I drank the Koolaid and was good — but I already like that flavor.
I will be honest, this is one of the best events I’ve ever attended.
Better than TCEA, better than SIGSCE in Auston, and we won’t talk about the AP Workshops….
The premise is: Microsoft and their partners in the game industry are having trouble attracting people wo work for them. There are two issues: One issue that there are not enough applicant to hire, and the other issue is that the ones they do hire often do not have what they feel are "basic skills".
The sessions we went to addressed both. Some concentrated on the first issue — attracting students to computer science since game programming is motivating to a lot of students. Some concentrated on the skills that game programs need.
They also addressed the overall problem — which is decreased enrollment in all computer science programs.
The best thing about this workshop, is I was treated with respect and as an equal.
I also got to play some Xbox — that was just a few hours each night, and I got to be one of the first people to play a particular game written for the Zune.
I’d LOVE to go back.