One of the best ways to keep up with the onslaught of new Microsoft technologies is through the company's E-Learning program. Microsoft offers dozen of online courses, many completely free and others available for a nominal cost. The Microsoft E-Learning courses are web-based, self-paced training courses that you can take anywhere you have an Internet connection. After you sign up, a course is typically available to you for one year. During that time, you can take the course as often as you like. Let's take a look at ten free E-Learning courses that can help you keep up with some important new technologies.
10. What's New in Windows 7 for IT Professionals—If you're considering moving to Windows 7, check out this course, which focuses on Windows 7 deployment and security enhancements. It also covers the OS manageability and performance enhancements. You can sign up for this course here.
9. What's New in Windows 7 for Information Workers—This course is designed to help users make the most of Windows 7. You'll learn about Windows 7 productivity enhancements such as UI improvements and the updated User Account Control. The course also covers security, connecting to networks, and using devices. You'll find this course here.
8. Microsoft Security Guidance Training I—Security is one of the most important IT issues, and the Microsoft Security Guidance Training I course covers introductory security principles and best practices. It also covers server hardening and domain controller security policies. In addition to this E-Learning course, Microsoft offers Security Guidance Training II, III, and IV, which are also free. You can find Security Guidance Training I here.
7. Inside Look at Developing with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0—Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) is one of the fastest growing Microsoft platforms. In this course, you'll learn about integrating ASP.NET and SharePoint. In addition, you'll learn about SharePoint Designer, using web parts and workflow, and deploying SharePoint solutions. You can find this clinic here.
6. Introducing Branch Office Management in Windows Server 2008—This course is designed to help you get up to speed on the new branch office features in Windows Server 2008. The course covers improvements in branch office server deployment as well as using Read Only Domain Controllers (RODC) and Server 2008 WAN utilization improvements. You can find the Branch Office Management course here.
5. What's New in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 for Enterprise Data Platform—This E-Learning course covers security enhancements in SQL Server 2008 as well as the new database management and monitoring features. You can learn more about this SQL Server 2008 course here.
4. Introducing Terminal Services Presentation Virtualization in Windows Server 2008—This course covers the Terminal Services capabilities in Server 2008. It provides a Terminal Services overview as well as explaining RemoteApp, Terminal Services Gateway, Web Access, Session Broker, and single sign-on. These features are all in Server 2008 R2 as well, but they've been renamed Remote Desktop Services. This course is here.
3. Introducing Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008—Hyper-V virtualization is probably the most important new feature in Windows Server 2008. In this course, you'll learn about the features of Hyper-V as well as how Hyper-V can be used for server consolidation. This course also explains Hyper-V implementation and clustering. You can sign up for this course here.
2. Introduction to Exchange Server 2010—Exchange 2010 will be one of Microsoft's biggest products for this year. This course covers the new features in Exchange 2010, including storage enhancements, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), and new management capabilities with Exchange Control Panel. You can learn more about the Exchange 2010 course here.
1. What's New in Windows Server 2008 R2—This course delivers an overview of the new features in Server 2008 R2. It covers the enhancements in Hyper-V 2.0 as well as the Active Directory Administrative Center and the Recycle Bin. You'll also learn about IIS 7.5 and Remote Desktop Services. You can sign up for this course here.
