Right on the heels of the releases of Windows Vista and Office 2007 to manufacturing, Microsoft has released some details on its new-generation tracks for those software releases. Lutz Ziob, director of the Microsoft Learning Group, announced the new tracks today at the company's IT Forum conference in Barcelona, Spain.
The next-generation tracks follow a simpler path: one exam at the Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist (MCTS or TS) level that focuses on Vista skills, and one or two more at the new Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP or PRO) level that focus on job role.
Read the full Microsoft's New Vista, Office, Exchange Certs on Track article.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
New Training Program Aims to Diversify IT
The CompTIA Educational Foundation has announced a new IT job training initiative under which it will create a fund to help returning veterans, people with disabilities and disadvantaged minorities break into the IT industry.
Announced at the organization's SMB Summit in Tucson, Ariz., from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, the Creating Futures program will be initially funded with $3 million drawn from the vendor membership of the organization, said Wayne Mize, chair of the CompTIA board of directors who also serves as vice president at the Netsourcing Business Center in the Document Solutions & Services Division of Ricoh U.S. in West Caldwell, N.J.
According to Mize, CompTIA plans to solicit additional funds from its membership to add additional tax-deductible funds to the program.
"The idea is to introduce people to technology as part of an effort to expand the base of technology jobs in the U.S.," said Mize.
Rather than administer the training directly, Mize said he expects CompTIA to reach out to any number of organizations that work directly with the constituencies that the program is intended to help.
After identifying, selecting and preparing candidates from underrepresented populations through training, certification and work experience, the program intends to assist in the placement of these individuals into long-term IT jobs.
Already boasting nearly 600 individuals placed in IT industry careers, the program's site highlights six stories of disadvantaged people who have completed CompTIA certification programs demonstrating foundation skills.
Creating Futures intends to conduct annual research on emerging skills and latest technologies to help keep workers in demand as well as to develop model programs that include both career prep and skill validation.
Announced at the organization's SMB Summit in Tucson, Ariz., from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, the Creating Futures program will be initially funded with $3 million drawn from the vendor membership of the organization, said Wayne Mize, chair of the CompTIA board of directors who also serves as vice president at the Netsourcing Business Center in the Document Solutions & Services Division of Ricoh U.S. in West Caldwell, N.J.
According to Mize, CompTIA plans to solicit additional funds from its membership to add additional tax-deductible funds to the program.
"The idea is to introduce people to technology as part of an effort to expand the base of technology jobs in the U.S.," said Mize.
Rather than administer the training directly, Mize said he expects CompTIA to reach out to any number of organizations that work directly with the constituencies that the program is intended to help.
After identifying, selecting and preparing candidates from underrepresented populations through training, certification and work experience, the program intends to assist in the placement of these individuals into long-term IT jobs.
Already boasting nearly 600 individuals placed in IT industry careers, the program's site highlights six stories of disadvantaged people who have completed CompTIA certification programs demonstrating foundation skills.
Creating Futures intends to conduct annual research on emerging skills and latest technologies to help keep workers in demand as well as to develop model programs that include both career prep and skill validation.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Are Information Exams The Next SATs?
The company that produces the Student Aptitude Test is developing a new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) exam that tests skills such as computer proficiency and search engine aptitude, and may soon be as relevant as the SAT itself.
Developed by the Educational Testing Service, the ICT Literacy Assessment tests skills such as sifting through email, scouring an academic database and completing work on business productivity software. Students are given 3 to 5 minutes to complete smaller, single tasks on the exam, and 15 minutes to complete sets of more complex tasks.
Development of the ICT has prompted the the National Forum on Information Literacy (NFIL) to establish an ICT Literary Policy Council, which will review the exam and recommend ways to make it more effective. According to the NFIL the goal of the new council is to determine, which students are proficient and which may need additional ICT literacy instruction or remediation.
Schools throughout the UK have sanctioned a similar exam in recent years, dubbed the GNVQ in Information and Communication Technology (also labelled ICT). Approximately 100,000 British students take the exam annually for placement in IT-oriented vocational programs.
There's no word yet as to when American schools will embrace the ICT exam, but as such an exam requires mass adoption to be useful it will take some time before it becomes a hallmark of 21st century education.
Developed by the Educational Testing Service, the ICT Literacy Assessment tests skills such as sifting through email, scouring an academic database and completing work on business productivity software. Students are given 3 to 5 minutes to complete smaller, single tasks on the exam, and 15 minutes to complete sets of more complex tasks.
Development of the ICT has prompted the the National Forum on Information Literacy (NFIL) to establish an ICT Literary Policy Council, which will review the exam and recommend ways to make it more effective. According to the NFIL the goal of the new council is to determine, which students are proficient and which may need additional ICT literacy instruction or remediation.
Schools throughout the UK have sanctioned a similar exam in recent years, dubbed the GNVQ in Information and Communication Technology (also labelled ICT). Approximately 100,000 British students take the exam annually for placement in IT-oriented vocational programs.
There's no word yet as to when American schools will embrace the ICT exam, but as such an exam requires mass adoption to be useful it will take some time before it becomes a hallmark of 21st century education.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Cisco Widens CCIE Specialty Availability
Cisco Systems announced last week that its top-level Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Security lab exam is now available through its Tokyo-based testing center.
Earlier this month, the company added its CCIE Storage Networking lab to its Brussels, Belgium location. Online scheduling is now available for both labs.
The full-day, hands-on CCIE lab can only be taken at nine locations worldwide, and certain labs only offer certain specialties. For a complete list of what's available where, go here.
In other CCIE news, Cisco today announced that it is retiring its CCIE e-mail support in favor of the program's online support tool.
Tags: Cisco, CCIE
Earlier this month, the company added its CCIE Storage Networking lab to its Brussels, Belgium location. Online scheduling is now available for both labs.
The full-day, hands-on CCIE lab can only be taken at nine locations worldwide, and certain labs only offer certain specialties. For a complete list of what's available where, go here.
In other CCIE news, Cisco today announced that it is retiring its CCIE e-mail support in favor of the program's online support tool.
Tags: Cisco, CCIE
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