Wednesday, 30 January 2008
Starting a new year
Thursday, 24 January 2008
Microsoft Education - bits and bytes
The Microsoft Visual Studio Express Editions Beginning Developer Learning Centre is my new find.
There is two parts to this, the Web Development, and Windows Development. The one I am focussed on today is the Windows Development.
Windows DevelopmentThere are Five lessons in the Bits and Bytes section:
Would you like to customize your desktop with cool utilities or build fun Windows applications and PC games? Then you should explore this Development Track
- Bits & Bytes: Lesson 1 Problem Solving in Life and Technology
Introduction to Programming Concepts – Understanding problem solving patterns and strategies is the first step to computer program design and development. - Bits & Bytes: Lesson 2 Things, Things, and More Things
Introduction to Programming Concepts – How do we represent the complexity of real-world situations to a computer? This lesson will introduce the idea of Object Oriented Design. - Bits & Bytes: Lesson 3 The Data Game
Introduction to Programming Concepts – This lesson will explore how computers process and store data. - Bits & Bytes: Lesson 4 Computer IQ
Introduction to Programming Concepts – How do computers "think" and make decisions? This lesson will answer this question and see just how "smart" computers actually are. - Bits & Bytes: Lesson 5 Life before Mice
Introduction to Programming Concepts – This lesson explores human-computer interaction and the concept of graphical user interfaces (GUI). You'll learn some best practices for designing GUI applications.
So I will have the bits and bytes series as well as the Microsoft Curriculum on Digital Literacy that I found the other day, or would it be better on the managed network, so it can be allocated to various rooms.
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Microsoft Education in New Zealand part IIII
Hello Gerard,
This is in response to your email regarding the MSDN Academic Alliance for New Zealand schools.
Thank you for contacting the MSDN Academic Alliance program for North America. For prompt attention, please contact the MSDN Academic Alliance support center for the specific country where you reside. You may use the following link to determine the correct support contact: http://msdn.microsoft.com/academic/worldwide/default.aspx
For Latin America countries, please use the following information:
Argentina:
54 11 4317 2606
Fax 54 11 4317 2607
msdntn@teleperformance.com.ar
Brazil:
55 11 3328-3700
Fax: 11 3328 3701
msdnaa@microsoft.com.br
Netherlands Antilles:
001 800 872 2881+ 877 417 3460
In Latin America, if your country is not listed, call collect 661 702 2860, or email to msdnaala@microsoft.com
If there is anything else we can do for you, please let us know. Thank you for contacting Microsoft.
--------end of email-----
Umm yes, how about giving me the New Zealand contacts for one. Not the smartest cookie in the bunch are they.
Oh and when you click on the worldwide link in the mail, it takes you to a list of counties, one of which is not New Zealand. However Australia is there.
under the support contacts worldwide, I find an email address for Datacom in wellington. msdn@mss.co.nz, however there is no www.mss.co.nz
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Microsoft Education in New Zealand part III
Thank you for emailing msdnaa@microsoft.com. We have received your message and will reply within 2 business days. Our hours of operation are 6:30 AM to 5:30 PM PT, Monday through Friday.
If your message is of an urgent nature, please feel free to call us at 1-866-643-9421 in the U.S. and Canada. Outside of the U.S. and Canada, please contact your Microsoft Region Service Center.
Regards,
Microsoft MSDN Academic Alliance
Monday, 21 January 2008
Unfinished work
Mountain biking is a great way to explore the outdoors, stay in shape, or just have fun. Racing down the side of a mountain is a lot of fun indeed, although it can also be quite dangerous. Even though it’s dangerous, if you ride with caution, it can be enjoyed by the entire family.
At ******** School we mainly ride every second Sunday through various purpose built Mountain Bike Tracks in Woodhill Forest, Whitford Forest, and the Hunua Ranges.
There is opportunity to compete in the:
* Auckland Secondary Schools Cross Country Individual Champs
* Auckland Secondary School Winter Series, four events over the winter months in Auckland
* Auckland Secondary School Team Relay
* New Zealand Secondary Schools Indicidual Champs, in Levin
* Cateye Moonride, a 12 hour mountain bike race where you will compete in a team down in Rotorua Forests.
For more information please fill in the feedback form below.
Microsoft Education in New Zealand part II
From MOE(ICT)
The Microsoft Academic Alliance High School Membership is not covered by the Microsoft Schools Agreement.
We do not hold any details on the Microsoft Academic Alliance High School Membership. You may want to contact Microsoft and ask them for details on this and also ask them if this available in New Zealand.
Microsoft
Ph: 0800 800 004
Still waiting on the other emails to come back from msdn and from innovative teachers network.
Saturday, 19 January 2008
Microsoft Education in New Zealand
I subscribe to a number of Computer Science teachers blogs from overseas and have found in the last couple of days good resources from them, and they are from Microsoft!
Number One: Digital Literacy
http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/citizenship/giving/programs/up/digitalliteracy/eng/Curriculum.mspx
The Digital Literacy Curriculum consists of five courses:
The Internet and the World Wide Web
Each course has an e-learning module and an assessment. You can also take the Certificate Test, which covers topics from all five courses. If you pass the Certificate Test, you can print out a personalized Digital Literacy Certificate.
This original version teaches generic ICT skills and concepts, and features screen shots and simulations from Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Microsoft Office 2003 to illustrate and provide hands-on examples for students. Version 2 of Digital Literacy uses screen shots and simulations from Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system.
Number TwoMicrosoft Academic Alliance High School Membership
The alliance that I'm referring to is the Microsoft Academic Alliance which allows any high school computer science department and computer science students to install Visual Studio. In addition, you get the following:
Three Microsoft e-Learning Library (MELL) collections:
- General Programming
- Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
- Programming in Visual Basic .NET
- Teaching Tools CD
- Student Tools CD
- Teaching Tools Manual
- Student Tools Manual
- Introductory Kit
- Monitored Newsgroups
- MSDN Library
- Documentation
- Technical Articles
- Code Samples
- Access to the Member's Area of the Web site
- Private MSDN Academic Alliance newsgroups
- Additional "Members Only" special offers
- 2 Professional Technical Support incidents
There are three ways for students to obtain the software for their personal use.
- Member departments may make up to 50 copies of MSDN AA software for students to check-out from a library or lab. Students are required to return the physical media within a reasonable period of time.
- Member departments may put the software on a secure server and have students download directly from the server. If a department desires to utilize both methods, that is perfectly acceptable.
- Microsoft has partnered with e-academy to provide electronic software distribution for students and faculty free of charge.
Students must sign an agreement before they can download the software. The school administrator keeps track of the software and the agreements.
Academic Resource Centre
http://www.academicresourcecenter.net/curriculum/facetmain.aspx
A number of programming resources are available here, as well as high education.
I have gathered some C# and visual basic resoures that I plan to use with the year 12 and 13 programming classes.
Example:
Code Rules: Introduction to Programming with Visual Basic - 12/19/2006
Code Rules introduces students to basic computer programming concepts. The simulation involves four students who travel the country in a Winnebago stopping at offbeat places to face coding challenges. This is a complete introduction to a programming course using Visual Basic 2005 Express.
This really annoys me, and I have made it known in a couple of emails, one to the msdn alliance, and the other to the innovative teachers Australia and New Zealand network. Why is none of this on the New Zealand Microsoft Education website, are we not important. No wonder that there is the call for Open Source. Ubuntu has just released training for students and instructors on how to use 7.10. Maybe there is the need to change. Just because Microsoft are stuffing us around.