Training in the Trenches

Top Ten Reasons I have not yet signed up to attend the MCT Virtual Summit 2009

1.       There is nothing to do yet.

a.       Well now that the Virtual Lobby is open there is stuff to do.  You can watch on demand content from the previous summits.  You can attend expert chats.  You can chat with other attendees in the Virtual Coffee lounge.  You can check out the Sponsor booths.

2.       I don’t know where to go.

a.       You can still register at www.MCTSummit2009.com .  Once you have registered there and created your user name and password you can go to http://www.mctvirtualsummit.com/ .

3.       I went to the site and I was confused by the interface.

a.       In the Virtual Summit site, http://www.mctvirtualsummit.com , there is a welcome video that will walk you through using the interface.

4.       I want to know what is going to be covered in the sessions.

a.       The agenda is being finalized and uploaded.  There will be Train the Trainer sessions on Windows 7 Content, on Microsoft Windows Server 2008, on Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, on Microsoft OCS 2007.  There will be Technology Deep Dives on those products.  There will be sessions on the new teaching technologies, best practices, and other soft skills that will help you in the classroom.

5.       I like to see the person who is doing the training.

a.       All of our speakers have had their pictures and bio’s uploaded so that you can see and learn more about them.

6.       I am not sure that this internet thing is going to catch on.

a.       I think we are pretty safe at this stage, the interface takes advantage of both Silverlight and Live Meeting to host our various content and sessions.

7.       I like to wait until the last minute to do things.

a.       I can understand that but you really want to make sure that your registration is in so that you can get the pre-session content, so that you can interact with a number of expert sessions and technology deep dives.  Break a habit, come in early.

8.       I am in the classroom all day, I don’t have any time.

a.       I have been there, that’s one of the good things about the Virtual Summit, it is open 24 hours a day.  You can come and get the content at any time.

9.       I don’t know when the first expert chat will be.

a.       The first Chat will be on May 20^th at 8 am PST.  It will be on MCT Readiness with Bill Chapman.  Come and chat with me.

10.   I am not an MCT, why can’t I go.

a.       The summit is open to MCTs, Educators and those who want to become MCTs.  If you have a question about whether you can attend or not, email mctevent@microsoft.com and we can help you figure it out.

Extra Hiring Manager session at TechEd Register NOW!

Hiring Manager Forum Thursday May 14 at Tech Ed

The Wednesday session filled so quickly we've added another Hiring Manager Session at Tech Ed:

Thursday May 14 @ 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Room 518

LA Convention Center
 
Lunch will be provided, and you'll get the chance to win an HP Mini!

Seats are filling fast, so register NOW:  http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032415649&Culture=en-US

The Product Marketing team will be sharing valuable tools and insight on Getting the Most from Your Microsoft Technology Investment: How to Improve Organizational Efficiency with Microsoft Certifications

More info:   http://www.microsoft.com/events/TechEd2009/

Beta available for Planning for ISO/IEC 200000: a MOF Companion Guide

Open Beta for MOF Companion Guide— Now Available for Download
Planning for ISO/IEC 20000: A MOF Companion Guide

The Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) team is extending the MOF 4.0 core content with the release of additional MOF companion guides. We’re pleased to announce the beta of the latest guide, Planning for ISO/IEC 20000. Visit the Connect site to download the beta now.

The companion guide will allow IT management staff and service providers to understand ISO 20000 requirements and assist them in planning for streamlined and efficient implementation using MOF as a navigation tool. The guide enables users to take informed steps toward certification, make cost-reducing process improvements, and increase organizational efficiency and flexibility. Ultimately, the steps outlined in this guide will help an organization meet ISO 20000 requirements and deliver effective IT services.

Tell us what you think! Test drive our beta guide and send us your honest feedback. What are your thoughts on the MOF companion guide? What other scenarios would you like us to address? We appreciate the input and will work to make each guide as helpful and useful as possible.

Tell your peers about MOF 4.0! Please forward this to anyone who wants to learn more about Microsoft Operations Framework.

More information about MOF 4.0: Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) 4.0 delivers practical guidance for everyday IT practices and activities, helping IT professionals establish and implement reliable, cost-effective IT services. It integrates community-generated processes, governance, risk, and compliance activities, management reviews, and Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) best practices. MOF 4.0 is a framework that provides guidance across the IT service lifecycle.

Join the Beta
This is an open beta download. See below for instructions on how to access the beta guide.

To join the MOF Beta, follow these steps:

1. Visit the MOF Beta at http://connect.microsoft.com.
2. Sign in using a valid Windows Live ID to continue to the Invitations page.
3. Scroll down to Microsoft Operations Framework.

If you have not previously registered with Microsoft Connect, you might be required to register before continuing with the invitation process.

If the link in step 1 does not work for you, copy and paste the link into the Web browser address bar.

Related Resources
Check out all the MOF team has to offer! For additional resources, including our latest companion guides and job aids, visit the MOF page on TechNet: http://www.Microsoft.com/mof.

We appreciate your comments and feedback. Please send mail to MOF@microsoft.com.

Already using MOF 4.0? We’d like to hear about your experiences. Send mail to the MOF team: MOF@microsoft.com.

New Learning Snack, SBS and EBS

We are pleased to announce the release of the SBS/EBS snack http://www.microsoft.com/learning/_silverlight/learningsnacks/EBS/snack01/Default.html

This Learning Snack describes how the Windows Essential Server Solutions products—Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server (EBS) 2008—give small and medium-sized businesses the flexibility to grow their business capacity. It also describes the administrative consoles in Windows SBS 2008 and Windows EBS 2008, which gives administrators a single point of access to their IT environment

This snack can be accessed from: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/snacks/default.mspx

Free Webinar on Virtual Classroom Trainer Tips and Trainer Certification

Opportunity Knocks

Hiring Managers: We need your advice!

We're creating a new guide for hiring managers, and we need your help! We're reaching out to Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs) to gather job descriptions and resumes for the following job roles:

·  Server Administrator

·  Database Administrator

·  Database Developer

·  Desktop Technician

·  Systems Engineer 

Where do you come in? If you're a hiring manager who works, hires or trains employees in these jobs, we need your feedback to help determine the accuracy of the job descriptions we gather. If any of the jobs listed above sound like yours or those of your direct reports, we invite you to join us in a conference call 9-10 AM, Pacific Time,  Wednesday April 22nd to offer your advice. Contact Monica Kilwine (v-monick@microsoft.com) to take part in the call. Your input is vital to the creation of an effective hiring guide, and we look forward to your participation!

Microsoft Certified Professionals: Help us by sharing your resume

We're creating a new guide for hiring managers, and we need your help! The guide will include job descriptions and sample resumes, and your input will help ensure that the guide is relevant. The document will focus on these job roles:

·  Server Administrator

·  Database Administrator

·  Database Developer

·  Desktop Technician

·  Systems Engineer 

In order to make this guide as realistic as possible, and to highlight the skills, training and certification needed for candidates to be successful in these positions, we need to see sample resumes! If you're qualified for one of the jobs listed above, send your resume to Monica Kilwine (v-monick@microsoft.com). We'll be sure to remove any identifying information to protect your privacy. Your job experience is critical to making this guide a valuable resource for hiring managers, so please share your resume with us as soon as you can.   

Save the Date: MCT Virtual Summit 2009 on June 18th and 19th

Some people have asked why I am the only person on Kens team not on the bus.

It's not because I don't want to be on the bus, I do.

But sometimes other things can eat up your time.

And mine is currently being devoured by an MCT only event.  If you are not an MCT, I am sorry but this one is not for you.

Unless of course you would like to become an MCT, we are always looking to have the best and the brightest talent out there join our ranks.

This morning the MCT Flash included a short paragraph about this.

Announcing the MCT Virtual Summit 2009

The Quick Bits:

What: Worldwide MCT Virtual Summit 2009

When: Event doors open online May 18^th, “Live” Summit June 18^th and 19^th

               May 18^th: The Lobby doors open and discussion areas are made available.

               June 18^th and 19^th The Scheduled Live meeting sessions begin.

Time: 48 straight hours, 2AM GMT 6/18 – 2AM GMT 6/20

Language: Much of the content will be in English, but there will sessions presented in other languages: Portuguese, French, German, Spanish and Chinese.

Cost: $35 USD

Where to sign up: www.MCTSummit2009.com

The Why:

With the recent economic crisis we know that some of the MCT community could not make it to the summits in Prague, Redmond, Hyderabad and Brazil.  Because you could not come to us to participate in the summit, we are bringing it to you.

What’s in it for you:

This is an opportunity to get ready for some of the new technology and courseware coming out in the next year. There will be multiple sessions spread across the 48 hours that the summit will be operational. 

This Virtual Summit will build on the content and platform that was started with the Prague, Redmond, Hyderabad and Brazil summits and add more to it. 

Our Plans include:

Build knowledge for new courses and technologies:

Train the Trainer Sessions on the New Windows 7 Curriculum

Train the Trainer Sessions on Courseware Library courses

Train the Trainer Sessions on Windows Server 2008 Courses

Streaming Videos from the Recorded Sessions at the Live Summits

A Virtual Lobby:

Open area to have discussions with other MCTs from around the world.  This Virtual Lobby will be open as of May 18^th.

Ask The Experts sessions in the Virtual Lobby, the Virtual Lobby is an open chat area where active and forum discussion can take place and be saved for viewing.  We are going to have three simultaneous “Virtual Lobby” rooms available.

Ask MSL sessions in the Virtual Lobby

Get Takeaway and follow up content with:

A virtual Backpack, this will allow you to be able to store materials from sessions, the Virtual Expo and discussions for later download.  This Virtual Backpack is an ideal way to gather the content you want to be able to review later.

A Virtual Expo Center as a place where Product Groups, Sponsors and MSL Groups can distribute materials to you.

When should you plan on attending?

We are not going to sleep during the summit!. The summit will be running for 48 straight hours, with presentations during business hours in all time zones around the world.  This provides every MCT an opportunity to attend.  All the new content sessions will be recorded and made available for you after the Virtual Summit.  The initial Recorded content will be English-only; live content will be offered in English, Portuguese, Spanish, German, French and Chinese enabling you to attend some sessions offered in your language.  These local language sessions will be recorded and made available after the summit. 

Calls to Action:

Go and register now at www.MCTSummit2009.com

Save the Date June 18^th and 19^th.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please email me

Bill Chapman

MCT Readiness

willchap@microsoft.com

:

Thoughts during a long commute

I was thinking about commuting this morning.

In Bellevue, I have the best commute; I live 4 blocks away from the office on a flat street.  This is not to be shirked at, most of the greater Redmond area is on a slope of some kind, it literally can be uphill both ways.  I am in Tampa currently which actually means I have to get in a car on the days I go into the office.

And join the commute, and realize how lucky I am generally.  But on my way to work this morning I was listening to NPR and the local cut-ins were talking about the unemployment problem here in Florida.  The last time it was at the level it is at currently was during President Ford’s term.  Which again got me thinking about the Bus, not from the hey it’s going to be really cool to talk to MCTs, MCPs, ITAs, CPLSs and everyone else out there but rather what I can tell them.

One of the things I have been thinking about recently was is the next big thing in technology and learning.  A few years back when the Dot Com bubble burst, there was a similar worry with technology.  At the time I had spent some time starting up on the very early parts of SharePoint and I felt pretty well positioned for what was coming.  I was correct and I stayed well employed for the next few years teaching SharePoint Administration and Development.  As I look at the next few years and wonder what I would do if I were out there right now doing training, where would I find the next big thing.

If I were today looking at what I would be doing next, I think it would be in the communications sphere.  The SharePoint is part of the great communication revolution that we are undergoing.  We have had email for a couple of decades now, community collaboration tools like SharePoint, there are tools like Live Meeting which help get a shared environment.  We have blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and other means to share information constantly.  This leads me to look at a way that all the communication revolutions are going to impact today and tomorrow’s businesses.  We are currently riding the wave of those technologies and methods of sharing information and there is an opportunity there for the Training Professionals out there and frankly for just professionals out there.  Looking right now I would be working on SharePoint and other collaboration tools.  I would also spend a good bit of time investment in tools Like Office Communication Server.  The current evolution in the business world is for more Virtual meetings and sharing as opposed to the “get on a plane” meeting type.  The people who know how to coordinate and connect businesses together are going to be in a position of strength going forward. Those that are familiar with the technologies that support that communication and sharing are going to be key players going forward.

I figured out that what I can add to the discussion is my experiences as a Trainer and a Learning professional and hopefully help some folks along the way. That’s where I would invest my time in right now.  It has always been my goal to stay employed at the front edge of technology and that’s where I think and opportunity exists right now and I wanted to share it with you.

Not every day in the office is a tough one

So I am travelling at the moment and working out of the Microsoft Tampa office.

This is a new office for them, right at the edge of downtown Tampa.

If you have never been to Tampa you should visit as it is a lovely town filled with lots of historical items of the Pirate era of Americas.

here are some pictures from the Window at the borrowed cubicle I am using today.

So being on the road can be tough, but at the same time it can be rather nice.

This of course means that I want to be on the bus so i can share more.

More of a real post as soon as Tjeerd and I can go over some stuff.

How to make the MCTs happy.

Well there are several ways to do this of course, what I am going to talk about is videos.

If you are not an MCT this really won’t apply to you but you are welcome to know about it anyway.

At the recent MCT Summit in Prague we recorded almost all the sessions and are now in the process of providing that content online through the MCT Download Center.  The first of the videos is up and it is the Raising the Quality Bar as presented by Matthew Roche.  This went up first to test the process and because Matthew kept asking, “is my video up yet? When will it be up? Can I point people at it yet?” and so on, so I put his up first.  Today there are several more being uploaded which will include all the Day 1 Keynotes.  Those keynotes were the Welcome by Tjeerd, the MCT Benefits by Tjeerd and company, Readiness Today by Bill (that’s me) and “Synchronicity: The power of the Modern O”S by Stephen Rose and Joey Snow.  Also posted is the “final” MCT Summit Microsoft Office 2007 OneNote notebook containing all the presentations, handouts and other materials. 

Breakouts were also posted for some of the Day 2 content,  you can see the reference for the agenda in the Microsoft Office 2007 OneNote summit notebook.

To get to the downloadable videos you must login to the Download Center, and then scroll the selection menu down to see the MCT Summits category.  Select in the Sub menu MCT Summit 2009 and you will see those all laid out before you.  The videos require Adobe Flash ™ in order to view them; this was the smallest that could provide a usable image.  The raw data for each hour video ran from  800 megabytes to 1.3 gigabytes.  The compressed files are less than a tenth of that.

 Please spread the word to other MCTs about this content being available to them and go and review them yourself.  A lot of really valuable information was given during the sessions and being now able to see what happened in all three rooms can give you more information for the classroom.

An Evening MCT Gathering

Just for those who happen to be in the greater Seattle/Bellevue area

and want to come out and meet

Since there are a couple of out of town visitors, figured we would have a night out.

The location

Rock Bottom Brewery Bellevue

http://www.rockbottom.com/DisplayLocationRBR.php?FKLocationID=10056

Time

6 pm

The Day

Thursday 2/12/09

There will be MCT Swag given away

and yes I know I am behind on shipping from the previous one, I am working on it.

A brand new event for you!

This just in from Deborah:

Here’s a new Microsoft event for your calendar … Calling All Developers !!

For the first time ever, we are joining the entire world-wide developer community together online for one continuous 24 hour period of learning and connecting. This free event will begin at 8am on April 1 in Asia and conclude 24 hours later in the Americas. 

Ambitious? Yes.  Crazy? Absolutely.  Can we do it? You bet!

This is a fabulous opportunity for MCT’s to share your knowledge with your peers around the world? We are looking for passionate speakers to submit topics that developers would be interested in learning about. Through the TechDays online event portal, registered attendees will participate through Live Meeting or recorded on-demand sessions for more than 90 sessions.  Topics will be on any technology within 5 tracks: Windows Development and Frameworks, Windows Mobile Development, Office and SharePoint Development, Developer Tools, Languages & Practices or Web Development & User Experience. Please register as a speaker and submit your session proposals at: http://www.msfttechdays.com/dac/cfc/

Talking with Trainers who are at TechReady

So I was talking to a few MCTs here at the TechReady conference.  I wanted to talk about the business of training right now, it being a recession bordering on a depression after all.   I remember back to 2000-2001 and the hard times that ensue4d after the last .Com bubble burst and was curious to see if the patterns were repeating.  Of course they are so that led me to think about how I could use what I learned back then to help you my faithful readers with keeping your business running.

The first and most important thing to remember that you are runnig a business, that means keeping a close eye on  both expenses and receivables.  You have to stay on top of all your collections and only take work from sources that you know are reliable.  This can be a difficulty in times like these because you want to keep work coming in and the thought of accepting more risk is a tempting one just to keep that money flowing.

You have to balance the risk of accepting any new clients versus the risk that your work will go unpaid and you will not recoup your expenses.  this is always a risk in even the best of times but tends to be even more impactful in this environment.  I always tried to watch  my expenses versus revenue with a microscope when I was an independent trainer just to make sure I had my margins correct.

So now that we have set the ideas of watching your general business down, you have to look at what you are training.  I know it is tempting to want to teach the bread and butter courses, the core OS classes, the core client classes, the basic programming classes.  But you also have to realize that those are going to be the classes that will either be most likely filled by the training center itself with staff trainers, or will offer the lowest rates for a contractor.  To really be able to keep a steady flow of higher rate classes you have to expand beyond the basics.  For some this might be Exchange, although this is rapidly becoming a core type course that can be taught by virtually all trainers.  SharePoint is now and will be for sometime a good area to be a trainer in.  This is an area in which i would focus.  I learned about SharePoint many years ago and dove into the Dev part of  it and could always count on at least a class a month at a good rate.  If i were looking for an area of focus right now, SharePoint would be near the top of the list.

OCS is another area of great potential for good classes at good rates.  There is a definite need for the OCS and other communication/collaboration type tools and there are fewer trainers out there than there is demand.  Any time you can identify a situation like that, greater demand than supply, its a good situation to find yourself in as a trainer.

I still think that Dynamics is a good bet if you have the appropriate background, i have seen much in the way of demand in all the products and I know that there are not enough trainers for the need.

Security is now and will be for the foreseeable future a solid bet, as we move into areas of security, both physical and system based there is an opportunity for a trainer who wants to expand their skill set.

The last area that I see as a potential gold mine is actually SQL BI, because more and more companies out there are looking for both trainers and consultants who can provide them with more data mining skills, data analysis skills, and this could be a gold mine for the trainer with those abilities.  You never want to turn down an opportunity which would bring both training and consulting to you.

Looking at where the business is heading in the next 18-24 month I would be focusing on building both my skill sets in non bread and butter technologies and strengthening those relationships with both CPLS and other Partners to ensure that I have a regular stream of collectible revenue.

Technology Focus areas

1. SharePoint both Admin and Dev

2. OCS, get that telephony and connectivity going

3. Dynamics, wide open terrain

4. Security, there are way too many threats out there

5. SQL BI to tell them what they need to know.

If you see other areas of focus, let me know.

So where to go next

here is a copy of a post from the Born to Learn blog, it was fun over there so lets see what it does here.

The MCSE is dead, its time to move on.

It really is time for people to learn and accept the fact that the MCSE is not coming back.  A couple of years ago we went to the MCITP model to show the actual differentiation in tracks of certification.  Look, I get it: I’m attached to my MCSE too, I’ve held that certification since 1998. But I’ve moved on, and you guys should too. We’ve earned our new MCITP Enterprise Administrator, and the more we proclaim it, the more recognition it will receive. You should be proud of attaining that certification.  This is another case of history repeating, when the MCSE first came out few knew what that was all about either, but we talked about it and those outside our IT circles came to know what we knew, that the MCSE was the person who made the magic of IT happen.  The MCITP Enterprise Administrator is the new certification to show who is the one who has the magic of IT, but that does not change the fact that there is no MCSE for Windows Server 2008 and there never will be.

Now that the harsh truth is out there, and yes I got voted the one to give the harsh truth, there is an alternative.  The MCSE 2003 is a nice beginning for the MCITP Enterprise Administrator, it is the upgrade that you are looking for.  It covers the things that an MCSE used to.  Total of 5 exams if you are not already an MCSE and if you are already an MCSE there’s an Upgrade Path.

So you might ask yourself, why is Bill telling us stuff we have already heard, the answer is that it seems that many people out there have either not heard it or just don’t want to listen.  In the past couple of weeks I have answered this question at least 5 times, “where is the MCSE 2008?”  And I told them the same thing that I am telling you, there is none.  So here we are with the “new” certification, it’s not really new as anyone who did SQL Server in 2005 can tell you, but how do identify to others the lofty achievement I have attained?  I tell them I am an Enterprise Administrator on Microsoft Windows Server 2008.  That is usually sufficient to most people; I know it worked with my parents.  If not then I go into further details of what the MCITP is and how the program works.

The next question that comes up is what do I do if I am partly through the MCSE 2003, should I finish?   Of course you should, Windows Server 2003 is not going to go away any time soon and there is plenty of work out there, there are still people running on both Microsoft Windows Server 2000 (nearly 10 years old at this point) and Microsoft Windows Server NT 4.0 (well over a decade old).  I of course would tell those people to upgrade to an operating system built in this millennium but that is another discussion.  So I don’t see those MCSE for 2003 suddenly gathering dust in the corner somewhere, so finish what you started.  And then do the upgrade to MCITP Enterprise Administrator and have multiple servers that you are certified to work on, thus expanding your job opportunities.  And in this economy anything that expands your job opportunities is a good thing.

So in closing today the only thing I have to say is,

The MCSE is Dead, Long live the Enterprise Administrator.

Moving Day

and what do I do first thing this morning.

Upgrade to Windows 7 of course

that way everything is up in the air.

the upgrade went incredibly smoothly if slow

and I can see so much potential in this OS versus Vista.

Dont get me wrong, I like Vista, have used it for a few years now, but this is flying

I can see that this will be a big thing to the MCT Community and the Training world in general.

Lots of Opportunities for classes.

Have to see where it all ends up.

Now to finish packing the office