Teaching Kids to Code with Kodu

About the Talk
Kodu is a new visual programming language made specifically for creating games. It is designed to be accessible for children and enjoyable for anyone. The programming environment runs on the Xbox, allowing rapid design iteration using only a game controller for input. Microsoft Evangelist Lynn Langit presents on the challenges facing our educational system today and how approaches like Kodu play a vital role in preparing kids for computer programming skills they are not receiving in school.

About the Presenter
Lynn Langit is a Developer Evangelist for the MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) team.  Her job is to give talks to developers throughout Southern California, to listen to their feedback, and to communicate that feedback back to Redmond. She’s a “language geek” with a degree in linguistics and has a hobby of learning foreign languages.  Semantic modeling – both visual and verbal – fascinates her.

About the Conference
BIL2009 was held at CSULB in Long Beach, CA on Feb 13-14.