Student Windows Phone Developer in the South, especially if you attend a College or University in the GA, FL, AL or MS. Why? Because many of you have the opportunity to compete on your campus in a Windows Phone Development Contest for some cool accolades and prizes. In the past month, students have attended an appLab.Phone() session and/or a WP7 Hackathon on their campus in order to build Windows Phone applications to compete for it all, go for the Goal Line…wait I mean the Phone Marketplace line. Prizes have been sponsored like XBOX/Kinect Bundles, Windows Phones, and other Exciting Prizes. So are you ready to win?

Check out the students at Georgia Tech and University of South Florida after participating and building WP7 phone apps in the Windows Phone appLab or Windows Phone Hackathon.

  I was joined by some great Windows Phone 7 MVP & Professionals:  

Joel Johnson: www.j2i.net , Windows Phone Atlanta Developer's Group

and

Michael Stark: http://www.starknetwork.com

they were EXCEPTIONAL in assisting me in helping students into the code

and building their own WP7 apps. 

Want to Have an appLab.Phone and/or a Windows Phone 7 Contest at YOUR school? 

  Email me directly and let’s get BUILDING!