Speaker Bureau Profile: Joel Cochran

About the ComponentOne Speaker Bureau The purpose of the ComponentOne Speaker Bureau program is to provide Code Camps and user group meetings with qualified speakers. ComponentOne also wants to provide opportunities for public presentations by knowledgeable speakers to aid them in furthering their career interests. In this series of blog posts, we’ll profile the members of the ComponentOne Speaker bureau, and their talks. To schedule a speaker bureau member, contact Rich Dudley at richd@componentone.com. Please supply your event location, dates the speaker is needed, and which talk(s) you are interested in. About Joel Joel Cochran is an Expression Blend MVP, an INETA Community Champion, and a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) in Windows Forms and WPF. He is the founder of BlendSIG, a virtual Special Interest Group focused on Expression Blend and author of "Expression Blend in Action" by Manning Publications. He is also the author of "The Practical MVVM Manifesto" (http://practicalmvvm.com). Joel has been developing for Windows since 2003 and is a self-proclaimed "Blend Evangelist". A frequent speaker at User Groups and Code Camps, he enjoys teaching and writing about .NET and other topics. You can find him online at http://www.developingfor.net or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joelcochran. Joel has served as the Director of Operations for Stonewall Technologies, Inc., an ISV, in Staunton, VA, since 2000. Current Talks An Introduction to Expression Blend

Microsoft Expression Blend is the premier GUI editor for WPF and Silverlight applications. In this presentation you will receive an introduction to the Blend UI and how to use it to quickly and easily build an application interface. Topics will include Configuration, Layout Controls, how to leverage Blend with Visual Studio, and more.

Data Binding in Expression Blend

Data Binding is one of the key features of WPF and Silverlight. This presentation demonstrates and explains the Data Binding tools and features of Blend. Includes discussions of Data Context, Value Converters, Element Binding, Sample Data and more. With these tools you really can bind anything to anything.

Container Driven Design with Blend

Container Driven Design (CDD) is a GUI layout pattern that maximizes flexibility, speeds view design, and decreases XAML file size. Topics focus on Fixed vs. Fluid Layout, understanding the Star system, using containers effectively, conceptual content areas, and rapid View design. Using Blend we will create several samples and demonstrate a typical implementation of CDD.

Hanging out with Blend

Much like a "Master Class" this session is an open grab bag intended to let the attendees drive the content. Bring your Blend questions, curiosities, problems, issues, and topics. Whether it is through Q&A, impromptu demos, problem solving, or other content, let Joel help you with Blend.

Practical MVVM

Provides an introduction to MVVM by introducing "The Practical MVVM Manifesto", a set of guidelines for architecting with MVVM. Following this discussion we will walk through a sample implementation. Primary topics of discussion include ViewModel to View relationships, ViewModel design patterns, Binding strategies, and Commands.

Expression Blend and the Visual State Manager: A Deep Dive

The Visual State Manager (VSM) is a must have tool in your Silverlight and WPF arsenal. In this session, we will take a deep dive into using the VSM in Expression Blend. Topics will include using the VSM for Templating,creating custom States, using the GoToState Behavior, and applying Transitions and Effects.