August, 2010

If you're an IT Pro or Developer blogger, a user groups lead or if you run an IT Departments, then Microsoft Broadcaster will be of interest to you. You probable spend a few hours a month looking for content, and there is a LOT of content out there. Microsoft Broadcaster makes life easy as it enables you to download key Technical content ( Webcasts, podcasts, white papers) aggregated across Microsoft assets that are relevant to the IT Pro and Developer adoption lifecycle and to embed them in your own sites/blogs/internal training for richer content postings. Key Features of Microsoft Broadcaster include: Permission and ability to download and embed content on your sites without sending traffic away from your site. ...

DreamSpark is a fantastic resource for students. As the tagline states, DreamSpark is about giving students Microsoft professional tools at no charge. If you are a high school student or teacher, you may want to take a closer look at DreamSpark here . I just heard that DreamSpark has partnered with Windows Marketplace for Mobile and students can now get the same tools the professional developers and designers have and sell mobile applications and make money ! To help get you started, we're waiving the $99 registration fee and giving you the first 5 application submissions for free! By the way, have a look at this clip where a fellow developer tells a great story about the app he's working on.

The tagline for this post is relatively lame, but you can consider it a lead in to one of my big journeys for the coming year. In a recent conference where I had the privilege to spend a lot of time with trainers and partners, we talked a lot about Author Enablement (what might have the tagline, but it is way too pretentious...). There are a number of forums and places online today where content authors, publishers and those who have a vested interest in the quality of their work can meet and discuss the quality of courseware in general and Community Courseware in particular. While at this conference we brainstormed a number of ways that the resources available (or referred to) on the Authoring Resources page of the Microsoft Learning Courseware...

If you’re thinking about going to TechEd Europe, now is the time to save money while committing to your ongoing professional development. Register for TechEd Europe 2010 by 31 August and receive a €200 discount off the €1895 price! The event is scheduled for 8-12 November in Berlin, Germany. Also, if you book your hotel room by 31 August, you’ll receive a free public transportation (BVG) travel pass, valid for 6 days. If you had to list your continuing education efforts on a resume today, would you feel like you’d invested enough in your future? Does your professional development history show enthusiasm for your field through continued learning? Are you up to date on the latest technologies? Are you ready to be a technology leader? If the answer...

This week, York was the place to be for our Microsoft Certified Trainers. 130 MCTs from 30 countries gathered and shared their tips and tricks, content, leads as they prepared for a new wave of technical training. The event was set up by two MCTs, Andrew Bettany and Daniel Sorlov, and it was a true Labor of Love. Great content, energizing and expert speakers and a keen eye for detail ensured that we all learned a lot during 3 intense days of trainer preparation. The event once again demonstrated the incredible dedication and passion of the MCT community, I'm a lucky man for getting to be the 'community lead' for this worldwide league of technical trainers. I would like to thank the University of York for hosting us and of course...

Over the past year, Microsoft Learning has been working with 27 fabulous managers of IT and Developer teams across Europe and North America as part of our IT Manager Advisory Council. The primary objective of this group is to provide input and feedback around key Microsoft Learning strategies and products and to help us build solid recognition at a manager level around the value of Microsoft Certification and learning. Members share their insight and experiences as IT managers. They are the voice of the community as we develop offers, tools and materials exclusively for the IT Manager audience. Members make an 18-24 month commitment to participate on the IT Manager Advisory Council. Each Team hosts an in-person meeting at their regional...

Are you the “security guy/gal” in your company? Did you implement a multi-factor authentication protocol for your refrigerator? If security is what you “do” I have a favor to ask. Our friends over at CompTIA are developing a new advanced security certification exam to follow their Security+ exam and they’re looking for your input on the exam objectives. This is very similar to what MSL does with our “blueprinting” exercise when we develop an exam. It should take only 10 minutes to complete and can be found here: https://s-xut5m-345723.sgizmo.com As an added bonus, CompTIA is giving away a CompTIA T-shirt to every 10th person who completes the survey! [ cue the fast talking announcer ] CompTIA...

If you work for a partner you’re probably aware of the new program requirements that we touched on a few weeks ago here . You and your co-workers may also be sweating having to get caught up on the latest technologies prior to your re-enrollment date in order for your company to maintain your competencies. To help make this process a little easier for you, we created a special Competency Exam Pack offer – you can save up to 30% plus get free retakes on each exam: · 3-Pack – Save 20% plus a free retake on each exam · 5 -Pack – Save 25% plus a free retake on each exam · 8-Pack – Save 30% plus a free retake on each exam Perhaps the best part of these Competency Exam Packs is...

It's easy to get into a discussion about quality. Everyone strives to deliver or wants be the recipient of the highest possible quality product, regardless of what it is - courseware, automobile, Internet service, t-shirt or sandwich. When I get into the discussions with educators, content developers, training partners and students, I've found that setting up the conversation by defining what we're talking about is one of the biggest challenges. As you are most likely aware, perfection in anything is actually impossible, if only because what is perfect for you may not be perfect for me. Hence the need to provide guidelines, measures and, if at all possible, examples that can assist in the discussion. When the conversation is about...

If you’re an aspiring IT Pro, there are a number of ways you can enter the IT job market. The most common entry-level position is known as the Consumer Support Technician (CST). The CST job role (also referred to as Help Desk, Desktop or End User Support) is typically found in a small to medium-sized organization, or in a larger enterprise as tier-1-level support. In the CST role, you will provide assistance to users of a wide range of desktop operating systems, applications, and mobile devices. In doing so, you’ll gain expertise in network, virus, malicious software and hardware support issues. This experience serves as valuable preparation for your next step as an administrator or enterprise-level support technician. So where...

I woke up to the sweet smell of another course, in the "baking" for some time now, being released to manufacting (RTM). Once again this news brings cheer to the developer audience because this time what's up in the offering is the 3-day ILT course on Developing Windows® Communication Foundation Solutions with Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2010: 10263A. In this course, students will learn to develop Windows Communication Foundation applications using .NET Framework 4 and Visual Studio 2010. And that's not all - Service Oriented Application design considerations will also be included as part of this training. What's more? - This course will help students prepare for the certification exam 70-513. The subject matter...

Erik Eckel recently blogged about the ten IT certifications that he believes “hold the most value today.” He provides an interesting perspective on what is valued and why. From my perspective, this list is awesome because he listed MCITP and MCTS certifications as the top two certifications to hold. But, what I particularly liked (and of course, I loved the fact that our certifications were at the top of the list!) was his rationale for why our certifications are valuable, especially his thoughts about value of our MCTS certifications.  As you can expect, this blog resulted in a lot of comments about the accuracy of the list. Given that you’re reading this blog, you probably have a Microsoft certification or are interested in one, so I...

Heads up if you are planning your next career/certificatoin steps right now: Microsoft Certification Packs with Free Second Shots can help you get your Certification, validate your knowledge, launch your career, or move to your next position. Purchase packs of one to five exams along with free re-takes on every exam purchased and save up to 20%. That's right, using a Certification Pack you can take a Second Shot at each exam you take; should you fail the exam you can simply try again without any additional cost. And the certification packs also include a discount. See the table below which can help you choose the exam pack that is right for you: Certification pack Savings Second Shot ...

Beginning Sunday, August 22, 2010, at 8 AM Eastern Standard Time, Prometric’s scheduling and registration system will be down for a planned system validation. The system will be unavailable for approximately 8 hours. During the outage, you will not be able to register for any exams. While registration will not be possible during the outage, sites will be able to deliver exams as long as the appointments were scheduled in advance, meaning that walk in registrations may not be possible at most test centers during this outage. If you’re planning to take an exam during this time, register now!

Just a few weeks ago, Microsoft hosted Windows Phone 7 Jump Start , a free training event on how to develop awesome apps and games for Windows Phone 7. It was a great success with around 1,000 developers participating in 12 hours of demos, labs, and good ol' fashion fun. (We even gave away an executive jet! Well, a lego one anyway.) While the feedback was very positive, there were plenty of you who weren't able to make it due to timing conflicts. And then there were some of you who just wanted access to the training sessions for reference. Well, your wish is our command! We've posted all 12 training sessions online for your viewing in spectacular HD. For those who might be going through the training for the first time, we still...

Sorry everyone for being so late with this post. I've been out on vacation and didn't get a chance to do this before I left. What this means is that September's update should be on time :) Also, please note that these release dates are projected dates and does not reflect any last minute issues. If there are products on this list that you cannot find, post a comment and we'll research. Please note: 1. Microsoft Official Courses (MOC) are instructor-led training courses offered by our Certified Partners. Not all classes will be offered by all partners. Find a training center through Class Locator and see if they will be offering the course you need. 2. Community Courses (CC) are instructor-led training courses offered...

...when you can save 200 Euro by registering by August 31st? Great content awaits in Berlin, 8-12 November 2010. Technical Tracks, Pre-Conference Seminars, Birds of a Feather sessions: all presented by experts who will share their knowledge and experience. It's a fantastic opportunity to meet friends and colleagues from all over the world. Also, attendees will receive a free TechNet subscription. For more information on content/networking/offers etc., please visit the TechEd Europe web pages here . There's a special offer by which you can save 200 Euro on your conference pass, make sure you don't miss out and register before August 31st.

Wow. Last week was absolutely inspirational and energizing. A few of us from Microsoft Learning had the opportunity to watch the world's 53 fastest Office power user students compete in the worldwide MOS championship and then celebrate the winners, Olympics style. It started Sunday evening with an opportunity to talk with the four US finalists at a reception. Monday it shifted into high gear as students competed in rounds all day on either the 2003 or 2007 version of Word or Excel. Monday Takeshi Numoto (CVP, Office) and Jason Bunge (Director, Office Product Mgt) joined us, which added to the excitement. Takeshi and Jason both sat for one of the new MOS 2010 exams. They observed students taking the exam and mingled with students waiting...

Just one more week to go and we will be at the MCT Summit in York. The MCTs that are organizing the event continue to do a fantastic job and they continue to send in exciting news. The summit has grown and now offers a full week of MCT Readiness and MCT Community Networking. On Monday (8/23) a select number of delegates will gather to work on presentation skills. While MCTs are usually amongst the top presenters at any IT event I attend, we can always learn more and I am eager to hear from this group what they learned from the presenter and what they learned from each other. Tuesday is for MCT Community Networking, building that worldwide network of colleagues is as much fun as it is valuable. Typically MCTs from all over the world will share...

I am currently working at the Dutch Microsoft office where 'The New World of Work' was implemented nearly 3 years ago. Working here is quite an experience! The New World of Work is built using virtual communication tools, and at the same time it only works when people are open to changing the way they organize their work. Having a building that really accomodates what you are doing makes a lot of difference too, so when Microsoft Netherlands built a new building three years ago they worked with the architect to design a building around 'The New World of Work'. The video below is well worth viewing, I am in love with the concept, this really is a great way to work! What are the benefits? Thousands of hours were lost each...

I always have a hard time waiting for holiday presents. Just a few more months until I can put my hands on my new Windows Phone and discover Windows Phone 7. The grapevine is buzzing, especially about developer opportunities and of course 'apps'. Lots and lots of them. So what is the fuzz all about and how can you jump on this train? Well, first sit back and review a series of short, engaging video interviews with influential community members and Microsoft evangelists. Bytes by MSDN takes you inside the minds of today’s most interesting and influential developers. You’ll learn what they love, what makes them tick and what you can take away from their diverse coding experiences. From hardware and mobile apps to clients...

Microsoft has developed a special series of webcasts to help managers of IT professionals and developers get the most out of training and certification opportunities and optimize team performance. What You Can Expect from Windows Server 2008 R2: The Top Line View Wednesday, September 22, 2010, 8:00 A.M. Pacific Time What time is this in my region? (Timeanddate.com) Get an inside look at the major changes you can expect to see and understand how those changes will impact your organization. Understand the primary differences from Windows Server 2003 and uncover the hardware requirements that you may need to take advantage of new capabilities. Finally, learn the long-range benefits of Windows Server 2008, and understand how those translate into...

Well, it isn’t really “IW” but that’s our broader bucket for exams covering SharePoint and Microsoft Project, and there is exam news for both products. First, as many of you know but we still get a lot of questions about, we released the highly anticipated SharePoint 2010 exams last month in English and other languages. New for 2010 are PRO level certifications for both ITPro and Developer audiences. Also new for 2010 is no exam for the free version of SharePoint 2010 “Foundation”. Here’s the rundown for 2010. Each PRO has it’s corresponding TS as a prerequisite. 70-573 TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Application Development 70-576 PRO: Designing and Developing Microsoft SharePoint...

Interested in pursuing a Microsoft Certified Master certification? We’ve just published a series of brochures describing our latest additions to the MCM family. Check them out below! Microsoft Certified Master Program Brochure (.PDF) Microsoft Certified Master Program Brochure (.XPS) Microsoft Certified Master: Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 datasheet (.PDF) Microsoft Certified Master: Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 datasheet (.XPS) Microsoft Certified Master: Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 datasheet (.PDF) Microsoft Certified Master: Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 datasheet (.XPS) Microsoft Certified Master: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2010 datasheet (.PDF) Microsoft Certified Master: Microsoft Office SharePoint...

Did you know that two MCTSs is better than one? Don't believe me? Well, read on. Today I was looking for something on ZDNET. I stumbled across the TechRepublic 2010 IT Skills and Salary Report . Some of you may have participated in the survey, based on Erwin's post last fall . I cruised through the report just for fun. And what, to my wondering eyes should appear, but this lovely quote in the margin: "Over one-third of respondents who have a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certification hold multiple MCTS designations. Those with multiple MCTS designations earn an average of $87,041, or $13,000 more than those who hold only one MCTS." Wow. If you already have more than one MCTS, congratulations...