The Change Six Months Can Bring
It has been just over six months since my last blog post. My last post was to offer condolences to the victims of the Indiana State Fair tragedy. Little did I know that a week later I would be sharing the waiting room with some of those same families outside the ICU at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis praying for a miracle for my wife’s mother. A sudden, unexpected headache on a Sunday morning, followed by a quick ambulance ride to Evansville and a LifeLight from Evansville to Indy. Peggy was otherwise healthy, so it was extremely hard to take when the ruptured aneurysm claimed her life. My family had never gone through anything so tragic, and we are not out of the woods yet. Life will never be the same – especially for my wife, who lost her best friend. But were pressing on, and trying to focus on all the good things.
Professionally, I have barely presented in the past six months. Besides the recent life-changing events, I’ve also been inundated with project work. The good thing about being swamped with work is that you collect a wealth of topics about which to blog. The downside is that you have very little time to blog. In the end, a blogger simply has to make time. That’s what I’m doing now. I plan to get back on the speaking circuit soon. I hope to do more writing as well. I also hope to turn over a new leaf and start creating some training videos. We have new partnerships in the works at my office. But probably the biggest change professionally has been my acquisition of a MacBook and iPad! I never thought I’d see the day, but I’m excited about it. I have been a fan of the iPhone since I bought my 3GS. After a short stint with WP7, I went back to the iPhone (at least for now). Why the MacBook and iPad? Well, in the fall I will begin teaching an Introduction to iPhone and iPad Development course at Vincennes University. I will be teaching using Objective-C and the Cocoa framework, although I would have loved to take advantage of MonoTouch. I am going to make MonoTouch development a hobby if time allows, and Windows 8 development as well. This is definitely going to be the year for the tablet in the enterprise, and I want to be a part of that. Of course, I’m growing deeper SharePoint development skills at the same time – and hopefully will be able to mesh it all together.
So better late than never: here’s to a happy 2012 and the new adventures it will bring!
Indiana State Fair Tragedy
Just wanted to offer my heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families of the deceased and injured at the SugarLand concert in Indy. We sat on the third row, stage right many years ago during a Clint Black/Wynona concert. It is horrific to think of a fun filled night turning into such an unanticipated disaster. This video makes it very real, and it is disturbing to watch. Watch with caution.
INETA Community Champion Again
Each quarter, INETA recognizes community leaders with its Community Champions Award. I am honored to be a recipient in the second quarter of 2011, having won in the same quarter last year. If you are an active leader in the .NET community, I encourage you to participate in this recognition program. Thanks INETA for all you do for the .NET community -- groups and leaders.
7 Techniques for Customizing SharePoint 2010
Another of my articles is currently being featured on SharePointBriefing.com. The article (titled "7 Techniques for Customzing SharePoint 2010") explains at a high level some of the more popular techniques for customizing SharePoint 2010.
Our VU Team Receives “Honorable Mention” at Imagine Cup 2011
Earlier this year, I was privileged to mentor four students from the Information Technology department at Vincennes University who entered Microsoft’s Imagine Cup 2011 competition. Imagine Cup is a worldwide student competition featuring projects of students from over 100 countries. This year the theme was “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems.” The students were encouraged to choose a project that aligned with the United Nations Millennium Goals (see http://www.imaginecup.com/about/theme). This year, over 74,000 students in the United States alone entered the competition.
The Vincennes University team, EpicFacePalm, entered the Software Design competition. The team was made up of Information Technology and Computer Programming Technology majors, including: Kiersten Clark, Mario Goodwin, Seth Stockrham, and Johnathan White. Our project, DiapersForSadie.org, was an online directory for international orphanages to identify themselves and their top five needs for supplies. Visitors to the site could make commitments to donate supplies and learn where to send them. Ultimately, donors would earn “badges” for their gifts and share their activity on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The project was inspired by a local family who recently adopted a daughter, Sadie, from Ethiopia.
Our team made it past the first round in short order. The second round – which included a working prototype of the software and a video of the students presenting the software – was the end of the line for this year’s team as the field of 74,000 US students was narrowed down to twelve (three US finalist teams consisting of four people each). Less than a week after we were informed of our fate, we received a second email from the Imagine Cup officials. The text of the email is below:
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EpicFacePalm,
While you were not an Imagine Cup US finalist, we wanted to commend you on your exceptional project that caught the attention of our judges. To recognize the effort and quality of your idea and project we would like to provide you with this ‘Honorable Mention’ certificate.
As you talk with faculty, professionals in industry and potential employers you should talk your Imagine Cup project and this certificate, which is a recognition of your teams outstanding work. Potential employers are often eager to hear about your role on the project, the technology you used, the goals of your project, and especially what you learned from the process.
Your team scored very well overall and definitely has what it takes to stand out against the thousands of students that compete in Imagine Cup each year. We sincerely hope that you’ll continue working on and further improving your project and consider submitting again next year for Imagine Cup 2012.
Congratulations on behalf of the Imagine Cup US team!
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I wanted to take the time to encourage everyone to participate next year. We are looking forward to participating again – it was a rewarding experience. I also want to take the time to congratulate Kiersten, Mario, Seth and Johnathan! I’m proud of what they accomplished and proud that they took the initiative to get involved. It was a real pleasure to work with them on a real project outside of the normal classroom environment.
Articles Featured on SharePointBriefing.com
Around the middle of 2010, I decided it was the right time to take the next step in expanding one of my favorite passions: writing. My family is tired of hearing the story about how I always thought I would be a journalist when I grew up, but ultimately decided to go into technology. Little did I know then that one day the Web would allow me to do both! I have been blogging for a few years now and I still very much enjoy it. Late last year I contributed to some SharePoint learning resources -- an invaluable experience where I got to meet some great people and learn more about writing from a gifted publisher. Early this year I started contributing to SharePointBriefing.com. Tonight as I checked out the home page, I was excited to learn that my three of my SharePoint 2010 articles are featured 1, 2, and 3 on the five feature caurosel on the home page. What an honor!
Of course, work comes first. My SharePoint and .NET development projects are keeping me more than busy, but as time allows I will continue to follow my passion for writing and sharing with others. Hopefully soon you will see some of my work show up in some additional SharePoint publications -- one in particular I will be especially proud of. Stay tuned...
Microsoft Community Contributor Award
Yesterday I got a nice surprise in my inbox from Microsoft. It was an award (a fairly new one) given for contributions to the online community -- specifically the MSDN and TechNet forums in this case. The details of the award follow. Just wanted to say thanks to Microsoft for the recognition. It's an honor to be a part of a thriving technical community.
About the MCC (Microsoft Community Contributor) Award
Through the Microsoft® Community Contributor Award, we express our thanks to individuals who freely volunteer their time and energy to help improve the Microsoft online technical community experience for others.
More and more technology users are seeking ideas and solutions for enhancing their technology experience through online resources. At Microsoft, we help our customers find answers when and where they want them through online forums such as TechNet, MSDN® and Answers.
Today, up to 4,000,000 people gain valuable information through Microsoft online forums--and that number is growing.
These valuable resources are enhanced by the contributions of Microsoft Community Contributor awardees, who help other participants in a range of ways, such as providing helpful answers, translating online resources into local languages and serving as moderators.
Source: https://www.microsoftcommunitycontributor.com/overview.aspx
SharePoint Overflow’s New Home
Last year I made a strong commitment to focus on spending time on SharePointOverflow.com responding to questions. I spent a great deal of time there last year, earning lots of badges and reputations points. I was somewhat disheartened to learn that the site was going to be moved to the StackExchange platform. I'm a fan of StackExchange, don't get me wrong, but I was concerned that SharePointOverflow would lose its identity and its history. Now that the move is partially completed, it is obvious that this is going to be a good thing for the site. Perhaps it will draw more people -- and that is good. The technology that the site can now take advantage of is excellent. I'm looking forward to being just as involved as I was before. If you have not visited yet, check out http://www.sharepointoverflow.com and you will be redirected to the SharePoint section of the StackExchange site.
Thoughts on the Cloud
Tonight I jokingly tweeted a prediction for the future of cloud computing:
It will happen. They should call it “Funnel Cloud”…since it brings all your cloud stuff together into one place. Never mind. I was contemplating the notion that things could definitely get out of control with all this cloud stuff. There are so many services available already, and so many more in the works. I can imagine scenarios down the road, in large organizations, where one department may have apps and data hosted at one provider while another department uses another provider and so on. You think governance is painstaking on your intranet? Imagine governance in the cloud? Thank goodness the internet just ran out of IP addresses, right? Just kidding.
So what is this cloud stuff? The cloud has gone mainstream. It is no longer a question of “will it happen?” or “when will it happen?” It has happened…and without my permission. Several weeks ago I would have told you “it will never fly.” Now I’m amazed at the possibilities. Although some pretty large enterprises are partaking in the cloud, I think its greatest potential still lies with the small businesses. In fact, it is a great equalizer that way. Small businesses can run the software they need to operate without having to invest in the infrastructure to do so.
It’s exciting to read about Azure, Amazon Web Services, Office365, etc. I’m particularly excited for software developers and the opportunities that the cloud presents to us. Of course, most of all, I’m excited about what it means for SharePoint. There are some great SharePoint hosts around already. With Office365, SharePoint will become more mainstream (it’s been a household name at the Wilson residence for about 6 years now). So I’ve been focusing a lot on Sandboxed Solutions and will continue to do so. It’s also a good time to jump more into Silverlight and buy a WP7 phone. It’s going to be an exciting turn of events.
I recently got a new follower on Twitter: @CloudShare. Hadn’t heard of them beforehand, but after looking just briefly at their site I am definitely intrigued. What cloud services are intriguing to you? What impact will the cloud have on your business? And what will it take for you to decide to do more business in the cloud?
Year-Round SharePoint at Vincennes University
I often say that I have the two best jobs imaginable. By day, I am a software consultant for an employee-owned Microsoft Gold Partner. I cannot imagine working for a better company or having better clients. By night, I am an adjunct instructor for Vincennes University – Indiana’s “First College.” I find my instructor job to be fulfilling as well. When I think of the impact my college instructors had on my early career development, it makes me want to impact future generations in the same way.
My two favorite courses to teach at VU have been Systems Analysis and Design, and Portals and Collaboration. In Portals and Collaboration each Fall semester, we explore content management, workflow, search, collaboration and search engine optimization using SharePoint as a basis. In the Fall of 2010, the students each built a fictitious company Web site on SharePoint 2010, complete with an employee intranet. The focus of the intranet was a Human Resources Department portal – including document management, forms and approval workflows. For the text, we use a study guide and labs I developed based on my own experience with SharePoint over the last few years. If the right textbook surfaces, I will happily adopt it.
In the upcoming 2011 Spring semester, I will be teaching the Systems Analysis and Design course. Typically, in this course the students design and develop a business system using the programming language of their choice. The requirements document must include a database design, screen mockups and other documentation such as sequence diagrams, use case diagrams or ERDs. Some choose to write a Web-based application while others prefer to stick with a Windows application. This semester I am going to mix it up a bit and require both. While I will still require the students to develop a managed client application against a relational database, they will also work with content from their SharePoint portals via the REST API or the Client Object Model. In my opinion, the more a student can learn about SharePoint the better. This will give them year-round exposure the fastest-selling product in the history of Microsoft (at least before Kinect, right?).
How about you? Do you teach SharePoint courses at an accredited university? Leave a comment and tell me about it (textbook, topics covered, student testimonials).
