Wondering what impact mentoring can have? Here’s a great example from NetHope, one of our 20|20 partners. In this case, the mentoring was a little more than a cup of coffee, but your mini-mentorship can still have a huge impact on the lives of emerging IT pros!”

Francis Ollivier

IT Mentor and CIO, Fonkoze, Haiti

September 2011. Francis Ollivier, CIO at Fonkoze a Haitian microfinance organization, has already been an IT mentor to five NetHope Academy interns. The experience was all around positive for Francis, the host organizations and for the interns. Two new interns just started their internship adventure with Francis at Fonkoze. Francis encourages other IT managers to become IT mentors:

“My goal was to find someone to replace me.

Francis Ollivier (center) with interns John Wolf and Emmanuel Charles

As an expat working for an NGO, I knew my assignments were temporary and I wanted them as such for a better sustainability – so I was always looking for local resources with the right skills to take my place. In the last three years, the first time I’ve been successful in finding that person was when working with interns from the NetHope Academy Intern Program. The program provides internships, training, and job opportunities for unemployed youth in the IT sector.

I’ve been an IT Mentor to five interns so far – three at the Canadian Red Cross and two at the IRC in Haiti.

My advice to other organizations that are thinking about sponsoring an intern is this: Interns are not just extra workers. They’re not just a cheap resource. If you share your knowledge and invest in your interns, you can get much more out of the arrangement.

But you need an IT Mentor to make it work.

My advice to future IT Mentors is that sharing is a two-way street. Be open and humble – be willing to share what you know with your interns, and be willing to learn from them as well. Being willing to teach your interns management and organization skills will maximize their productivity. These qualities are just as important as their technical skills development—and sometimes even more important.

I was happy not only with my intern’s technical skills, but also their dedication. We had to kick some of them out of the office every night at 7:00pm. Some were spontaneously planning work on days off to avoid disturbing the users. They were very dedicated, really committed.

Last year, all of my interns received job offers, with one of them replacing me as the local IT manager at CRC. Based on the positive experiences I’ve had, we are bringing on two interns at Fonkonze, which is a Haitian microfinance organization. I’m looking forward to another successful experience this year. And who knows, my next replacement may just walk through that door!”

Learn more about NetHope Academy Haiti

Original post http://nethopeacademy.org/about/faces-of-nethope-academy/francis-ollivier/

Microsoft Learning partnered with the Microsoft Server and Tools team and Developer and Platform Evangelism (DPE) to deliver the “Windows Server 2012 Jump Start: Preparing for the Datacenter Evolution” on June 20-21, 2012. Thanks to an amazing product and a phenomenal team effort, this event shattered two Jump Start records with 2,064 attendees from 103 different countries and an amazing 189 NSAT!

We are excited to announce the release of the HD-quality video recordings available on TechNet Videos now!

Special thanks and congratulations to the instructor team of Rick Claus (Microsoft Senior Technical Evangelist) and Corey Hynes (President & Lead Architect for holSystems). Both have led Jump Start courses before (check out Virtualization for VMware Pros and Cloud 101) and the audience absolutely loved their engaging, conversational style, clear explanations, scenario-based discussions, and of course, lots of cutting-edge demos. 

Windows Server 2012 Jump Start | Target Audience & High-Level Overview
• Designed for Microsoft Partners, early adopters, and experienced IT Pros/ITDMs familiar with Microsoft server technologies
• All twelve (12) modules are under an hour and packed with engaging discussion and real-world demos -- watch them all!
• 85% said the course motivated them to deploy WS2012 sooner than originally planned!
• 63% said they are more likely to virtualize on Hyper-V 2012 sooner as a result of what they learned!
• 34% had attended previous Jump Starts

Links to Every Module from this Jump Start
The HD-quality video recordings of this course are published to TechNet Edge and are highly recommended. Windows Server 2012 is a game-changing release for so many reasons and this course will help experienced IT Pros truly understand why -- check it out!

• Windows Server 2012 Jump Start (01): Core Hyper-V
• Windows Server 2012 Jump Start (02a): Virtualization Infrastructure, Part 1
• Windows Server 2012 Jump Start (02b): Virtualization Infrastructure, Part 2
• Windows Server 2012 Jump Start (03a): Storage Architecture, Part 1
• Windows Server 2012 Jump Start (03b): Storage Architecture, Part 2
• Windows Server 2012 Jump Start (04): Continuous Availability
• Windows Server 2012 Jump Start (05a): Multi-Server Management, Part 1
• Windows Server 2012 Jump Start (05b): Multi-Server Management, Part 2
• Windows Server 2012 Jump Start (06a): Security and Access, Part 1
• Windows Server 2012 Jump Start (06b): Security and Access, Part 2
• Windows Server 2012 Jump Start (07): Remote Connectivity and Networking
• Windows Server 2012 Jump Start (08): IIS, DHCP and IPAM

Help us spread the word! Send a tweet! Post to your blog!
#WindowsServer2012 #MSJumpStart videos just released! @RicksterCDN & @holSystems prepare for #WS2012! http://aka.ms/WS2012JS-Video

Winners inspire with their stories.

As part of 20 Years|20 Ways, we’re encouraging IT pros to inspire the next generation of IT pros by sharing their stories. Each week, we’re giving away free ebooks and one Kindle to those who submit the most inspiring stories.

Here are two stories from the dozens that have been submitted:

“As with most folks, I started my career in the unloved helpdesk.  Most of my time was spent on basic Office questions.  There had to be some way to trend down the curve.  As the IT trainer, I knew that  getting my users skilled-up was the answer.  First, I had to prove that I knew what I was doing.  MOS 2003 entered my life.  I obtained my certification and implemented an Office training program that decreased helpdesk tickets dramatically. The MOS certification wasn’t cool among other IT pros but it helped me to solve my helpdesk problems.  What I didn’t know then was that MOS was to be the cornerstone of my future. My career and certification history follows a natural progression from Office to Server to SharePoint.  Today, I’m a consultant that supports Fortune 500 companies in finding creative solutions using SharePoint.  Those early certifications serve me well by building trust when clients are able look back and see that I too started with the basics.” Terri Dowell

“Ever since passing my first certification exam I have not stopped.  I now hold more than 20 different certs including Microsoft Office Master Certification.  I now have the ability to move up in the world.  I have not used my certifications to advance my career just yet.  I am now working on an AS degree in Computer Science.  Getting these certifications has inspired me to further my education.  The interest that was sparked inside of me has not stopped and it won't stop till I reach my goal.  After meeting my goals, I hope to become a network engineer.  Microsoft certification is a great way to prove your knowledge and a starting point to further that knowledge.  Thanks to the certification programs, I am on my way to a better and more rewarding career.  Thanks Microsoft.” John Romero

Congratulations to all winners!

Gonzalo Abadi­a

Bobbi Cacatian

Markku Jaatinen

Krishna Kumar B

Kunal D Mehta

Jorge Montano Parraga

HariHara Muvvala

Karol Fabrycki

Leikmiegh Prieyevocie

Vishal Sharma

James Silvius

Pat Sprehe

Patrick van der Linden

Share your story for your chance to win a Kindle or ebook!

As part of our annual commitments, everyone on my team is required to sit a Microsoft Certification exam...in other words, to "eat our own dog food." This year, I decided to take 70-646 because the new director for the Product Development Group in Microsoft Learning (my boss's boss) had taken this exam and had some very specific feedback that I wanted to better understand. Because I also commit to passing the exam that I take, I typically opt to take an Office exam to meet this commitment. So, this would be the first time that I would take one of our truly technical exams as part of our "eat your own dog food" requirement.

As some of you know, 646 is Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator Pro Level exam. It's one of our longer exams because it includes case studies and non-case study items as well as variety of item types, such as multiple choice, choose all that apply, drag and drop, build list, etc. Here's what I learned and what I'm changing as a result of this experience:

1. Forcing candidates to scroll to the end of an item before moving to another is irritating and annoying...really, really irritating, especially when you are essentially at the end of a question, but you haven't actually scrolled to the magical bottom that allows you to move to a different question. So... no more of that. You will NO longer be forced to scroll to the end of an item before moving to another. This functionality was designed to ensure that candidates read the entire item before proceeding, but I think I can trust you to be responsible to read the item...after all, your ability to answer correctly is clearly tied to whether or not you actually read the item in its entity. This was so annoying, in fact, that I'm expecting to hear a "woots," "hurrays." and other expressions of joy as people read this blog!

2. In the past, case studies were timed separately, meaning that you had to complete each case in the time allotted. However, if you were able to complete a case more quickly than in the allotted time, you "lost" that time (it didn't carry over to other cases or non-case study items). We timed cases separately to help candidates manage their time on the exam (i.e., to be sure that they didn't spend too much time on any one case at the detriment to the other cases/items on the exam). Although the time we provided was a data driven estimate designed to ensure that most could finish the case in the time allotted, some candidates had too much time for some cases and not enough time for other cases. No more. Cases will no longer be timed separately. You can take as much time or as little time as you want on a particular case and any remaining exam time can be used on other cases or non-case study items. Time will no longer be "lost." Again, I'm empowering you to be responsible in managing your time during the exam. Use it when and where you need to. Just remember...don't spend too much time on any one case (they will still be in separate sections so once you leave it, you can't go back) because there may be more items/cases on the exam. We do let you know how many items on remaining on the exam, but because you can't leave a case and come back to it, you'll have to manage your time carefully to be sure you have time to answer all the questions on the exam.

3. The instructions have been streamlined. We provide you the information that you need to know to take the exam...everything else can be found in our FAQs at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/help/self-help-faq.aspx (by the way, there's a lot of great information here; you got questions, we got answers. If you can't find it here, email me at [email protected], and ask your question.)

4. The tutorial at the beginning of the exam, unfortunately, cannot be modified as it's something that Prometric owns and is included with the delivery of all their exams regardless of the client. As a result, it needs to include information about item types that Microsoft doesn't include on their exams or may not be the exam that you're actually taking. To prepare for the items that you may see on Microsoft exams, review our item type tutorial rather than the one at the beginning of the exam.

All of these changes are rolling out with the new user interface that Stephanie Jordan blogged about earlier this week. So, they don't apply to all exams, but if you're taking an exam with the new UI, these changes apply.

And, if you're curious, I didn't pass. I haven't used the technology, I did next to no preparation, so this wasn't a surprise...my exams work! Unqualified people shouldn't be able to pass. And, I am clearly unqualified.

It is with great pleasure that Microsoft Learning announces the release of course 80307: Enterprise Portal Development in Microsoft Dynamics® AX 2012.

About this Course:

This two-day course introduces the student to the uses of the Enterprise Portal in Microsoft Dynamics® AX 2012. It begins with an overview of installing the Enterprise Portal. The student will then learn about the development environment of Enterprise Portal and will be able to build and customize the appearance of a functional web site using new and existing Enterprise Portal application objects. Students will also learn about Microsoft Dynamics AX User Control elements available in Visual Studio as well as how elements in the Application Object Tree (AOT) can be deployed across environments.

Note: This course is available now for download on PartnerSource and CustomerSource, and will be oderable on 28 June 2012.

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the course.

Kind regards

Claire Bremer Nielsen,

Senior Content Project Manager || Microsoft Learning

The MSL Certification UX team is pleased to announce customer availability of our new exam interface!  Starting with the exams listed below, candidates will experience some cool new features:

Updated look and feel:  graphics, logos and colors have been updated to match our website and other program communications.

The end of forced scrolling between questions:  you can scroll or not at your discretion, no more warnings about “you have not viewed all of the material”.  Watch for a background story about this from Liberty.

Mouse wheel support: for scroll-inclined test takers, the mouse wheel will be functional at test centers where scroll-wheel mice are available.

Optimized intro screen:  we took a fresh look at the intro screens and realized that we could provide the same information on a single page (and we won't make your scroll through it, either).

Keyboard shortcuts: we had few, and now even more shortcuts are enabled – you can navigate the entire exam using only a keyboard.  Tip: for a complete list of keyboard shortcuts, open the “Help” window during the exam and click on the “Keyboard Shortcuts” tab. 

A clear transition into the exam:  A new Start Exam page appears between survey/intro screens and the exam, clarifying when your exam begins.  It also displays helpful exam information - such as time available, number of questions and sections – so you can strategize before the test clock starts ticking.

Simpler review screen UI:  The review screen that appears at the end of each exam section (or end of the exam, if a single section) has been reduced to essential categories:  complete, incomplete, and marked for review or comment.  You can click on numbered links in the table to jump directly to items or review sets of questions by clicking on category buttons at the bottom of the screen.

Updated user instructions, content has been rewritten to match the new implementation and make it easier to find the information you're looking for.  A table of keyboard shortcuts has been added to the Help tab.

The rollout is limited to a few exams in English only (localized titles are coming soon) - you can experience the new UI in the following:

Existing exams will remain in the "Classic" UI for a while longer, but most will be updated over the next few months.  Watch for more exams in all supported languages with the new interface later this summer. 

And thank you to you:  Many of these updates were made in direct response to user comments from this blog and members of our SME community (be sure to sign up for our SME database if you haven’t already, link).  Thank you for filling out exam comments, participating in our surveys and focus groups, and sharing your opinions with us.    

There’s still plenty more to do (bending the system to our will...), but we hope you enjoy our first update in a while (>10 years?!).  If you’ve seen the new UI this week, please let me know how your exam went and what you think!

Best, 

Stephanie

Exam 70-246: Monitoring and Operating a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 is now available in Prometric testing centers. This exam is designed to test the candidate's knowledge and skills on monitoring and operating a private cloud with System Center 2012.Candidates for the 70-246 exam have Windows Server, System Center 2012, security, high-availability, fault tolerance, and networking experience in an enterprise environment, candidates should also have basic Microsoft SQL Server and Windows PowerShell knowledge, and application configuration experience. Candidates are also familiar with ITIL and MOF concepts. These candidates might be the Active Directory Administrator, Virtualization Administrator, Enterprise Administrator, or System Center Administrator for their organizations

Exam 70-247: Configuring and Deploying a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 is now available in Prometric testing centers. This exam is designed to test the candidate's knowledge and skills on configuring and deploying  a private cloud with System Center 2012.   Candidates for exam 70-247 use System Center 2012 products to install and configure a private cloud solution. They design, configure, and deploy the underlying infrastructure fabric of networking, storage, and compute resources. They standardize and automate configuration and deployment of applications. Candidates for this exam have Windows Server, Active Directory, System Center 2012, security, high availability, fault tolerance, and networking experience in an enterprise environment, basic Microsoft SQL Server and Windows PowerShell knowledge, and application configuration experience. Candidates are also familiar with ITIL and MOF concepts.

To schedule your exam, visit Prometric’s Web site.

Greetings from TechEd North America in Orlando, Florida.  I’m very excited to announce two new Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) certifications based on Windows Server 2012.  These certifications, and the training associated with them, provide IT professionals with new opportunities to grow and validate skills for modern IT and datacenter environments.  The new certifications are the latest offerings in our reinvented Microsoft Certification Program.

As with all of our certifications, the MCSE can be the differentiator in hiring decisions and career momentum. Across the IT industry, it is becoming more important for IT professionals to have the necessary technology skills to address the increasingly blurred lines between work and life in their organizations and create dynamic, secure, available, and cost-effective infrastructure solutions.  The MCSE certifications on Windows Server 2012 can help technology professionals to enable a modern workstyle and a cloud-optimized datacenter.

Here are the two new certifications:

• The MCSE: Desktop Infrastructure certification focuses on how to deploy and manage desktops and devices, allowing flexible, consistent, and reliable access to corporate services. Essentially, it allows IT professionals to be the hero in their organization by enabling a flexible work style providing access from anywhere, on any device, while maintaining security and compliance. This certification validates skills in desktop virtualization, remote desktop services, and application virtualization.

• The MCSE: Server Infrastructure certification focuses on how to design, build, manage, and run a highly efficient data center. With the know-how of essential services ranging from identity management, systems management, virtualization, storage, and networking, you have the tools needed to run a highly efficient and modern datacenter. This certification empowers you to go beyond virtualization and deliver the essential services for a highly efficient and modern datacenter.

Please keep checking back for more news about the Microsoft Certification Program. And as always, please let us know what you think.

This important Jump Start video series helps IT Pros learn how to enable employees to leverage their own PCs, slates, smartphones and social networking needs (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) on the job while providing the added protection of enterprise-grade security. It's clear that organizations should proactively address the "consumerization of IT" in a way that sparks creativity, encourages collaboration, and promotes innovation, but what approaches satisfy essential security, compliance and other requirements?

Since this is one of the most pervasive trends facing IT organizations today, Microsoft Learning partnered with Technical Evangelist David Tesar from Microsoft's worldwide Developer & Platform Evangelism (DPE) team to lead six demo-rich and engaging sessions. For each module, David is joined by one of Microsoft's leading authorities (and personalities) on the topic.

Embracing the Consumerization of IT Jump Start

• (01): Enabling the Consumerization of IT (w/ Bill Anderson, Principal Program Manager, System Center) 
• (02): End-to-End Security & Access (w/ Bill Anderson, Principal Program Manager, System Center)
• (03): User-Centric Application Delivery (w/ Bill Anderson, Principal Program Manager, System Center)
• (04): Mobile Device Management (w/ Bill Anderson, Principal Program Manager, System Center)
• (05): Productive with Office 365 (w/ Andy O'Donald, Technical Product Manager, Exchange)
• (06): Information Protection (w/ Josh Heller, Product Marketing Manager, Enterprise Client)
• (07): Cloud Security & Management with Windows Intune (w/ Craig Marl, Principal Program Manager Lead, Intune)
• (08): Desktop Virtualization (w/ Adam Carter, Product Marketing Manager, Enterprise Client)

What’s a “Jump Start” Course?
Training specifically designed for experienced technologists whose jobs demand they know how to best leverage new, emerging Microsoft technologies. These advanced courses assume a certain level of expertise and domain knowledge, so they move quickly and cover topics in a fashion that enables teams to effectively map new skills to real-world situations.