Mobile Portland

For the meeting this month, we invite anyone who wants to learn more about MeeGo to come hang out and talk about the project.

Rough Agenda:

• 6:30 - 7:00: Hang out and talk to other people interested in MeeGo.
• 7:00 - 7:15: Introductions
• 7:15 - 8:00: Open Agenda item or Q & A

In January 2009 at the height of the recession, Nat Sims talked to Mobile Portland about how his company was undertaking a radical transformation from developing kiosks and exhibit media for museums to becoming an iPhone app development company.

The presentation from Night & Day Studios was one of the most popular Mobile Portland sessions we've had. Nat and his team talked about their successes and failures in the App Store. They shared real numbers. They talked about the benchmarks they needed to meet to be successful.

Two years later, a lot has changed. The composition of the company and how teams are formed is different now than it was then. The retired fire house where they worked flooded causing them to wade through muck to save what hardware they could. The company grew smaller and at the same time worked with more people.

And despite all of the challenges, Night & Day Studios is still around. They have nearly 30 apps in the App Store. They've begun licensing properties as a way to ensure hit products.

Their latest product, My Very First App, is based on Eric Carle’s best-selling My Very First Books and is currently the top-selling education app for iPhone. They have another hit on their hands.

Nat will give us a progress update on their transition to an iPhone company. What assumptions did they make that were correct. What didn't work. And detailed insight into how their business has been able to survive and thrive.

About Nat Sims

Nat Sims is the founder, president, and Creative Director for Night & Day Studios. He has been a content developer and media designer for 20 years, creating educational software, interpretive plans, books, exhibits, websites, videos, electronic music, and games. Much of his career was spent in developing media for museums; Night & Day developed a multimillion-dollar visitor experience for the City of Tucson, and Nat worked with Threshold studio for over 10 years on exhibits such as The Life & Times of Woody Guthrie for the Smithsonian Institution. Nat was the CFO and Lead Designer for the Behemoth Corporation, a roleplaying and strategy game company, from 2004-2009.

Nat's background includes game development and graphic design. After completing a B.A. in interface design at Hampshire College, he earned his master's degree in Communication at the University of California San Diego, studying computer games in the context of cultural cognition. His daughter Hazel is almost three and has been a tastemaker for Night & Day since Peekaboo Barn.

Windows Phone 7 comes out this fall and this is your first opportunity to see a device in person. We should have a least one Windows Phone 7 development device available. Also, don't miss the free WIndows Phone 7 training and contest at the bottom of this message.

Microsoft has a history of colossal successes and failures. As the Windows Phone 7 release approaches, it's sure to be big (reports say the marketing alone will be a $400 million affair), but will it be a success? Early reviews are positive, but can a company miss the mobile boat by 3+ years and still make a competitive product?

And it's not just the marketing effort and the Windows brand that make this phone interesting. Windows Phone 7 makes a statement. It isn't another "me too" copy of the iPhone. Windows Phone 7 has a very unique user interface with similar information grouped into hubs.

Join local Silverlight expert Erik Mork as talks about what Windows Phone 7 is and what it means for developers and consumers. We'll discuss its phenomenal strengths and shocking weaknesses. We dive into the new user interface paradigms the phone uses. We'll also look into a comparison of developing on Windows Phone 7 versus iOS. But most of all, we'll examine one company's view of what the future holds for Mobile.

About Erik Mork

Erik is a Microsoft Silverlight MVP and Microsoft Silverlight Insider. His consulting company does premiere design and development for desktop and (increasingly) mobile platforms. He and his team are dedicated to crafting fantastic user experiences on a variety of platforms.

Windows Phone 7 Unleashed Training and Contest

Thursday, September 30, 2010 from 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM (PT)

Two days after this month's Mobile Portland meeting, the Portland Silverlight User Group is hosting a day long event to teach you how to develop applications for Windows Phone 7.

"Come check out Windows Phone 7 Unleashed for everything you need to know to develop for WP7. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or you’re just starting with .NET development, there’s something in it for you."

"The first half of this deep dive event is lecture and hands on lab. At the half point mark of the day, you’ll have a solid foundation for building WP7 applications."

The second half of the day is going straight to code. Build the best app and win a $500 (1st place), $200 (2nd place) or $100 (3rd place) American Express gift card!

Register now for Windows Phone 7 Unleashed. Space is limited.

August's Mobile Portland meeting was a smashing success. We counted 96 people in attendance. (Is that close enough to call it 100?) The panelists were excellent and the audience was engaged and asked great questions.

Corey Pressman and Joe Morelock have posted their slides and various materials. Thanks to them and Trina Marmarelli for making Mobile Portland a wonderful and informative evening.

A special thanks to Thor Prichard who organized the panel and was an exceptional moderator. Thor was the driving force behind making this panel happen.

Joe's Slides and Information

I'm copying and pasting the following directly from Joe's email.

Thanks again for hosting and inviting me into your venue last night. I really enjoyed engaging with your crowd. Here is a link to the data slides and to the wiki that hosts all of our stuff about the projects:

• Main iPod touch/iPad wiki page
• Teacher projects
• Data slides and such from which I culled last night's slides
• Our 3rd grade project resources and stories, starting with the project launch tomorrow
• And this year's Innovation Grant awards, with several more uses of iPod touch and iPad in the classroom

Mobile phones in our schools are already controversial. Many fear distracted teenagers texting their friends instead of paying attention to their teachers.

Others educators are looking at mobile devices differently. George Fox University has offered incoming students the option of a traditional laptop or an iPad. Canby School district is currently implementing a 1:1 iPod touch mobility program for all Canby 3rd Grade students.

At Mobile Portland this month we're pleased to have a prestigious panel of educators who are on the cutting edge of using mobile technology in the classroom. The panelists will cover topics like:

• What role do mobile devices have in the classroom?
• When are mobile phones useful and when are they distracting?
• Do mobile devices need to be issued by the school or are there ways to take advantage of devices that students own?
• What are the challenges to effectively using mobile devices in education?

Join us for a spirited and engaging conversation on how mobile technology is changing curriculum and classrooms.

About the Panelists

Russ DeVore, George Fox University

Russ works as the Director of Academic Computing at George Fox University. He leads a team of seven full-time employees and around 35 part-time student employees in the I.T. Department. Russ has lead several programs promoting technology use in higher education. One very successful program is Computers Across the Curriculum . This program's goal is to place a laptop computer into the hands of every new undergraduate student coming to George Fox University.

George Fox University was the first university to offer incoming students the choice of an iPad instead of a more traditional laptop for this coming school year.

Trina Marmarelli, Reed College

Trina Marmarelli is an instructional technologist at Reed College. She worked closely with students and faculty to evaluate the academic potential of the Kindle DX last fall and is currently gearing up for an iPad pilot. Trina's background is in literary studies, so she spends a lot of time thinking about how mobile devices--and electronic texts in general--affect our interactions with and expectations of the printed word. She also enjoys running, tiling, and bringing her dog to work.

Joe Morelock, Canby School District

Joe Morelock is the Director of Technology and Innovation for the Canby School District, serving approximately 5,000 K-12 students. He is a former high school Spanish teacher, Librarian and assessment coordinator. Joe currently leads the district’s innovative technology projects.

Joe is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and has developed and delivered mobile content and training on the use of the iPod for Argentina’s Ministry of Education. He regularly consults with state departments of education, as well as local school districts in the U.S. and Canada, and has presented to and worked with educators at conferences and events on three continents. He also co-authored reading and language acquisition, iPod touch, and podcasting professional development courses for Apple, Inc. Joe is currently implementing a 1:1 iPod touch mobility program for all Canby 3rd Grade students.

Corey Pressmen, Exprima Media

Corey taught Anthropology for 12 years before deciding to enter the software universe. As a professional educator, Corey was always interested in, yet disappointed with, the educational technology that textbook publisher sales reps were peddling. Convinced that more could be done to create effective computer-based educational experiences, Corey started Exprima Media, a software company dedicated to creating robust and engaging educational experiences for the web and native mobile platforms. Exprima is currently working with Pearson Education, W.W. Norton, John Wiley & Sons, and McGraw Hill to build the future of educational media.

Thor Prichard, Clarity Innovations — Panel Moderator

Thor Prichard is President & CEO of Clarity Innovations, a professional services firm that specializes in helping corporations and learning organizations improve the practice and process of teaching and learning with technology. Recent clients include Intel Education, Math Learning Center, Bellingham Schools, ScholarCentric, and Learning.com.

Thor’s focus is on finding promising technologies that match the needs of the education industry 3-5 years from now. Over the last two decades, he’s worn many hats on both sides of the equation, including as executive director of a regional consortium in charge of software licensing for schools. Thor holds a BA in cognitive psychology from Reed College in Oregon.

Mobile Technology in Education

Monday, August 23th, 6 pm
Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE)
1227 NW Davis St
Portland, Oregon 97209
RSVP | Map | Add to your Calendar

Photo Credit

Photo of iPad in classroom graciously provided by Motion Blur Studios. Used under Creative Commons license.