CareerForward: Career Preparation in a Global Economy (cFWD)

Course background:  CareerForward is a media-rich online learning program, developed through a unique public-private partnership between the Michigan Department of Education, Michigan Virtual University and Microsoft. The program helps students wrestle with some of the burning questions about their futures: What am I going to do with my life? What is the world of work like? What will I need to succeed? What’s next for me? Using a variety of multimedia, course topics explore these questions and more. Throughout the course, students are asked frequently to reflect on what they’re learning, to write their thoughts down as a continual refinement of their thinking, and to discuss their thoughts with other students, either in-person or online.  Students can work with local educators to access the online course, which takes about four to six weeks or approximately 20 hours to complete. The course is designed to be facilitated by a local teacher and can be used independently or as part of an existing face-to-face course in career planning, business or global studies.

cFWD student/teacher video:

http://www.microsoft.com/video/en/us/details/031c7926-608f-42eb-aa7f-a29

cFWD course location:

http://nroc.careerforward.org/careerforward/

cFWD trailer:

http://www.mivhs.org/coursefiles/careerforward/index.htm

cFWD online teacher webcast

http://educationwebcasts.com/Webcast.aspx?i=4265

New XNA Curriculum Resources

· Introduction to Programming Through Game Development Using Microsoft XNA Game Studio

· Introduction to Programming Through Game Development Using Microsoft XNA Game Studio - Chapter 1: Computers, C#, XNA and You

· Introduction to Programming Through Game Development Using Microsoft XNA Game Studio - Chapter 2: Programs and Colors

· Introduction to Programming Through Game Development Using Microsoft XNA Game Studio - Chapter 3: Getting Player Input

· Introduction to Programming Through Game Development Using Microsoft XNA Game Studio - Chapter 4: Displaying Images

· Introduction to Programming Through Game Development Using Microsoft XNA Game Studio - Chapter 5: Writing Text

· Introduction to Programming Through Game Development Using Microsoft XNA Game Studio - Chapter 6: Creating a Multi-Player Game

· Introduction to Programming Through Game Development Using Microsoft XNA Game Studio - Chapter 7: Playing Sounds

· Introduction to Programming Through Game Development Using Microsoft XNA Game Studio - Chapter 8: Creating a Timer

· Introduction to Programming Through Game Development Using Microsoft XNA Game Studio - Chapter 9: Reading Text Input

· Introduction to Programming Through Game Development Using Microsoft XNA Game Studio - Text Sample Code

Here is a quick overview of the first item in the list.

Learn the underlying skills and principles of software development--as you design and build your first games for Xbox 360, Windows, and Zune.

Designed specifically for students with no computer science background, this curriculum teaches the fundamentals of C# programming and the XNA Game Studio framework--for skills you can apply to game programming and beyond.

· Write code to create and control game behavior

· Build the game display--color, graphics, text

· Create multiplayer features

· Capture and cue sounds

· Process input from gamepads and keyboards

New Windows Live Movie Maker Available

I’m a huge fan of the Windows Live set of tools. I use Windows Live Writer to write and post all of my blog posts (to several different blog engines – I used it to cross post this from my main computer science teacher blog for example) and Windows Live Messenger keeps me connected to friends all over the world. And Photo Gallery has a lot of great features. Sticking together several shots into panoramas is a big favorite of mine. The version of Movie Maker that was available for Windows Vista and Windows 7 lagged behind a bit. The version for Windows XP was actually a little better. But that has changed. I found this announcement in my email yesterday.

Today, Microsoft announced the global availability of the new Windows Live Movie Maker. With the new Windows Live Movie Maker, it’s easier to turn videos and photos into great-looking movies and slideshows, using many popular camera types and file formats on the market today. It’s an effective tool for teachers to bring the benefits of multimedia to the classroom, where it can help engage students and increase retention.

One of the key enhancements that teachers and students will use is the sharing capability. Once a movie is complete, it can be easily shared with other teachers, students or even friends and family across TV, PC or mobile device or by uploading them to video-sharing sites.

Teachers and students can download the new Windows Live Movie Maker for free by going to download.live.com.

I really like the idea of easy sharing for example. Students love to share their work and of course many of them are already excited about the idea of making movies. This is a multi-media generation and they are not interested in static poster board displays. Not in seeing them and not in creating them. My wife has been using a Flip video with her students and I know she is excited to do more with it this school year. I know a lot of other teachers who are doing the same. Making movies engages students. So I think the timing on this announcement is great.

BTW I am hoping to put some educational videos together about various computer science concepts. This is the tool I plan to use to edit them. Are you working on video demos? I’d love to hear about them if you are.

To learn more about the new Movie Maker (for Vista and Windows 7) and see real movies created with Movie Maker, please visit www.moviemakerpreview.com or check out the Windows Live team blog post. (Lots of helpful links and information at the Windows Live Movie Maker Blog Post BTW so I might start there.

DeVaris Brown is in the house, ah, Blogosphere

One of the younger and much hipper members of the Microsoft academic team, DeVaris Brown just opened a new blog called Tales From the Road. Besides technology he'll be blogging about what his life as a technology evangelist is about. I'm subscribed.

You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/devarispbrown

CSTA Podcast Series

Getting ready for school to start? I understand that students are already returning in some parts of the US. Over the next three weeks or so most students will be back in class again. Are you interested in listening to some interesting podcasts to get yourself ready and get some ideas for the new year? Check out the CSTA Podcasts. Several new ones were added recently including one interview with yours truly.

Just Added!

Building CS Community Partnerships
Alfred Thompson

Level 1 of the ACM K-12 Model Curriculum
Anita Verno

The Critical Need for CS Education
Chris Stephenson on the NPR show Digital Spin