Sparking learning at YouthSpark summer camps, 75M devices running Windows 10, and a regular cellphone turns into a 3D scanner — Weekend Reading: Aug. 28 edition

YouthSpark, education, summer camps
At age 8, Allyse Nguyen is among the youngest students in the Smart Game Design class in Bellevue, Washington. (Photography by Scott Eklund/Red Box Pictures)

With summer waning, most students are just getting ready to head back to school. But there are some who decided to continue learning over the break, and specifically, to dive into the world of coding. Read on for this story and more from the week at Microsoft, where the phrase “summer slowdown” is an oxymoron.

Around the U.S. and in Canada, children ages 8 and up spent part of their summer attending YouthSpark Summer Camps, held at 76 Microsoft stores. The camps, which will also be offered this fall, teach children how to code, create games, use their creativity and imagination, and learn to think critically. “I like that sometimes coding can be simple, but it can also do so much more,” says Andrew Stephens, 11, an incoming sixth grader.

YouthSpark, education, summer camps
Andrew Stephens, left, with dad Andy Stephens, was among the students who learned about coding at YouthSpark Summer Camps. (Photo courtesy of Andy Stephens)

Meanwhile, 80 teens took part in a day-long STEM exploration event at Microsoft’s Redmond campus, where there was no shortage of big ideas and passion for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Microsoft partnered with Seattle nonprofit iUrban Teen for the day of technology immersion, which included a diverse group of speakers from Microsoft, the White House, Yale University and “Grey’s Anatomy.” “It was really cool, seeing how people have all these great ideas for fun and useful things,” said 14-year-old Geno L. White II. “We have the same dreams that they do.”

education, STEM, iUrban Teen STEM
Geno L. White II (left) and Ceon Duncan-Graves check out a ball that was created with a 3D printer at The Microsoft Garage during the Microsoft iUrban Teen STEM Exploration Day. (Photography by Scott Eklund/Red Box Pictures)

75 million devices are now running Windows 10, a stat shared by Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of Marketing for Windows and Devices, on Twitter, along with other tidbits of Windows 10 trivia, such as: Windows 10 is available in 192 countries, virtually every country on the planet; more than 122 years of gameplay have streamed from Xbox One to Windows 10 devices; and in response to “Tell me a joke,” Cortana has told over half-a-million of ‘em since launch.

Yusuf Mehdi, Windows 10
Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of Marketing for Windows and Devices.

A new Microsoft Research project delivers high-quality 3D images in real time, using a regular mobile phone. And it takes about the same effort as snapping a picture or shooting a video. Researchers say the system, called MobileFusion, is better than other methods for 3D scanning with a mobile device because it doesn’t need any extra hardware, or even an Internet connection, to work. That means scientists in remote locations, or hikers deep in the woods, can capture their surroundings using a cellphone, without a Wi-Fi connection. Sweet.

YouTube Video

Two inexpensive, Internet-enabled feature phones, the Nokia 222 and Nokia 222 Dual SIM, were announced this week. The phones are designed to connect more people to the Internet, and let them capture and share their photos with others using apps such as GroupMe by Skype, Facebook, Messenger and Twitter. The Nokia 222 and Nokia 222 Dual SIM will be available globally in select markets, starting in September, priced at $37 before local taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 222, feature phones
The Nokia 222 and Nokia 222 Dual SIM.

Cortana took on more workload this week: She’s now available as an app in beta to all Android phone users. The personal digital assistant will also be coming to iOS devices, as was shared in May. The app for Android can do most of the things Cortana does on your PC or on a Windows phone (even tell jokes).

Run for a touchdown, run circles – or both. Get the Xbox One EA Sports Madden NFL 16 Bundle, which includes a 1TB hard drive, a full-game download of Madden NFL 16 and one year of EA Access. It’s now available for $399 from Microsoft and other retailers. And this week’s “App of the Week” is “Running Circles,” a free game that’s new to the Windows Store, and tests players’ timing and reflexes on a constantly changing, spinning and dizzying path.

games, Windows Phone
“Running Circles”

This week we met Wanderson Skrock, a young man who grew up in a rough neighborhood of Brazil and was in jail twice before age 17. However, Skrock turned his life around with technology and now he’s teaching digital literacy classes in Brazil’s correctional institutions and working with Microsoft YouthSpark.

That’s it for this edition of Weekend Reading! We’ll see you next week!

Posted by Suzanne Choney
Microsoft News Center Staff

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