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Microsoft Faculty Connection Newsletter
May 2012
The Faculty Connection Newsletter highlights new curriculum resources and other useful educational content for use in the classroom. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, please
subscribe today and receive a new edition each month.
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TOP STORIES
Get started with free Windows 8 Tools and SDK
Get the tools to build Metro style apps for Windows 8. The
free download includes Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Express Beta for Windows 8 and Blend for Visual Studio 11 Beta. Once you've downloaded the tools,
get started building Metro-style apps with an app planning guide, UX resources, language and API references, packaging tutorial, selling guidance for the Windows Store, and more.
Introducing XAML for C++
In Visual Studio 11 and Windows 8, C++ has a new friend: Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML). This adds for C++ the same XML-based tools that Windows Presentation Foundation uses for C# and Visual Basic. Other changes make C++ even more interesting
to students. No longer trapped in MFC or the DOS-like "Console" screens, C++ takes on a new look. Managed code can be used with C++, but no longer top of use.
To check out the new C++, put Windows 8 on one of those extra machines in your office or lab and try out the Visual Studio 11 Express Beta for Windows 8. The hardware requirements are pretty basic. Get started now! How? Download the
Windows 8 Consumer Review and then install the
Visual Studio 11 Express Beta, add the samples, and check out the new look of C++.
Watch the leaderboard for results from Imagine Cup
local finals
Worldwide Imagine Cup local finals and online competitions are happening this month. Many of the top teams will be invited to the July 6 worldwide finals to compete with students from around the world in Sydney, Australia. All winners will be announced by May
23 on our
online leaderboard.
Help your students make the shift to Microsoft cloud-based
certifications
Ensure your students validate what they've learned with a reliable and trusted benchmark.
Microsoft technology certifications have recently evolved, making them even more respected by hiring managers and increasing their value to your students.
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CURRICULUM RESOURCES
The Faculty Connection Resource Center is a multi-language
collection including curriculum materials developed by Microsoft or contributed by faculty worldwide. Highlighted below are some of the newest resources added this past month:
 Cloud
Computing Resource Kit V2
If you're teaching Cloud Computing, you'll be interested to know that version 2 of our Cloud Computing Resource Kit is now available, updated with key presentations as well as new case studies and other resources. Whether you're looking for introductory materials
or tools and code samples, this guide has what you need to get your students started with Cloud Computing.
Game Development with XNA and Microsoft Technologies:
Advanced XNA
If your students have XNA programming experience and are ready to start object-oriented game development, this new module provides units that explore object-oriented (OOP) concepts, coding structures as classes, inheritance relationships, override techniques,
and collaborative teamwork to build a game based on a social cause. Student games created with this module can be submitted for
Imagine Cup 2013 starting in July.
Windows Internals, Sixth Edition Part 1
Freshly updated, this guide to Windows core components can help developers and system administrators master Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems. Starting with key concepts and system architecture, the guide explores system and management
mechanisms, processes, threads, jobs, security, and networking. Part 2 - covering additional core subsystems - is scheduled for delivery in late 2012.
Innovation Inspiration Kit
This new kit offers fun experiential classroom activities that can assist with general problem/need analysis, and brainstorming mobile app concepts, design creation, defending perceived need for an innovation, and even how to market and promote a solution.
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NEWS FROM MICROSOFT RESEARCH
 Find
recent news from a Microsoft Research site near you.
Word to the WiSE: Encouraging Women to Stick with
STEM Studies
Rane Johnson-Stempson, the Education and Scholarly Communication Principal Research Director for Microsoft Research Connections, recently shared how Microsoft encourages female students to continue their studies in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and
math). Some of the approaches—shared at the 2012 Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) Conference and similar events—include demonstrating how computer science can advance societal improvements and offering hands-on research opportunities to build confidence
and passion.
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EVENTS
Meet Microsoft at these upcoming workshops and conferences. Are you attending another conference that Microsoft should consider for next year? If so, send us an email at
fch...@microsoft.com and let us know how we could participate.
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May 23 - 25, 2012:
Latin American Faculty Summit in Riviera Maya, Mexico
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May 28 - June 8, 2012:
Microsoft Research India 2012 Summer School on Distributed Algorithms, Systems, and Programming in Bangalore, India
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June 7, 2012:
Language in Social Media 2012 at NAACL-HLT in Montreal, Canada
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June 21, 2012:
Virtual Faculty Conference from Canada
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July 3 - 5, 2012:
Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education in Haifa, Israel
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July 6 - 11, 2012:
Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals in Sydney Australia
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July 16 - 17, 2012:
Faculty Summit in Redmond, WA, United States
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July 18, 2012:
SEIF 2012 Day in Redmond, WA, United States
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SUGGESTED RESOURCES
Each month, we review the newest contributions to the
Faculty Connection Resource Center and assemble by topic the most downloaded, highest reviewed, and most relevant items:
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OTHER PROGRAMS
Find additional faculty and student resources:
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