Day Five of Microsoft Partner Learning Series: Microsoft Virtual Academy / Channel 9 (The Gift of Sharing)

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Today is the fifth day of the Microsoft Partner twelve days of Learning Series and I am writing from the beach in Forster so there is no chance of me seeing a Kangaroo let alone five of them. Today is about the Gift of Sharing.

The happiest and successful people in the world have one thing in common they are all masters of sharing. So in the spirit of sharing I feel Microsoft Virtual Academy and Channel 9 are two of our best kept secrets. The people on both of these sites love sharing their knowledge around Microsoft products, solutions and anything technical.

For those of you who have never heard of Microsoft Virtual Academy it is a free Microsoft e-learning program to help IT professionals develop their skills and advance their careers. It includes:

  • Structured online training courses
  • Access to course materials and downloads per course
  • Live events
  • Access to free eBooks
  • Build your own learning plan so you can keep track of your planning
  • Self-paced learning - pick up where you left a course at a later date
  • 31 topics, across 16 products for Developers, IT Pros, Data Pros and Students
  • Gamified learning - earn points and badges to compete against your friends/colleagues

If you love watching videos than Channel 9 is the Microsoft alternative to YouTube, where all Microsoft-centric video content is hosted. It is a community site. That enables you to;

  • Catch up on sessions from events that you missed such as Microsoft Ignite.
  • Less structure for those who want to jump in and out of individual videos
  • Streaming sessions live from larger select events, the next best thing to attending an event in the USA
  • Forums to get your questions answered
  • View blogs and video blogs from the tech professionals around the world
  • "Marketing has no place on Channel 9. When we spend money on Channel 9 the goal is to surprise and delight, not to promote or preach." More of the "Channel 9 Doctrine" can be found here - https://channel9.msdn.com/About

So if you have time check out both Microsoft Virtual Academy and Channel 9, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.