RTM’d today: MOS Study Guide for Microsoft Office 365
We are happy to announce that the MOS Study Guide for Microsoft Office 365 has shipped to the printer!
Demonstrate your expertise with Microsoft Office 365 by earning a MOS certification. This Study Guide is designed to help you prepare for MOS Exam 77-891: Microsoft Office 365, and features:
· Full objective-by-objective review
· Easy-to-follow procedures and hands-on tasks
· Exam-discount offer from Certiport
· Use the in-depth exam prep, practice, and review to help advance your proficiency with Office 365—and earn the credential that proves it.
This book will be available online around June 15th. In the meantime, here is an excerpt from the introduction to the book:
Taking a Microsoft Office Specialist Exam
Desktop computing proficiency is increasingly important in today’s business world. As a result, when screening, hiring, and training employees, employers can feel reassured by relying on the objectivity and consistency of technology certification to ensure the competence of their workforce. As an employee or job seeker, you can use technology certification to prove that you already have the skills you need to succeed, saving current and future employers the trouble and expense of training you.
Microsoft Office Specialist Certification
Microsoft Office Specialist certification is designed to assist employees in validating their skills with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, and OneNote, as well as SharePoint and Office 365. The following certification paths are available:
· A Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) is an individual who has demonstrated proficiency by passing a certification exam in one or more Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, and OneNote, as well as SharePoint and Office 365. The exam for Office 365 covers objectives for skills you need to work in Outlook Web App, Microsoft Lync, and SharePoint Online.
· A Microsoft Office Specialist Expert (MOS Expert) is an individual who has taken his or her knowledge of Office 2010 to the next level and has demonstrated by passing a certification exam that he or she has mastered the more advanced features of Word 2010 or Excel 2010.
Selecting a Certification Path
When deciding which certifications you would like to pursue, you should assess the following:
· The program and program version(s) with which you are familiar
· The length of time you have used the program and how frequently you use it
· Whether you have had formal or informal training in the use of that program
· Whether you use most or all of the available program features
· Whether you are considered a go-to resource by business associates, friends, and family members who have difficulty with the program
Candidates for MOS-level certification are expected to successfully complete a wide range of standard business tasks, such as formatting a document or worksheet and its content; creating and formatting visual content; locating information in a notebook; communicating with coworkers through Lync; or working with SharePoint lists, libraries, and Web Parts. Successful candidates generally have six or more months of experience with a specific Office application, including either formal, instructor-led training or self-study using MOS-approved books, guides, or interactive computer-based materials.
Candidates for MOS Expert-level certification are expected to successfully complete more complex tasks that involve using the advanced functionality of the program. Successful candidates generally have at least six months, and may have several years, of experience with the programs, including formal, instructor-led training or self-study using MOS-approved materials.
Test-Taking Tips
Every MOS certification exam is developed from a set of exam skill standards (referred to as the objective domain) that are derived from studies of how the Office 2010 programs or SharePoint are used in the workplace. Because these skill standards dictate the scope of each exam, they provide critical information about how to prepare for certification. This book follows the structure of the published exam objectives; see “Using This Book to Study for a Certification Exam” later in this book for more information.
The MOS certification exams for Microsoft Office 2010 applications, as well as SharePoint and Office 365, are performance based and require you to complete business-related tasks in the program for which you are seeking certification. You might be told to adjust program settings or be presented with a fi le and told to do something specific with it. Your score on the exam reflects how well you perform the requested tasks within the allotted time.
Here is some helpful information about taking the exam:
· Keep track of the time. You have 50 minutes to complete the exam. Your exam time does not officially begin until after you finish reading the instructions provided at the beginning of the exam. During the exam, the amount of time remaining is shown at the bottom of the exam interface. You can’t pause the exam after you start it.
· Pace yourself. At the beginning of the exam, you will be told how many questions are included in the exam. Some questions will require that you complete more than one task. During the exam, the number of completed and remaining questions is shown at the bottom of the exam interface.
· Read the exam instructions carefully before beginning. Follow all the instructions provided in each question completely and accurately.
· Enter requested information as it appears in the instructions, but without duplicating the formatting unless you are specifically instructed to do so. For example, the text and values you are asked to enter might appear in the instructions in bold and underlined text, but you should enter the information without applying these formats.
· Close all dialog boxes before proceeding to the next exam question unless you are specifically instructed not to do so.
· Don’t close task panes before proceeding to the next exam question unless you are specifically instructed to do so.
· If you are asked to print a document, worksheet, chart, report, or slide, perform the task, but be aware that nothing will actually be printed.
· Don’t worry about extra keystrokes or mouse clicks. Your work is scored based on its result, not on the method you use to achieve that result (unless a specific method is indicated in the instructions).
· If a computer problem occurs during the exam (for example, if the exam does not respond or the mouse no longer functions) or if a power outage occurs, contact a testing center administrator immediately. The administrator will restart the computer and return the exam to the point where the interruption occurred, with your score intact.
Certification Benefits
At the conclusion of the exam, you will receive a score report, indicating whether you passed the exam. You can print with the assistance of the testing center administrator. If your score meets or exceeds the passing standard (the minimum required score), you will be contacted by email by the Microsoft Certification Program team. The email message you receive will include your Microsoft Certification ID and links to online resources, including the Microsoft Certified Professional site. On this site, you can download or order a printed certificate, create a virtual business card, order an ID card, view and share your certification transcript, access the Logo Builder, and access other useful and interesting resources, including special offers from Microsoft and affiliated companies.
Using the Logo Builder, you can create a personalized certification logo that includes the MOS logo and the specific programs in which you have achieved certification. If you achieve MOS certification in multiple programs, you can include up to six of them in one logo.
You can include your personalized logo on business cards and other personal promotional materials. This logo attests to the fact that you are proficient in the applications or cross-application skills necessary to achieve the certification.
For More Information
To learn more about the Microsoft Office Specialist exams and related courseware, visit:
www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/mos.aspx
Using This Book to Study for a Certification Exam
The Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) exams for individual Microsoft Office 2010 applications, as well as SharePoint and Office 365, are practical rather than theoretical. You must demonstrate that you can complete certain tasks rather than simply answering questions about program features. The successful MOS certification candidate will have at least six months of experience using all aspects of an application on a regular basis; for example, using Outlook Web App at work to send messages, track contact information, schedule appointments and meetings, track and assign tasks, and take notes.
Each chapter in this book is divided into sections addressing groups of related skills. Each section includes review information, generic procedures, and practice tasks you can complete on your own while studying. You can practice the procedures in this book by using your own files.
As a certification candidate, you probably have a lot of experience with the program you want to become certified in. Many of the procedures we discuss in this book will be familiar to you; others might not be. Read through each study section and ensure that you are familiar with not only the procedures included in the section, but also the concepts and tools discussed in the review information. In some cases, graphics depict the tools you will use to perform procedures related to the skill set. Study the graphics and ensure that you are familiar with all the options available for each tool.
Office 365 Releases and This Book
Microsoft updates Office 365 regularly. To learn about exciting new features and improvements to Office 365, see https://community.office365.com/en-us/w/office_365_service_updates/default.aspx . This study guide was written during the spring of 2012 and is based on the E3 edition of the midsize and enterprise plan. It covers the certification exam scheduled to be released in summer 2012.