Born to Learn

Some certificates for recently released exams not available for download or purchase yet

Krista Wall (Microsoft) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:11:11 GMT

The following 11 certificates are not yet available on the Certificate Manager tool for either download or purchase. These should be available for download by August 9, if not sooner.

MCPD: Windows Developer 4
MCPD: Web Developer 4
MCTS: .NET Framework 4, Data Access
MCTS: .NET Framework 4, Service Communication Applications
MCTS: .NET Framework 4, Windows Applications
MCTS: .NET Framework 4, Web Applications
MCTS: Microsoft Dynamics C5 2010 Payroll
MCTS: Microsoft Dynamics C5 2010 Programming
MCTS: Microsoft Dynamics C5 2010 Advanced Programming
MCTS: Microsoft Dynamics C5 2010 System Consultant
MCTS: Microsoft Dynamics C5 2010 Project

The MCITP: Installation and Configuration for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 certificate is also not available via the Certificate Manager tool and we are targeting the beginning of September for when this certificate will be available.

We understand the importance of having your certificate available after you earn your certification and apologize for the inconvenience in the delay. We are currently working through the process of releasing the impacted certificates to our Certificate Manager tool and will be making them available as soon as possible.

Live Meetings for Managers - Watch Now

Deborah Grauer (Microsoft) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:49:00 GMT

We're on hiatus for the summer, but if you missed any of the Live Meetings for Managers you can view on-demand any time. Check out the great presentations created specifically to help managers of IT professionals and developers understand the value of certification for their teams, take advantage of training opportunities, and ensure employees have the skills to perform at their very best.

Whatever happened to the MCSE? (and what’s this MCITP?)
Learn how current Microsoft certifications —Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), and Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD)— measure up and work together to help you identify skilled candidates and validate knowledge of current Microsoft technologies.

Best Practices in IT Staff Skills Development
Keith Mayer, Microsoft Certified Learning Consultant, explains how enterprise organizations are successfully leveraging Microsoft learning and certification resources to build structured IT skills development plans.

Get Ahead with Microsoft Software Assurance Benefits
Learn how to lower your training costs and ready your team for Microsoft technologies by maximizing your Software Assurance benefits, including training vouchers, services for deployment, and much more.

The Business Value of Windows 7 – Training for ROI
Robert Kratzke explains how training and MCTS and MCITP certifications on Windows 7 can help insure a successful implementation and provide a faster return on your investment.

The Truth About Certification Exams
Join psychometrician Liberty Munson for a behind-the-scenes look into how Microsoft works to help ensure that certification exams are a valid measure of technical skills.

Exam Forensics and What Microsoft Is Doing to Catch the Cheaters
Hear what Microsoft and other organizations are doing to protect certification from "brain-dump" providers, proxy test-takers, and score-report fraud.

If you want to get our new Live Meetings for Managers schedule as soon as its published, sign up to receive information and special offers exclusively for IT tem managers.

Windows Phone 7 Design Resources – UI Guide and Design Templates

Bob Caswell (Microsoft) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:12:41 GMT

With the Windows Phone Developer Tools in beta and Windows Phone 7 in technical preview, now is the time to build Windows Phone 7 apps in earnest, and we have refreshed our Design Resources for developers and designers to help you build beautiful apps.

The UI Design and Interaction Guide for Windows Phone 7 v2.0 has been updated for beta. With additional information and a new layout we hope you will find more readable, this guide provides detailed information about UI elements and controls, UI system behaviors, and the interaction model for the touch interface based on the design system codenamed “Metro”. Designers and developers should read this guide to learn about the dos and don’ts of UI implementations for their Windows Phone applications.

The Design Templates for Windows Phone 7 are a collection of 28 layered Photoshop template files and system fonts that can be used to create pixel-perfect application layouts, to help guide UI development, or to pitch an idea. These design templates showcase many controls that are a part of the Windows Phone Developer Tools Beta. They also include examples of controls that are a part of Windows Phone, but are not available as a part of the Windows Phone Developer Tools.

Let us know what you think. If you have suggestions or feedback about these design resources, please email us at wp7des@microsoft.com.

Microsoft Dynamics GP, NAV, CRM MCTs: new training

Tracey Cummings (Microsoft) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:56:00 GMT

Check out all the new titles that have been released! We've just added Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010/Sharepoint integration deep-dive Web cast,and a series of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010, NAV 2009 and CRM 4.0 eLearning and Learning Snacks! Just sign into PartnerSource to get the latest and greatest!

Receive College Credit for 21 Certifications/Exams in the US

Alissa Goldstein (Microsoft) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:04:00 GMT

Hello Born to Learners,

After a deep dive into Microsoft Learning certification, the American Council on Education College Recommendation Reviewers (ACE), has recommended 21 Microsoft exams/certifications for college credit!

By connecting Microsoft Certification with college credit, it helps us bridge the gap to merging workforce training with higher education. Now, when you pass one of the 21 recommended Microsoft certifications/exams, you are able to receive college credit! In addition, if you have taken the exams within the last 3 years you can also get credit through the ACE transcript service. By receiving a college equivalency recommendation, this also makes Microsoft certifications eligible for Corporate Tuition Assistance! This means that if your company offers Corporate Tuition Assistance as a benefit and you would like to take a Microsoft Certification, 21 are now eligible for Corporate Tuition Assistance Funding. Please keep in mind that each company has differing policies, so please connect with your Human Resources department for more information.

To learn more about the certifications and exams recommended for college credit, please visit the ACE National Guide for a description of Microsoft Learning, details on each certifications/exams, and next steps for receiving credit.

Below is a list of the certifications/exams, credit recommendation, and associated level (lower = community college and freshman – sophomore; upper = more senior level)

Certification Title	Credit Hours	Level
1. Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Enterprise Administrator Windows Server 2008	4	Upper
2. Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Server Administrator, Windows Server 2008	3	Lower
3. Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) Windows Server 2003	3	Lower
4. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer on Windows Server 2003	6	3 Upper, 3 Lower
5. Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Database Administrator, SQL 2005	3	Lower
6. Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Database Developer, SQL 2005	3	Upper
7. Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: .Net Framework 2.0 Web Applications, Visual Studio 2005	2	Lower
8. Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007– Configuration	1	Lower
9. Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Enterprise Messaging Administrator, Exchange 2007	3	Lower
10. Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance	1	Lower
11. Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Database Administrator, SQL Server 2008	2	Upper
12. Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Database Developer, SQL Server 2008	2	Upper
13. Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: .NET Framework 3.5, ASP.NET Applications, Visual Studio 2008	2	Lower
14. Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Enterprise Desktop Administrator 7, Windows 7	2	Lower
15. Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007–Configuring	2	Lower
16. Microsoft Office Project Server 2007, Managing Projects	1	Lower
17. Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Enterprise Messaging Administrator, Exchange 2010	2	Lower
18. Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows Server 2008 Virtualization, Configuration	2	Lower
19. Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization	2	Upper
20. Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: SQL Server 2005	1	Lower
21. Microsoft Windows Vista Configuration	1	Lower

In addition to Microsoft Technical Certifications, you may also receive college credit for passing Microsoft Office Certifications for 2003, 2007 and 2007! Visit our Microsoft Learning Website for more information

Interested in getting credit? Follow these steps:

1. ENROLL IN THE ACE TRANSCRIPT SERVICE

Register online with ACE at http://www.acenet.edu/transcripts/register. Once enrolled in the ACE Transcript Service, you can list all of your educational achievements, including Microsoft Certifications and Exams on your ACE transcript. An ACE transcript is a secure, universally accepted document with easy-to-read descriptions, ACE college credit recommendations, and suggested transfer areas. The transcript can be sent at any time to the college or university of your choice.

2. SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATIONS FOR VERIFICATION

After you have registered with ACE, you will be able to search the ACE Course Catalog for the exams you have passed. Microsoft Technical Certifications are listen under Microsoft Corporation, and Microsoft Office Specialist certifications are listed the organization Certiport. Add the certifications that you have earned to your ACE course list. You will need to enter the date that you received with each certification. When you are finished adding exams to your course list, select “Send Your Record for Review” to send your exams to Certiport to verify. Once your courses have been verified by Certiport and Prometric (Exam Delivery Providers) you will receive an e-mail confirmation from ACE. After you have received your e-mail from ACE, you can access your updated ACE transcript.

3. SEND YOUR ACE TRANSCRIPT TO YOUR SCHOOL

Log in to the ACE website at www.acenet.edu/transcripts and submit a transcript request to ACE. ACE will forward your official ACE transcript to the college or university of your choice. At that time, you will need to pay a one-time fee (currently $40 USD) to activate your ACE Transcript account. The fee covers the cost of your first transcript. Additional transcripts can be requested for a nominal fee.

Thank you!

Alissa Goldstein

Program Manager, IT Academy

Join Us Now: Windows Phone 7 Jump Start Session 3 Starts Now!

Bob Caswell (Microsoft) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:03:03 GMT

Just a quick reminder, you can log in directly to our training by following this url: http://bit.ly/9349sp.

Best of luck, and happy training!

Using OneNote: Best Way To Get Course Materials

Bob Caswell (Microsoft) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:16:00 GMT

Just a quick update that our class resource page has demo files as well as course materials in PDF format for each session of Windows Phone 7 Jump Start. But we also have all course materials nicely organized in OneNote notebooks for each session. By default, you have "read only" access to these online notebooks. However, anyone participating in Windows Phone 7 Jump Start will get read/write access simply by emailing MCTOneNote@hotmail.com from a "LiveID" (e.g., Hotmail or MSN email address).

You are also welcome to use the OneNote course materials “offline” (provided you ask for read/write access) if you have OneNote 2010 installed on your computer. For details on how to use OneNote or the OneNote Web App (plus info on how syncing works), see the FAQ in the “Start Here” section of the Session 1 online notebook. For direct access to each of the free online notebooks, click the below links:

So why use the OneNote Web App version? Two reasons:

It's free and easy to use. We've provided it here for those who might not have the OneNote desktop client.
It's a great way to meet and collaborate with fellow Windows Phone 7 developers. You, and any other WP7 developers asking for read/write access, can leave notes anywhere throughout these notebooks.

Check them out, and let us know what you think.

New on Microsoft.com/learning

Ken Rosen (Microsoft) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:38:14 GMT

Playing catch-up with some new pages we’ve posted to our site recently—thought you guys might be interested to know:

Microsoft Technology Associate: find out all about our new entry-level certification here.
FAST University: Technical training on search technology for IT Pros and developers here.
New Learning Snack: Creating an Internet E-mail account (yeah, I know you guys know how to do this, but maybe you know someone who doesn’t)
MCM Case Study: If you’re considering investing in our Master certification, you might want to read this document.

Calling All Windows Azure Experts--Update Your SME Profile Now!

Amanda Van Kleeck (Microsoft) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:43:00 GMT

Do you have work experience focused on AppFabric and API specific development tasks associated with Windows Azure applications? Want to help us create the first Windows Azure exam? Here’s your chance! We are looking for Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for the following exam:

70-583 TS: Windows Azure, Development

We’ll be using the MSL SME database to find participants for blueprinting as well as other phases of development for this exam. For your best chance of participating, create a SME profile by filling out the survey on the MSL SME site on Microsoft Connect. (See this post for complete instructions.)

Please note that if you already filled out your SME profile, you’ll need to go back and update it. Krista changed the answer options for “Which technologies do you have work experience with?” to include Windows Azure. We’ll be looking for folks who selected Windows Azure on this question to help develop this exams. If you filled out your SME profile awhile ago, this option was not available for you to select.

The Windows Phone 7 Training Continues! Get Ready for Sessions 3 & 4

Bob Caswell (Microsoft) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:05:00 GMT

Today we had over 1,000 developers take part in Windows Phone 7 Jump Start Session 1 and Session 2. It was a great event with lots of jokes, demos, and fun. Windows Phone 7 Jump Start training continues on Thursday. In fact, registration is still open for Session 3 and Session 4. Feel free to sign up if you haven't already. Here's what to expect for the remaining two sessions:

July 22 – 8am (PST): Session Three: Advanced Windows Phone Development
July 22 – 1pm (PST): Session Four: Selling Your Windows Phone Solutions & Wrap Up

For more details, see the Windows Phone 7 Jump Start blog, forum, and class resource page (for hand outs and demo files used for each session).