Chris Bowen's Blog : Education

Imagine Cup 2009 US Finals in Boston!

cbowen — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:46:57 GMT

Students from all over the United States are gathering to compete in the US finals of this year’s Imagine Cup, hoping for a chance to join the best of the best from around the globe in the world finals in Cairo, Egypt.

The Imagine Cup is a yearly technology-based problem solving competition bringing students together to face challenges and open new doors.

Want to see more? There’s a great video showing the amazing excitement this competition offers.

Want to see more in person? The US Finals are happening this weekend, right here in Cambridge, MA, and you can join in the fun by coming to the US Imagine Cup Community Showcase on May 4th. Here’s how:

Now in its seventh year, Microsoft Imagine Cup is a global student technology competition that inspires students to use technology to make the world a better place by addressing its toughest challenges as defined by the UN Millennium Goals. Microsoft is pleased to host the 2009 US Imagine Cup final competitions in Cambridge, MA. 15 student teams will be coming from universities across the county to experience a week in the innovation capital of the world – Cambridge. While here, students will attend an innovation and entrepreneurship workshops, present their projects to a judging panel of local technology luminaries, and showcase their ideas to the local technology community.

The US Imagine Cup team invites you to join us for the

US Imagine Cup Community Showcase
May 4, 2009 at 6:00 PM
One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142 – 1st Floor
Light refreshments will be served!
Driving Directions

The Community Showcase welcomes members of the Boston community to come into New England Research and Development and to spend an evening interacting with students, and witness firsthand the passion for technology and inspiration for solving tough problems that the students exhibit.

This event is the highlight of the student experience of the Imagine Cup, come and see what the future of technology holds!

For a glimpse into the impact this has had on students, take a look at Journeys and Success Stories, showing just a few the many teams (and dreams) involved in the competition.

See you there!

-Chris

C# Day in Waltham Tomorrow! (November 13)

cbowen — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:55:56 GMT

A reminder that Michael de la Maza is running his well-received C# Day event at the Microsoft offices in Waltham, MA tomorrow from 8:30-4:00.

There's still room available if you're interested (but RSVPs are required,) so head to http://learn2learn2program.com for more information and to sign up!

It's a great way to learn C# in a relaxed environment (and the price of "free" is great!)

-Chris

Technorati tags: C#, Events, Massachusetts, Education

MIX University Expands with a Free WPF Bootcamp Course

cbowen — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 08:45:57 GMT

Tim Sneath posted about a great new addition to the already strong lineup of training available at MIX University.

Now you can access a full three-day WPF training course (over 20 hours) for the low cost of free. From Tim:

"You'll hear a keynote from Ian Ellison-Taylor, the general manager responsible for WPF, Silverlight and client platform tools; introductory sessions on core WPF topics from external luminaries like Ian Griffiths; depth training by talented and knowledgeable speakers from the product group such as Beatriz Costa and Kevin Moore; and lastly, five sessions on real-world experiences from early adopters who built applications ranging from The North Face kiosk application to the new Yahoo Messenger client."

MIX University now has free videos, demos, quickstarts, and labs for the following technologies:

Silverlight
WPF
ASP.NET AJAX
Sidebar & Live Gadgets
Expression
Internet Explorer Extensions
Media Center
RSS
Virtual Earth
Windows CardSpace

Definitely worth a click to take a look.

-Chris

Technorati tags: WPF, Training, MIX, Education

C# Day Event in Waltham on November 13th

cbowen — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:39:34 GMT

Michael de la Maza has run three very successful (and free!) C# Day events in Waltham since the summer. I'm glad to say he's ready to run another one on November 13th from 8:30 - 4:00 at the Microsoft offices in Waltham, MA.

C# Day is a great way to take those first few steps with C# programming - no prior experience required. The day is structured much differently than traditional training events, so please take the time to read about the event at Learn2Learn2Program.com and watch the video to get an idea of what the day is like.

Attendance is free, but RSVPs are required (and have "sold out" for prior C# Days.)

I hope you have a great time!

-Chris

Technorati tags: C#, Massachusetts, Programming, Education, Training

C# Day Returns on September 13th

cbowen — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 22:59:14 GMT

Michael de la Maza is returning to Waltham, MA to run a 3rd "C# Day" event. Previous C# Days have been great opportunities for attendees to become familiar with the C# language using an approach quite different from standard lecture-focused events.

Here's a description from the C# Day home page:

"Join us for a relaxed, no cost introduction to C# programming. By engaging in participatory activities, you will learn some of the most common and powerful features of the C# language. This day is not lecture-based. There will be fewer than 60 minutes of lecture material -- almost all of the time will be spent on participant-guided activities. Everyone who attends will learn what interests them at their own pace in a relaxed, tension-free environment with an experienced C# developer and trainer available to answer questions."

Here's a summary post from the first C# Day event in June.

RSVPs are required, so please head to http://learn2learn2program.com for more details and to register.

-Chris

Technorati tags: C Sharp, Education, Massachusetts, Events

C# Day - August 3rd in Waltham

cbowen — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:21:27 GMT

After the successful first run in C# Day community learning event in June, Michael de la Maza is offering his time to run it again in August. Michael has made a number of changes to the day's format and timing, so to be prepared for what to expect, please read his description below and watch the video (and note that registration is required):

What: C# Day

When: Friday, August 3, 9am - 4pm (8:30am – 8:55am sign-in)

Where: Microsoft, 201 Jones Road, 6th Floor, Waltham, MA

Who: People who are new to C# or new to programming

Join us for a relaxed, no cost introduction to C# programming. By engaging in participatory activities, you will learn some of the most common and powerful features of the C# language.

This day is not lecture-based. There will be fewer than 60 minutes of lecture material -- almost all of the time will be spent on participant-guided activities. To see a video of a previous C# Day visit http://learn2learn2program.com/video.aspx. Everyone who attends will learn what interests them at their own pace in a relaxed, tension-free environment with an experienced C# developer and trainer available to answer questions.

Schedule:

8:30am – 8:55am - Registration. Note that you must RSVP. To RSVP send email to Michael.delamaza@learn2learn2program.com

9:00am - 9:30am - Ice breakers

9:30am – 10:00am - C# Language Discovery

10:00am – 11:00am - C# Language Cocktail Party

11:00am – 11:30am - Knowledge organization and self-reflection

11:30am – 12:00pm - Starting a new project in Visual Studio/C# Express

12:00pm - 1:00pm - Lunch

1:00pm - 1:45pm - C# Program Discovery

1:45pm - 2:45pm - C# Program Cocktail Party

2:45pm - 3:15pm - Knowledge organization and self-reflection

3:15pm - 4:00pm - C# Program Ch-ch-changes

Not sure what a cocktail party is? See the video at http://learn2learn2program.com/video.aspx

All participants must bring a laptop with Visual Studio or Visual C# Express installed. Visual C# Express is available as a free download from Microsoft: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/visualcsharp/

For more information, visit learn2learn2program.com or send email to Michael.delamaza@learn2learn2program.com

Space is limited and an RSVP is required. To RSVP, send email to Michael.delamaza@learn2learn2program.com

Technorati tags: C Sharp, Development, Education, Massachusetts

Online Introductory C# Workshop

cbowen — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:04:18 GMT

Jeromy Walsh at GameDev.net is hosting a free 9+ week online C# Language Workshop:

This workshop is designed to aid people in their journey to learn beginning C#. This workshop is targeted at highly motivated individuals who are interested in learning C# or who have attempted to learn C# in the past, but found that without sufficient support and mentoring they were unable to connect all the pieces of this highly complex but powerful programming language. This is a 'guided' self-teaching C# workshop. Each student is responsible for taking the time to read the material and learn the information. The community and tutors that arise out of this workshop are here for making the learning process run more smoothly, but are not obligated to baby-sit a person's progress. Because everyone will be working from the same materials, students may find it easier to get answers to the specific questions they might have. There is no minimum age requirement, and there is no previous programming experience required.

The course just started this week, with participants using Visual C# 2005 Express Edition and downloading the C# Language Specifications [1.2 & 2.0] and individually (but with collective support from the group) working though sets of chapters and projects each week, with forums for Q&A.

Details and signup instructions are on the workshop's introductory thread.

-Chris

Technorati tags: C Sharp, Education, Development

C# Day Report

cbowen — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 18:40:57 GMT

This Saturday (6/23), we gathered at the Microsoft offices in Waltham for the first "C# Day" event. Thanks to Michael de la Maza for volunteering his time and effort to run the session!

There was a great turnout - so good in fact that the room filled up and unfortunately couldn't offer table space for one or two latecomers. The good news is Michael is planning to run this event again, so keep an eye on this blog or on the Learn2LearnProgram site for announcements.

The day was quite different from traditional (lecture/lab) technology education events. Michael's approach is very social, encouraging people to interact to share what they've discovered and to work with different lab partners throughout the day. Michael gave an introduction to the material, then encouraged participants to "become" one of the C# language constructs. Everyone specialized in a language feature, researched and worked with that feature, and then attended a "cocktail party" in the next room where people socialized by exchanging details about what their function was. Introductions took the form of "Hello, my name is <C# function> and I..."

Michael received plenty of good feedback from attendees and is already planning some new ideas and approaches for the next event.

Considering coming to the next C# Day? So your expectations are inline with the event, be certain to read Michael's description on his site. Also, Michael arranged to capture parts of the event on video. The video should be on Learn2Learn2Program.com soon, the idea being that a video can demonstrate the format and style of the event more effectively than textual descriptions.

Thanks to everyone who participated and again to Michael for running the event!

-Chris

Technorati tags: C Sharp, Events, Massachusetts, Education, Programming

Easy to Digest Tutorials for Blend and Silverlight

cbowen — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 21:33:42 GMT

[Via Dave Campbell - a blog you should read if you're into Silverlight.]

Just launched is the beta of a great (Silverlight-based) site by Celso Gomes with some simple to use tutorials for Blend & Silverlight:

http://www.nibblestutorials.net/

Currently, there are some good tutorials for creating animations and buttons, but Blend/WPF tutorials (and I'm sure other Silverlight ones) should be coming soon!

Check out Celso's blog as well:

http://nibbles.wordpress.com/

-Chris

Free Microsoft Online Developer Courses

cbowen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 02:34:26 GMT

The Microsoft Learning site has a number of self-paced eLearning courses on current technologies (e.g. .NET 2.0 & 3.0 and VS2005.) I've pulled the subset of the developer courses that are free and listed them below, but take a look at the full developer catalog as well (the courses with fees are pretty reasonable.)

.NET 3.0

Collection 5134: Developing Rich Experiences with Microsoft® .NET Framework 3.0 and Visual Studio® 2005

Summary: This collection of 3 2-hour premium clinics teaches Enterprise Developers and Software Architects about the new capabilities provided by the .NET Framework 3.0.
Audience: Developer
Available Offline: No
Price: FREE
Subscription: 3 years

Distributed Applications

Clinic 5136 : Introduction to Developing with Windows® Workflow Foundation and Visual Studio® 2005

Summary: This 2 hour premium clinic teaches Enterprise Developers and Software Architects about the functionality Windows Workflow Foundation provides for enabling business processes within applications.
Audience: Developer
Available Offline: No
Price: FREE
Subscription: 1 year

Clinic 5137: Introduction to Developing with Windows® Communication Foundation and Visual Studio® 2005

Summary: This 2 hour premium clinic teaches Enterprise Developers and Software Architects about the functionality Windows Communication Foundation provides for service oriented development.
Audience: Developer
Available Offline: No
Price: FREE
Subscription: 1 year

Windows and Smart Client

Clinic 5135 : Introduction to Developing with Windows® Presentation Foundation and Visual Studio® 2005

Summary: This 2-hour premium clinic teaches Smart Client Developers and Software Architects about the powerful features Windows Presentation Foundation provides for building rich user experiences.
Audience: Developer
Available Offline: No
Price: FREE
Subscription: 1 year

Visual Studio 2005

Clinic 5045: Inside Look at Developing with Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint® Services 3.0

Summary: In this 2-hour premium clinic you will learn about the rich capabilities that Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 offers to developers. The clinic will focus on Architecture and List Management, Building and Extending Windows SharePoint Sites, and Packaging and Deploying Windows SharePoint services solutions.
Audience: Developer
Available Offline: Yes
Price: FREE
Subscription: 1 year

Clinic 5046: Inside Look at Building and Developing Solutions with Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007

Summary: In this 2-hour premium clinic you will learn about the rich capabilities that Office SharePoint Server 2007 offers to developers. The clinic will focus on Fundamentals of Building Solutions with Office SharePoint Server 2007, Building Business Solutions with Office SharePoint Server 2007 and how to Incorporate Office SharePoint Services into Business solutions.
Audience: Developer
Available Offline: Yes
Price: FREE
Subscription: 1 year

Collection 5134: Developing Rich Experiences with Microsoft® .NET Framework 3.0 and Visual Studio® 2005

ASP.NET 2.0

Clinic 3402: ASP.NET for PHP Developers: Introduction to ASP.NET

Summary: In this clinic, you learn about ASP.NET as a Web development platform and how it compares to PHP. You will explore features including Server Controls, Master Pages, and Profiles. Additionally you will also learn about Visual Web Developer Express, a powerful free tool for authoring ASP.NET Web sites.
Audience: Developer
Available Offline: Yes
Price: FREE
Subscription: 1 year

Clinic 5230 : Developing Enhanced Web Experiences with Microsoft® ASP.NET AJAX Extensions

Summary: In this 2-hour clinic you will learn about the rich functionality that ASP.NET AJAX Extensions provides for building highly responsive and enhanced web applications.
Audience: Developer
Available Offline: Yes
Price: FREE
Subscription: 1 year

SharePoint

Clinic 5045: Inside Look at Developing with Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint® Services 3.0

Clinic 5046: Inside Look at Building and Developing Solutions with Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007

Security

Clinic 2806: Microsoft® Security Guidance Training for Developers

Summary: This online clinic provides students with knowledge and skills essential for the creation of applications with enhanced security. Students will learn about the need for implementing security at every stage of the development process and best practices for applying security principles. Students will also learn how to use established threat modeling methodologies and tools with other best practices to minimize vulnerabilities and limit damage from attacks. Finally, students will learn how to implement security features to enhance security for Web applications and Web services that are built by using Microsoft ASP.NET.
Audience: Developer
Available Offline: Yes
Price: FREE
Subscription: 1 year

Clinic 2807: Microsoft® Security Guidance Training for Developers II

Summary: This clinic discusses best practices for building security into the design, development, testing, and deployment phases of the software development life cycle. It is targeted towards individual with at least one to two years of programming experience. The course will provide developers with the skills and knowledge to design and develop more secure Microsoft solutions.
Audience: Developer
Available Offline: Yes
Price: FREE
Subscription: 1 year

BizTalk

Clinic 2954: First Look: Microsoft® BizTalk® Server 2006 for Developers

Summary: This clinic provides developers with an introduction to BizTalk Server 2006.
Audience: Developer
Available Offline: Yes
Price: FREE
Subscription: 1 year