We had a ton of fun in LA and I will post a bunch of pictures next week. Be sure to check back because you won’t want to miss the pictures of Tonia and me with the Source Fource!

If you met us at TechEd this week please post a comment and tell us what you think of the free training we gave out. I just know you all started watching it on your plane ride home.

Related posts:

• As Promised: Photos from TechEd 2009!
• More Tech Ed 2009 Pictures

The Transcender Team Blog

Let’s start with one of my favorites: The Transcender Team Blog. In case you are not familiar, Transcender offers certification exam preparation software.  They also have a great blog. These cats really have their virtual fingers on the pulse of IT learning and certification. I suggest subscribing to their RSS to so you don’t miss any of their posts on things like: their personal certification studying and exam experiences, info on free or sale specials from Transcender, and of course the latest Microsoft and non-Microsoft certification news.

Microsoft Elevate America

Here is a brand new resource: Microsoft Elevate America. The program behind this website is still being fleshed out. The general idea is that Microsoft is giving away training and certification vouchers. However, you can’t just go to this or any other MS website to get the vouchers – you have to go through some kind of state agency. What agency? Who knows.

I hope that Microsoft is not being deliberately vague when they say, “These vouchers can be obtained from the designated outlet in your state: the Workforce Development Office, Career One Stop, or some other participating entity.” More likely the program is so new that they themselves don’t actually know who the participating agencies will be yet. Either that or they just want to sell you a time share.

In the mean time, the Microsoft Elevate America website does have some other learning resources. You can download free developer software and they have: free training, a career questionnaire that gives you personalized advice, some job interview insight, and links to other Microsoft offerings like Office Live, and the free online storage (SkyDrive) at Windows Live. Be sure to check this site out now and again the coming months.

Microsoft Learning

Next we have an obvious choice but still one worth mentioning: Microsoft Learning. This is where you will find course listings, free video training, special offers, and info on certifications. I just watched a one hour Introduction to Exchange Server 2010 course over at Microsoft Learning. It was ok – would have been more entertaining done by a Train Signal instructor, but eh what did I expect. FYI you need a Microsoft Live account to view their videos. Microsoft Learning has even set up a Windows 7 Learning Portal where you can get a head start on your Windows 7 studies.

The main reason I go to the Microsoft Learning website is for certification info. It is always my first stop when I have questions on certification paths and exams objectives.

Thrive

Here is another relatively unknown website: Thrive. Well, at least it was to me considering I just found out about it today. I am not really clear on the greater goal of this website.  A lot of (but not all) the info on Thrive seems to be geared toward someone on the IT team in a business environment. There is even a picture of two geeks high-fiving!  There are some snacks, podcasts, whitepapes, and webcasts on topics like virtualization, optimization, and security compliance. Then there is a very helpful section called Career Care that talks about job search, resumes, interview questions, and the like.

Born to Learn

Get the latest Microsoft certification news right from the source: The Born to Learn Blog. These folks don’t have their fingers on the pulse of certifications they pretty much are the pulse. This blog is authored by the people who develop Microsoft training and certification. Born to Learn is another one that I highly recommend subscribing to. Right now most of their posts are about a bus tour they are doing but normally they post about exams they are developing, new exam betas, exam tips, and some general MS news.

Spicy Elephant

Last and probably least we have: Spicy Elephant. This website is not IT learning specific but is for anyone studying… anything. You create and then go through flash cards. The application doesn’t actually check your answers. So you need to be honest about how well you knew the answer based on a very scientific smiley scale.

The cool factor of Spicy Elephant doesn’t come from the digital flash cards themselves. The neatest part is that Spicy Elephant sets a schedule for how often you should go through your flash card deck. ”Too soon and you waste your time, too late and you have to relearn.” So if you have some IT vocab or concepts you are struggling to get down then give Spicy a try. I think I am going to give it a go this weekend while I study for my network security final exam for grad school. An elephant never forgets right?

What are some of your favorite IT learning sites?

Related posts:

• Go Get Certified! – IT Certification Links
• Windows 7 Exams are on the Way – Is a Vista Certification Still Worth it?
• System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2: Information, Training, Certification, and Resources

So I’ve been thinking about why I do what I do as an IT guy and instructor. And I recently heard a quote from a fellow by the name of David Neagle that summed up my why as to what I do, and I thought, “That’s it!” So here’s the quote:

“More life to all and less to none.”

Here’s my thoughts on it:

I’ve had the honor to launch a couple hundred careers in the last ten years or so, including the IT careers of inner-city high school students. Many of you know that I served a two-year tour of duty in one of the toughest high schools in Chicago, where I took a bunch of at-risk students and turned them into computer techs. Even today, I still get emails and text messages from my kids, keeping me updated with their new jobs and promotions. Because of what I was able to teach my kids (and I do claim them as mine, and am very proud of their accomplishments), they are able to have more life, and more ability to succeed.

Recently, a fellow named Ali posted on our forums about how he just landed his MCITP certification and a new job after using our training. And damn if I don’t feel honored to have been part of his journey towards that. That’s what it’s all about– helping more people find more opportunity, more jobs, more success, and more life. It’s about helping folks provide for their families, putting food on the table, putting kids through school, and opening up new doors all around.

More Life: Compliments of your IT Administrators

And don’t even get me started on how IT folks open up doors for the people and organizations they work for. Maybe that’s a post for a different day, but stop and think about how much IT folks make possible. Try and send an email when your Exchange server is down, and you’ll know just how much life IT techs bring to any organization. The why for IT technicians and system administrators is to help bring more life to their organizations.

So that’s it, gang. More life to all, and less to none. When I teach Windows Server or anything else, it’s all about transmitting skills and knowledge so that more success can be had, more opportunity can be opened and created, and more life can flow. More life to all, and less to none.

So, now it’s your turn–tell me your why for doing IT work.

Related posts:

• Video: Coach Culbertson on Server 2008 R2 Training — Free for a Limited Time
• System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2: Information, Training, Certification, and Resources
• MCTS Demystified: What you need to know about the Server 2008 Active Directory (Exam 70-640) Certification