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Tuesday, September 29, 2015 Welcome to the September 2015 ACM Learning Center Bulletin, keeping you current on the many online learning tools ACM offers to help extend our members' skills and knowledge. To suggest addition of books, courses; future Tech Packs or Webinar topics; or just offer feedback, leave a note in the Learning Center Suggestion Box. IN THE SPOTLIGHT
IN THE SPOTLIGHT October 9 Webcast with Paul Li and Andrew Ko: "What Makes a Great Software Engineer?"  If you haven't done so yet, register now for "What Makes a Great Software Engineer?," presented Friday, October 9 at 2 pm ET by Paul Li, Senior Data Scientist at Microsoft�s Windows and Devices Group, and Andrew Ko, Associate Professor at the University of Washington Information School.
In this talk, Li and Ko discuss findings about what expert engineers think are the attributes of software engineering expertise, based on 59 semi-structured interviews, spanning 13 Microsoft divisions, including several interviews with architect-level engineers with over 25 years of experience. They discuss and explain attributes spanning these engineers' personality attributes, decision-making abilities, interactions with teammates, and software designs. You can view our entire archive of past ACM Learning Webinars on demand at http://learning.acm.org/webinar/. Available on Demand: "Design by Contract: A Guiding Principle for Quality Software"  If you missed it live, catch "Design by Contract: A Guiding Principle for Quality Software", available on demand. Bertrand Meyer, ACM Fellow and Software System Award recipient, talks about his Design by Contract methodology, which leads you to build software elements that fulfill well-defined goals, or �contracts,� characterized by preconditions, postconditions, and class invariants. The ideas have application to many activities, from analysis and design to implementation, testing, and maintenance. They provide a solid basis for exception handling (dealing with abnormal cases) and explain how to use inheritance properly in object-oriented programming. They are a tool not only for developers but for managers, whom they help get a high-level grasp on projects. This webinar goes through the fundamental Design by Contract techniques, introducing them in the context of the Eiffel language and showing how they can be applied to other notations such as Java or UML.
Upcoming SIG Webinars: Probabilistic Programming, HPC in Aircraft Engine Design, Requirements Traceability, Crisis Informatics  Oct. 1 at 12 pm ET, the ACM Special Interest Group on High Performance Computing (SIGHPC) presents "Oh the Places You�ll Go! HPC in the Design of Aircraft Engines," with Brian Mitchell, Senior Principal Engineer at GE Global Research, and Wilfred Pinfold, Computational Science and IOT consultant (formerly with Intel). Mitchell will discuss the use of high performance computing (HPC) in the design of aircraft jet engines and gas turbines used to generate electrical power, share the GE perspective on successful deployment and utilization of HPC, offer examples of HPC�s impact on products, and discuss future trends.
 The ACM Special Interest Group on Software Engineering (SIGSOFT) has several free webinars in September and October. Sept. 30 at 12 pm ET, Aditya Nori, Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research India, talks "Probabilistic Programming: Algorithms, Applications and Synthesis," including language design, static and dynamic analysis of programs, and program synthesis. Oct. 7 at 12 pm ET, Jane Cleland-Huang, Professor of Software Engineering in the School of Computing at DePaul University, discusses solutions for the large quantities of data yielded by modern software and systems engineering projects: user stories, requirements, design documents, source code, commit logs, project plans, etc. in "Traceability is the New Black!" Oct. 23 at 12 pm ET, Ken Anderson, Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Colorado Boulder, shares the challenges of EPIC, a large NSF-funded project that has been performing crisis informatics research since Fall 2009 and has been designing and developing a reliable and robust software infrastructure for the storage and analysis of large crisis informatics data sets, in "Towards Next-Generation Software Infrastructure for Crisis Informatics Research."
Explore the New Skillsoft Learning: More Online Books and Courses, Mobile Platform, Deep Focus on Software Development  ACM's recently updated offering, Skillsoft Learning Collections, is hosted in our newly upgraded LMS, Skillport 8, and features more than 1000 online courses, with integrated virtual labs, TestPrep exams, expert mentoring, and other resources; over 3,000+ eBooks from leading academic/professional IT publishers such as Apress, Cambridge University Press, For Dummies, McGraw-Hill, Oracle Press, Packt, Sybex, Wiley, and Wrox; thousands of short "on-the-job" task-based videos covering the latest IT, business, and desktop skills/software; and AnalystPerspectivesTM, comprehensive reports from leading analyst firms from around the world on cutting-edge topics such as cybersecurity, big data, cloud computing, IoT, mobile computing, and more.
The new Collections focus deeper than ever on software development, and expand coverage of cybersecurity, big data and databases, networking, and project management knowledge areas. Automatic content updates ensure that ACM members stay current with the latest technologies, standards, and frameworks. The new platform, Skillport 8, integrates all assets (books, courses, videos, etc.) inside a single learning environment, with enhanced search, navigation, and usability. Significantly, Skillport 8 is fully optimized for mobile-friendly access to eBooks and short videos, including access to Skillsoft mobile apps for Android and iOS devices. Also of note, ACM's Skillsoft Library no longer requires Java (except for offline course downloads). To start exploring ACM's new Skillsoft Learning Collections, visit the ACM Learning Center, log in with your member credentials, and click on Skillsoft Learning in the top right corner. To jump directly to particular subject areas, visit the Skillsoft Learning Collections page. For more on these changes and new features in Skillport 8, see our Skillsoft FAQ/Support page. Attend Nov. 4 Sloan/NYU School of Engineering Lecture with ACM Past President Vinton G. Cerf Sign up to attend "The Coming Age of the Internet of Things," a special lecture by Google Chief Internet Evangelist and Past President of ACM Vinton G. Cerf, on Nov. 4, 9-11:30am EST. The event, sponsored by ACM, is free and open to the public and will be simulcast on the web. You must register to stream the event. Panelists include Deborah Estrin, Beth Simone Noveck, and David Rose. For more information, check the lecture website http://engineering.nyu.edu/sloanseries. Learning Center: Books and Courses New Titles from Morgan Kaufmann and Syngress  Recently, new titles have been added to the Morgan Kaufmann and Syngress Books collection, with coverage spanning Artificial Intelligence, Business Intelligence, Computer Human Interaction, Computing for Engineering, Computer Organization and Architecture, Data Management, Development Tools and Programming, Embedded Systems and Computer Engineering, Information Technology Networking, Professional and Career Development, Security, and Software. More than 140 new titles have been added to the Learning Center catalog in 2015. Below are just some of the highlights from the recently added titles:
Did you know that ACM members have access to thousands of IT and productivity videos from Skillsoft? Covering a variety of today's hottest topics, these videos offer "on-the-job" support and solutions for busy practitioners. Recently, Skillsoft added significant video content in the following knowledge areas: Adobe Illustrator CC 2015, Advanced AngularJS, CIVND1 (Implementing Cisco Video Network Devices), Cloud Computing for the Business User, Internet of Things, Managing Citrix XenDesktop 7 Solution, Minitab 16, Oracle Database 12c, Software Programming Fundamentals, Software Testing Foundations. See http://learning.acm.org/skillsoft/index.cfm for more information. Learning Center: Other Resources Tech Packs: Expert-Curated Readings on Hot Computing Topics Have you looked at a Tech Pack yet? These innovative, integrated learning packages covering today's hottest topics in computing are created by subject matter expert committees who curate essential readings, such as foundational journal papers, conference proceedings, keynotes, and more. TechPacks available to members include:
Tune in as the leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs advancing computing as a science and a profession discuss their background, experience, and career highlights, all while providing invaluable insights and lessons learned for future computing professionals in this ongoing series of exclusive interviews conducted by Stephen Ibaraki, Chair of the ACM Professional Development Committee. In the latest ACM Podcast Stephen Ibaraki interviews Pedro Domingos, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Washington, recipient of the 2014 ACM SIGKDD Innovation Award, the highest honor in data science, as well as the KDD 2015 Test of Time Award. Pedro discusses his influential work on data stream mining, a recent paper on the RDIS optimization algorithm, his new book, The Master Algorithm: How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World, and much more. Discounts on CompTIA Certification Exams and Training Materials for ACM Members 
Did you know that ACM members are now eligible for discounts on CompTIA certification exams (including A+, Network+, and Security+) as well as learning content and training materials that prepare learners for these certification exams? Members can save 15% on CompTIA Exam Vouchers/Bundles and 10% on Training Content/Materials using coupons found at http://learning.acm.org/courses/comptia.cfm. New certifications include Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP), Healthcare IT Technician, Linux+, Mobile App Security+, Mobility+, Project+, Server+, Storage+, Strata+ (IT fundamentals), and more.
CompTIA is a leading provider of vendor-neutral IT certifications worldwide with popular exams in security, network administration, computer repair, and server administration. See http://learning.acm.org/courses/comptia.cfm for the new discount codes and more information. Save 15% on EMC Courseware  ACM has partnered with EMC to bring members a 15% discount on practical training in some of today's most vital IT knowledge areas, such as Big Data, Cloud Computing, Information Storage and Management, Virtualization, and more. These EMC courses focus on technology, not products, to teach technology topics applicable to any vendor environment. Training is available in various modalities, including eLearning, instructor-led (ILT), online ILT, video ILT, and video ILT-stream. For the list of eligible courses and the discount code, visit the EMC courses page.
Students: Enter the Appreneur Scholar Contest In keeping with the spirit of innovation and fostering 21st century skills, ACM has partnered with the Kay Family Foundation to Support the Global Appreneur Scholar Awards. The competition awards high school and college student-created apps and culminates in a reception for the awardees to be held during CES 2016 (the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas. Sponsored by the Kay Family Foundation and voted on by a panel of experts from tech, education, and the financial community, the two winning Appreneur Scholars receive a $5,000 scholarship and the opportunity to attend and be recognized at the 2016 Mobile Apps Showdown and TransformingEDU Summit during the International CES in Las Vegas on January 6-9. Applicants must be a high school or college student and submit their mobile app entry by November 15, 2015. For more information visit http://appreneurscholars.com/. |
 
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