Now that MSDN AA has mad Visual Studio 2010 RTM available, as an administrator of an MSDN AA account you may want to make this available for download for your students and faculty.  Follow the instructions on this video:

How to transition to Hosted ELMS

Watch this short video to learn how to transition to a Hosted ELMS account.

• Download WMV (4.1 MB)
• Text Transcript

If you are already using Hosted ELMS, you need to enable it for download. Here is the 6 Step process (Screen shots below)

• Login to your elms store front
• Go to the Hosted ELMS link on the right-hand side
• Scroll down and select Visual Studio 2010 Professional (x86) DVD - This is the only version available currently

• De-select the Beta and RC version of Visual Studio 2010 to avoid confusion

• Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select "Enable Selected"
• Go to the 'Software Tab' at the top of the screen and search on Visual Studio  (searching Visual Studio 2010 did not work for me)
• Scroll to the bottom of the Page to see the download is available

For more guidance on how to download, install, and use visual studio from MSDN AA Elms see this video:  Access Software: Using MSDNAA, from login to first use

This article gives guidance on how to Obtain Visual Studio 2010 from MSDN AA to load onto a local server or for CD/DVD/Media access and How to access via DreamSpark

One of the biggest differentiators between MSDN AA and DreamSpark is that MSDN AA contains some of the Office Suite and now contains Office 2010 SharePoint, Project, and Visio Professional versions.  Whereas DreamSpark focuses heavily on Developer and Designer tools, MSDN Academic Alliance offers a wider variety of tools for students, faculty, and IT staff.

To access these items, your MSDN AA administrator must activate them in your ELMS/e-academy storefront or make them available through the interface used at your school.

The following versions are available:

• SharePoint Server 2010 (x64) - DVD (English)
• Project Professional 2010 (x64) - (English)
• Project Professional 2010 (x86) - (English)
• Visio Professional 2010 (x64) - (English)
• Visio Professional 2010 (x86) - (English)

If you are an admin already using Hosted ELMS, you need to enable it for download. Here is the 5 Step process (Screen shots below)

• Login to your elms store front
• Go to the Hosted ELMS link on the right-hand side
• Scroll down and select SharePoint, Project, and Visio 2010
• Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select "Enable Selected"
• Go to the 'Software Tab' at the top of the screen and using the drop-down box select Visio
  • ***searching did not work for me***

Technorati Tags:  Office, MSDN AA, Office 2010, Visio, SharePoint, Microsoft Project

Tired of XL T-shirts? Come get a women’s shirt with real Swarovski crystals!

{iGive = dc};

What is iGive?
The iGive program is a way for Microsoft to “give back” to the communities that we live in and serve.  It is part of the overall corporate citizenship pillar of key initiatives that we all embrace as part of our work at Microsoft. For example, in honor of National Women’s History month, iGive supported the YWCA by raising money and helping raise awareness about their mission to eliminate racism and empower women. How it works: donate $5 or more to donorschoose.org and show us your printed receipt, or stop by the Coding4Fun booth and donate online, and we’ll give you a t-shirt!

What makes the iGive shirt so special?
It’s Microsoft like you have never seen it! Finally, there are shirts for women! You can bring one home for your wife or daughter. The front of shirt has real Swarovski crystal gems.  These shirts are limited in number, so make sure you get one!

Who is DonorsChoose.org?
DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project which range from pencils for a poetry writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class. Then you can browse project requests and give any amount to the one that inspires you. Once a project reaches its funding goal, we deliver the materials to the school. You'll get photos of your project taking place, a thank-you letter from the teacher, and a cost report showing how each dollar was spent. If you give over $100, you'll also receive hand-written thank-you letters from the students.

Visit us at the Coding4Fun booth!

For more information email Lindsay Lindstrom lindsayr@microsoft.com

Technorati Tags:  MIX10

I love having someone I can ask stupid questions without feeling totally ridiculous.  I'm extremely fortunate to have Hilary on my team -- we do almost the same job, she has previously returned from leave so understands my experience and she's a great mentor.  Hilary is acting as my "peer mentor" for my transition back.  No one has assigned us as such, but it's pretty obvious. She's the person I'll call each day with questions about why something happened, who I need to talk to about an issue and general guidance about our day-to-day jobs.  Of course my manager will also be there for support, but I don't expect him to make the time for me that she can. Plus, she knows more about what we do each day, since she actually does it. :-)

Some best practices I've found in this role and others:

• Pick (or hope you're assigned) a peer mentor you're comfortable with.  When I first started at Microsoft, I asked for a specific peer mentor because I knew I could ask him lots of questions.  He had been very helpful when I was an intern, so it was likely that'd happen again. 
• Be proactive about finding one.  Not every company will assign you a peer mentor.  Not every group in Microsoft will either.  But peer mentors can be extremely useful to making you successful very quickly and are worth asking for.
• Make this an enriching experience for both parties.  Be sure that the mentor's manager knows and is ok with them spending time with a mentee.  Learning about onboarding a new employee could be a great experience for an individual contributor who wants to eventually be a manager.
• Value your mentor's time. Take notes during your meetings.  Don't ask the same question twice.  You don't have to do what they say, but do consider their opinions on topics.  Thank them! :-)
• Schedule a regular meeting time or agree upon your communication preferences.  Does your mentor prefer to meet in the mornings?  Only via email?  Not on the phone?  Be sure you have similar expectations on the requirements and how you'll work together. 
• Have fun!  You probably started this job because it sounded interesting and fun.  While you may be overwhelmed now, try to remember that you'll soon be contributing alongside your mentor, rather than just taking their time.

Have you had a peer mentoring relationship?  I'm sure I've missed some key tips... Do you have any best practices to add?