TechNet Flash, Volume 15, Issue 4 - February 20, 2013
TechNet Flash editor's note from Mitch Irsfeld

MVA curriculum expands for 2013

When it comes to training for IT professionals, Microsoft offers a range of opportunities, from free webcasts and virtual labs to very in-depth, in-person instruction. One training program in particular has been gaining momentum since its launch almost two years ago. The Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA) now has more than a million users of its free cloud-based technical training on technologies like Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, Office 365, System Center 2012, and more. In all, more than 300 courses are offered in 11 languages.

The learning platform is hosted on the latest Microsoft Azure technology, which provides a responsive online learning experience. Getting started is easy. Just log on, select one of the tracks, and enroll. Then select the courses you want to take, study the provided materials and pass the self-assessments to acquire points. Once you've registered and set up your profile, your MVA experience changes to a dashboard which becomes your default page and contains everything related to your progress in the MVA.

There are always new tracks and new courses coming online to help you further your career. MVA last week added new courses on System Center 2012 SP1 and Windows Server 2012 Essentials. And MVA is a great place to ramp up on one of the most in-demand skill sets: cloud computing. IDC predicts 7 million new cloud jobs worldwide by 2015. And the MVA cloud curriculum provides courses on everything from virtualization, private cloud and public cloud, to product-specific courses on Windows Azure and Windows Intune.

In the fall of 2012, MVA added its Jump Starts, which are live, online events, sometimes lasting an entire day. MVA Jump Start events are run by technical experts. They allow you to take an MVA course live and interact directly with instructors in real time.

MVA is a great way to start building the necessary skills to grow your career with Microsoft technologies. You can study on your own time, at your own pace and your achievement points can help you make a name for yourself within the worldwide IT community. Check it out.

Thanks for reading,

Mitch Irsfeld
Editor, TechNet Flash

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