LearnSmart Training Blog

Tampa, FL – January 31, 2012 – LearnSmart today announces that the Project Management Institute (PMI), the world’s largest project management member association, has named it as a Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) effective January 1, 2012. R.E.P.s are organizations that have been approved by PMI to help project managers achieve and maintain the Project Management Professional (PMP)®, Program Management Professional (PgMP)® and other PMI professional credentials. These organizations have met PMI’s rigorous quality criteria for course content, instructor qualification, and instructional design.

Project managers are increasingly turning to R.E.P.s for certification training and maintenance, especially since median salaries for the profession now exceed $100,000 (USD). LearnSmart is recognized by PMI® as a Charter-Global Registered Educational Provider (REP)®, Provider R.E.P. ID 3577. We are rigorously invested with PMI® in the ongoing evolution of our project management training courseware to help PMI® members earn and maintain PDUs. Choosing the right training partner is a critical step in ensuring your skills are met based on standards and practices in project management accepted around the world. Choosing LearnSmart as a partner from the PMI® Registered Education Provider program helps you do just that.

LearnSmart joins more than 1,500 R.E.P.s in more than 80 countries. These organizations include commercial training providers, academic institutions, and corporate training departments within corporations and government agencies.

About LearnSmart
Located in Tampa, Florida, LearnSmart offers a comprehensive suite of training solutions and a full range of platform options to address the unique challenges facing individuals and businesses today. Whether on-site instructor-led courses, off-site bootcamps, online training or a blended offering, LearnSmart has the solutions and experience to meet the diverse training challenges facing organizations of all sizes across a broad range of industries.

“Our goal is to help professional project managers earn and maintain their Project Management Professional certification,” said Brian Fee, LearnSmart Director of Products. “We’re proud to offer project management training as a PMI® Registered Education Provider.

Since 1997 LearnSmart has been a leading provider of IT, Soft Skills, Business, and Management training. The company provides flexible solutions for any training need and full-service custom course development solutions to ensure businesses provide the precise training required by their workforce. LearnSmart believes that flexibility and mobility are key, so LearnSmart courses are developed to be fully compatible with the latest mobile technology including Apple, Blackberry, Windows Phone, Android and more. For organizations working within the DoD marketplace, LearnSmart offers solutions that can be delivered online or in secure, behind-the-firewall packages to ensure directive 8570.1 compliance. From advanced technology and software training to office productivity, business management, and professional development courses, LearnSmart provides the training solutions that are crucial to an organization’s future success.

About Project Management Institute (PMI)
PMI is the world’s largest project management member association, representing more than 600,000 practitioners in more than 185 countries. As a global thought leader and knowledge resource, PMI advances the profession through its global standards and credentials, collaborative chapters and virtual communities and academic research. When organizations invest in project management, supported by PMI, executives have confidence that their important initiatives will deliver expected results, greater business value and competitive advantage. Visit us at www.PMI.org, www.facebook.com/PMInstitute, and on Twitter@PMInstitute.

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Certification is a huge obstacle for budding IT Professionals looking to truly formalize their experience and understanding of IT fundamentals. But what does Ultimate Access have to do with your IT certification journey? It’s probably best to start out with what Ultimate Access is…

What is Ultimate Access? 

 

Ultimate Access is our total training solution for the professional in today’s IT workforce. This program gives you check-in/check-out access to every course in our entire Ultimate Access library. Ultimate Access provides expert training for every platform, career-type and certification. You get total training for a highly-paid IT career in one place, for an easily affordable price.

Ultimate Access gives you access to literally every one of our IT and skills training materials over two years for one low price.  It’s much more than that though. Our learning platform gives you the support you need to follow through with and track your training. It allows you to set personal goals and then keeps you committed to getting it done. And if you slack off a bit, it will recalculate what you need to do to meet your goals. This is an incredibly helpful benefit for individuals that need that extra push to get their stuff done.

One of the great benefits of LearnSmart’s Ultimate Access is the fact that it’s completely mobile friendly. You can train on your couch, at the park, or anywhere you can get a WiFi signal. Think about how that can benefit your training? Not having to lug around a giant book, or strap yourself to a specific computer. You’ll get more done and sooner, allowing you to take full advantage of all of the materials you get with Ultimate Access.

You can Demo Ultimate Access for FREE. Try Ultimate Access

Right now, Ultimate Access comes with an iPad 2 FREE. Be sure to check out our promotion and consider what good it can do for your career! GET IT HERE

Looking to advance your IT career or secure training for your Enterprise? LearnSmart offers the absolute best training materials for technologies including CompTIA A+, Network+,  MCITP Certification, CCNA Training and more. The LearnSmart Cloud Classroom makes studying better and more convenient by putting your training in the Cloud and supporting compatibility with most mobile devices including the iPad 2, Android and many more.

E-Learning is king. According to a ihotdesk article: “The growing popularity of e-learning could see a rise in the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using cloud computing[...].” Usage levels among individuals, organizations and corporations is on the rise–and for good reason.

Dr David Guralnick, president of the International E-Learning Association, also recently highlighted the fact that the move to computer-run training sessions, rather than face-to-face sessions, are helping companies realise numerous savings.

Where are these savings coming from? Traditional training involves lots of travel, time off and extra costs that are generally unaccounted for the total cost of training. Think of the time off to complete the training, the plane or car ride to get there, and whatever housing accommodations necessary. And that isn’t even including the cost of the actual training which can cost thousands of dollars for only one or two technologies or skills in the course of a week. That’s serious capital for training.

A well-designed program can maximise the benefits for employees using the software, as it will allow them to practice in realistic situations and with lifelike tasks.

The benefits of E-Learning are seemingly limitless. Besides the above mentioned, LearnSmart training can be used from any computer or mobile device–including smartphones. There’s no need to take time off of work to go to a training seminar because training can be done anytime, anywhere, providing a more effective learning experience. Per the article:

[E-Learning] allow[s] a learner to choose the time and place where they study and can be an excellent way for people to access self-paced courses.

Another advantage is the interactivity. Lecture learning can’t be restarted. Questions take up time and time is money. Our training actually allows you to take a step back and hear something you may have missed again–ensuring you are getting the complete picture. Our dashboard also allows you to set goals, take notes, and even encourages you to complete training based on your established goals. You simply cannot do that in a lecture style training session.

LearnSmart offers training that is cost effective against outdated, traditional training methods while giving users and enterprises more, high quality training. Instead of spending a week on one skill at the tune of $5,000, one can have literally every skill and technology training for less than half of that price.  Enterprises now have even more control with the Enterprise console which allows a corporate manager to see training statistics of all users, allowing for less followup, more studying and less wasted time and money.  It’s no wonder enterprises big and small are turning to E-Learning solutions like LearnSmart to get the valuable training they need to stay ahead and be profitable.

Do you use E-Learning in your workplace or for your own personal fulfillment? If so let us know about your experiences in the comments!

Looking to advance your IT career or secure training for your Enterprise? LearnSmart offers the absolute best training materials for technologies including CompTIA A+, Network+,  MCITP Certification, CCNA Training and more. The LearnSmart Cloud Classroom makes studying better and more convenient by putting your training in the Cloud and supporting compatibility with most mobile devices including the iPad 2, Android and many more.

TechRepublic has a great article about Microsoft’s opportunity to be the comeback kid in 2012.  Considering what Microsoft has done right this past year and assertions from the tech community from as far back as May 2010 that Apple is in fact “losing it’s cool”, is Microsoft set to spark a comeback in the coming year?

From the article:

Last April, Nielsen reported that its research showed Android, not iOS, to be the most desired smartphone operating system. Then in August, the iPhone lost its spot at the top of the smart phone mountain when sales of Android devices surpassed those of the iPhone, and just last week, the number of daily active users of Facebook on Android went past the number of Facebook users of the iPhone app.

While this might seem like good news for Google, Microsoft actually makes money on the sale of Android phones. Pair that will the fact that the market seems to be looking for alternatives to Apple’s expensive iDevices and there is clear opportunity for Microsoft to take advantage of.

What Microsoft did right in 2011

Microsoft made some big decisions that give it a unique opportunity to turn it around in the coming year.

What hasn’t gotten quite as much attention, perhaps, is the fact that Microsoft has made some decisions in 2011 that have the potential to pay off nicely. The acquisition of Skype earlier this year is timed right – at a period when many are abandoning their landlines and dissatisfied with their cell phone carriers. The time is ripe for an explosion in Internet-based calling and Skype is already one of the most popular applications for that. If Microsoft integrates it seamlessly into Windows 8 and manages to get it onto their Windows phones as an alternative to using expensive cellular minutes, it could be a fantastic feather in the company’s cap.

 

Skype is quite popular, but the article also points out the introduction of Kinect which Microsoft looks to take advantage of a new entertainment aspect competing against current market competitors like Apple and Google TV(which haven’t sold too well).  Introducing Windows 8 reflects Microsofts understanding that”[...]building a new interface that’s truly touch-friendly (and not just a “touchable” version of the old familiar desktop) wasn’t only theright decision; it was the only logical decision.” At least that’s the opinion of the author.

Leave us a comment below and let us know what you think about what’s ahead for Microsoft and the rest of the tech industry!

Be sure to check out the rest of the article to see where Microsoft can go in 2012.

Looking to advance your IT career? LearnSmart offers the absolute best training materials for technologies including CompTIA A+, Network+,  MCITP Certification, CCNA Training and more. The LearnSmart Cloud Classroom makes studying better and more convenient by putting your training in the Cloud and supporting compatibility with most mobile devices including the iPad 2, Android and many more.

TechRepublic gives us an inside look at the 8 new management products inside Microsoft System Center 2012. This bundle includes systems management products for security, applications, clients, and servers and will be released in 2012. You can download this bundle on Microsoft’s download site.

Manage the private cloud like a service provider

“IT pros have struggled for decades to implement real-world ITIL workflow in their shops. The seeming vastness of ITIL and even its technology-agnostic language are legitimate barriers to its easy adoption in the workplace. But what if your tools enabled ITIL transparently and by design, through time-saving workflow automations, and best practice management techniques?”

Check out these great products being released in 2012 via TechRepublic:

SC 2012 Configuration Manager RC and SC 2012 Endpoint Protection RC

“System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) is your asset management and software/update delivery mechanism. It ties in with Service Manager to populate tickets with hardware inventory information. SCCM is peerless at deployment of Microsoft Updates to Windows computers across a distributed enterprise. SCCM remains the vehicle for distribution and management of endpoint security software.

Actually in System Center 2012, two formerly distinct products are bundled and branded into a client management and endpoint security stack. System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection is the successor to Forefront Endpoint Protection (FEP) 2010 and heralds a significant rebranding of a Forefront product as a new member of the System Center family.”

SC Virtual Machine Manager 2012 RC

“The lifecycle of virtual machines from concept, to provisioning, deployment, and production is the lifeblood of the dynamic data center. The data center provides a ‘fabric’ of storage, networking, memory and CPU cores that VMs are deployed into on demand. System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) does the heavy lifting to define and manage your private cloud using as many resources, like storage area networks (SANs) and virtualization hosts, as you can give it.

New in the 2012 release of SCVMM is a cloud-centric approach that is shown off in Figure B. This concept abstracts the cloud owner from the virtualization hosts, host clusters, SANs, load balancers, and other components of the cloud fabric. Also new: Out of Band (OOB) management options that automate the process to add physical virtualization hosts. Bare metal servers can be discovered and provisioned as cloud resources to achieve true hands-off and on-demand scaling.”

Figure B – Specify cloud capacity in the Create Cloud Wizard of System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM)

SC Operations Manager 2012 Beta

“From the moment your cloud is in production, there can be great risk of business loss in case of problems. System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) is your eyes in the cloud; a risk-reduction tool that lets you safely bet that you will detect developing service-impacting issues before they become user-impacting outages.

New in SCOM 2012 are live network topology maps that automatically identify and add monitoring for switch and router interfaces directly connected to monitored computers. Fault-isolation of events at the network layer is made a simpler task. Also new in SCOM 2012 is a web console with dashboard elements that can be embedded in SharePoint 2010 ‘Web Parts’ for custom portal solutions that look great.”

SC Data Protection Manager 2012 Beta

“Backup takes on a new meaning in the private cloud, because you are often talking about backup of virtual machines. Data Protection Manager (DPM) does a fantastic job at backing up and restoring Hyper-V guest VMs at the host level. The virtual hard drive (VHD) images can then be copied by a second instance of DPM in an off-site location for a simple, effective disaster tolerance solution. DPM keeps getting better, new with the 2012 release is support for certificate-based operation in untrusted networks , and support for DPM running inside a VM.”

SC Orchestrator 2012 RC

“You might already be wondering how you could use intelligence from one System Center product to manage workflows across other products? Think of Orchestrator as a “macro language” for the operating system (OS) and the System Center products. Runbooks are Orchestrator activities that accomplish specified automation objectives. For example, a custom runbook could detect (by SNMP trap) a hardware failure in a device that DPM depends on and automatically provision an alternative backup device so the scheduled backup completed in its required window.”

SC Service Manager 2012 Beta

“Who can deny that the human element is not the most common breakdown point in the root cause analysis that follows a service outage? System Center Service Manager (SCSM) is the hub where people and human workflows interact with the machine. Management of incidents, problems, and changes via a ticketing system tied to SCOM and SCCM is what SCSM offers. For example, a SCOM alert becomes a SCSM ticket. The ticket creates a change request, which after approval, becomes a work order.

Powerful synergy is created when SCSM tickets are automatically created from SCOM alerts, the tickets pre-populated with asset inventory and hardware/software configuration information from SCCM. SCSM hosts the Knowledge Base that reduces support costs over time. SCSM also leverages Microsoft SharePoint 2010 webparts for ad-hoc portal development.”

SC App Controller 2012 Beta

“App Controller enables self-service provisioning of applications across both private and public clouds. App Controller lets you manage your on-premise VM deployment and your Windows Azure deployments in the same manner, within the same tool. App Controller lets you view, manage, and deploy services to both a private cloud (via SCVMM) and the public Windows Azure Cloud in a consistent template-driven manner.”

Looking to advance your IT career? LearnSmart offers the absolute best training materials for technologies including CompTIA A+, Network+,  MCITP Certification, CCNA Training and more. The LearnSmart Cloud Classroom makes studying better and more convenient by putting your training in the Cloud and supporting compatibility with most mobile devices including the iPad 2, Android and many more.

Win Cool Stuff

LearnSmart is giving friends and followers a chance to win some awesome prizes in our #WinCoolStuff Sweepstakes. Prizes include multiple iPod’s, Amazon Kindles and…drumroll please….Two-Years of Ultimate Access! Ultimate Access is our premiere learning library that includes literally EVERY one of our training materials for two-whole years. Whoever wins the Grand Prize of Ultimate Access will have an amazing opportunity to get career enhancing certifications that will lead to more knowledge, better skills and a higher salary.

How to Win 

To win, one must simply Like LearnSmart on Facebook and/or Follow LearnSmart on Twitter. Once on the Facebook page, simply go to the #WinCoolStuff tab and fill out the Official Entry Form. Those who both Like the Facebook and Follow on Twitter will have a greater chance of winning because both of their social media accounts will be considered in the drawing.  So make sure to do both as it will increase your chances of winning. The winner(s) will be chosen at random.

LearnSmart is getting Social!

Those that participate in LearnSmart Social Media will be on a first-to-know basis for all future events, promotions, giveaways, sweepstakes and contests. We plan on holding awesome events specifically for Twitter, Facebook and both so there are tons of reasons to stay involved. We love how Social Media allows us to be right there with our fans and we know fostering a dialogue between us will lead to even better products, faster solutions, and more advanced learning techniques.

We humbly ask you to share your experiences with LearnSmart with your friends, family and co-workers who are in IT. Share our Facebook or Twitter. Like one of our products. Send an email with a link to our site.

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LearnSmart means Solutions

LearnSmart’s approach to IT Training is respected by IT Professionals World Wide. We’ve helped some of the most successful professionals out there get to where they are without sacrificing their personal lives. Our products are smart, mobile and intuitive.  If you haven’t had the chance to try our products, we offer you the opportunity to do it for free. Demo the LearnSmart Classroom and see why LearnSmart is the leader in IT Training.

Here is where you can find the Official Rules.

Looking to advance your IT career? PrepLogic offers the absolute best training materials for technologies including CompTIA A+, Network+,  MCITP Certification, CCNA Training and more. The LearnSmart Cloud Classroom makes studying better and more convenient by putting your training in the Cloud and supporting compatibility with most mobile devices including the iPad 2, Android and many more.

Gizmodo has a great article that highlights the features of the iCloud. Announced yesterday at the WWDC, the iCloud will offer 5 gb of data storage free. You can uploadvideo, music, photos or books to access on the go. iCloud will store your digital files in a centralized hub that will make them easily accessible from any compatible device including laptops, desktops, iPad’s, iPhone’s etc.

Via Gizmodo

“iTunes will take the tracks you purchase in the iTunes Music store and automatically make a copy from their servers accessible to you for syncing on the go (you can enable up to 10 devices per account). However, if you want to match songs that you havent purchased through iTunes, it will cost $25 a year to have iTunes match as many tracks as you want. Plus, what iTunes in the cloud matches doesn’t count against your 5GB limit, which will come in handy for those with large music libraries. MORE ON THAT HERE.”

There are plenty new features as well that media lovers are sure to admire. What do you think of Apple’s iCloud introduction? Let us know!

PrepLogic offers IT Training in the Cloud with our LearnSmart Cloud Classroom.  Whether you are training in Network+, CompTIA A+, CCNA Training, MCITP Training and more, PrepLogic has got you covered.  Visit us at www.preplogic.com to learn more.

Scot Herrick, writing for Dice.com, discusses three ways to turn off a hiring manager during an interview.  Scott currently has a consulting gig that requires him to hold

Scot Herrick wants you to interview well

interviews as a hiring manager.  What he is finding is that individuals have the job skills he is seeking, but he is “[...]not convinced they can use their job skills to achieve [the] goals for the work [he has] for them.

“Herrick goes on…

I want to know what YOU did, not what WE did

The “we” thing translates in my head as “you” made no decisions, you were following the directions of someone else and you couldn’t figure out how to do it yourself or no one trusted your input to do it your way.

In an interview, it’s all about you. Not we. You lose big points when I can’t tell what you are doing versus what others are deciding for you.

I want to hear your approach to doing the work

Methodology is methodology. If all you spout is methodology about how you go about doing everything, or even most things, you lose points. Lots of them. Following methodology is a job skill, not how you get stuff done.

Just to extend this point a bit more, all I want to hear is that you have enough brains to explain how you would go about getting stuff done, not that it has to match my method of getting something done. I want to know you’ve thought about your approach to the work.

Tell me a story. Please.

Stories help tell the context of what you do. Stories help tell the actions you did to achieve a goal. After all, you are the hero of this story, right? You came in, battled long odds, overcame setbacks and still delivered what you promised to fulfill your mission.

But what I’m getting is, “It depends.” What I’m getting is cloaked in methodology. What I hear is all Corporate Speak. Just so you know, I can watch myself self-actualize with the best of them and you won’t win that point.

Hiring managers want to learn about what you do and how you do it

Have you thought about how you do your work? Have you thought of how to create stories from your accomplishments? Do you know what YOU contributed to the work? Hiring managers — if they are good ones (and I’m biased in my case) — want to see a position taken, want to see obstacles overcome, want to hear the difficulties experienced, and, honestly, would love to hire you.

If you only showed them what you do and how you do it; not that it has to match how I do it. Because that’s a conversation — not some Corporate Speak, methodology dancing with the stars explanation of what you think I want to hear.

Are you fully prepared for your next job? Get the certifications necessary to get the interview with PrepLogic.

You can earn your certifications with ease using PrepLogic’s LearnSmart Cloud Classroom.  Try the Demo Free! The LearnSmart Cloud Classroom includes all of the most popular certifications including Network+, CompTIA A+,  MCITP Certification and many, many more!