I’ll see you on the road, and at TechEd!

So, if you haven’t seen my countless posts on the subject of “Getting on the Bus” I will be on the Bus, and I will be at TechEd this year :)

My official ‘announcement’ is finally up on the MSLCommunity Who’s on the Bus? Rider #9: Christopher Kusek (Atlanta to Los Angeles) and when on the road I will be doing constant updates on Twitter, Blogs (here and the MSLBlog) some live video on Ustream or BlogTV, and who knows what else! (I have no idea myself!)

I’ll be representing myself, the technology community, certification, education, learning, mentorship, and NetApp on this trip, so if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

So, if you happen to be in any of the cities we’re stopping, or the locations’ were visiting, I encourage you to come up and say hello! :)

Below is the (up to date as of today) itinerary of all of the places we shall be visiting!

My Goal: To meet (and make friends with? :)) 1000 people between the tour and the ride to TechEd, so help me meet that goal! :)

The Career Express tour, day by day:

Friday, May 1st: Atlanta, GA

Saturday, May 2nd: Atlanta, GA to Greensboro, NC

Sunday, May 3rd: Greensboro, NC to Philadelphia, PA

Monday, May 4th: Philadelphia, PA to Cincinnati, OH

  • Philly TechFest 2009 at Springhouse, 8:00am – 10:00am
  • Antonia Pantoja Charter School, 7:30am – 9:00am (private event)
  • Edward W. Bok Technical High School, 10:45am – 12:00pm (private event)
  • MCP “Tweet-up” in Columbus (be sure to follow us on Twitter for details!)

Tuesday, May 5th: Cincinnati, OH to Indianapolis, IN

  • MAX Learning Luau at MAX Technical Training in Cincinnati, 11:00am – 1:00pm (featuring Windows 7 previews, lunch, drawings and more!)
  • “Bring a Friend” Night at “LANTech Training, Indianapolis, 5:00pm – 7:00pm (bring a friend interested in starting a career in IT, and you both might win a TechNet Plus subscription (and your friend might win a laptop, too!))

Wednesday, May 6th: Indianapolis, IN to Kansas City, MO

Thursday, May 7th: Kansas City, MO to Denver, CO

  • MCP Study Break, Red Rocks Community College, Lakewood, CO, 8:00am – 10:00am (featuring live rounds of “Are You Certifiable?” and Windows Server 2008 exam prep sessions)
  • Ask the Experts at Ameriteach, Greenwood Village, CO, 4:30pm – 8:00pm (featuring live rounds of “Are you Certifiable?” sessions on Windows 7, SQL Server, OCS and more—delivered by stellar MCTs!)

Friday, May 8th: Denver, CO to Santa Fe, NM

  • Get Off the Bus! Free day for our intrepid but tired riders—come join us as we explore Santa Fe (follow us on Twitter to see where we’ll be!)

Saturday, May 9th: Santa Fe, NM to Phoenix, AZ

  • Glendale Community College, 8:30am – 10:30am (details coming next week)
  • Microsoft Technology Round-Up, Training to You, Phoenix, 12:00pm – 3:00pm (featuring Windows 7 previews and Windows Server 2008 certification sessions) (registration link updated)

Sunday, May 10th: Phoenix, AZ to Las Vegas, NV

  • “How to Thrive in Your IT Career” at Netcom, 2:00 – 3:30pm (featuring Windows 7 preview)

Monday, May 11th: Las Vegas, NV to Los Angeles, CA

Who creates the learning of the future? You do with LCDS

Wait, what? LCDS? Who? When? Maybe even How?!

There’s a new version of the Microsoft Learning Content Development System!

Hey now, let me get this straight, you’re saying not only does Microsoft provide countless tools for Learning and Education through Programs and Blogs, but they also provide you tools so you can build your own education programs yourself?!

Yes, yes that is correct! The Learning Content Development System (LCDS) Is exactly that tool!

LCDS

Not to mention that they even have ‘sample course titles’ that you can use to get yourself started creating your own education or training packages! To which I denounce ‘sweet!’

I never would have known about this if not for our good friends at the MSLearning Blog, so special thanks to them and especially Ken Rosen for his post on this – Roll Your Own E-Learning

Get On The Bus, Itinerary and Me?!

So, for those of you who do not know, I will be “On the Bus” from the start – Still waiting on Itinerary verification, but I will be there… May 1st – 11th with the rest of MS Learning and Certification Team (Something I’m looking forward to!)

You still have until May 20th to win your trip (on the bus, or direct to TechEd) So sign up!

Here is the break down of the travel itinerary as published so far (4/14)

image

The Career Express tour, day by day:

Friday, May 1st: Atlanta, GA

Saturday, May 2nd: Atlanta, GA to Greensboro, NC

Sunday, May 3rd: Greensboro, NC to Philadelphia, PA

Monday, May 4th: Philadelphia, PA to Cincinnati, OH

Tuesday, May 5th: Cincinnati, OH to Indianapolis, IN

  • MAX Learning Luau at MAX Technical Training in Cincinnati, 11:00am – 1:00pm (featuring Windows 7 previews, lunch, drawings and more!)
  • “Bring a Friend” Night at “LANTech Training, Indianapolis, 7:00pm – 9:00pm (bring a friend interested in starting a career in IT, and you both might win a TechNet Plus subscription (and your friend might win a laptop, too!))

Wednesday, May 6th: Indianapolis, IN to Kansas City, MO

  • New Horizons Kansas City 12:00pm – 3:00pm (featuring Windows 7 previews, Windows Server 2008, .NET 3.5, SharePoint sessions on more)
  • Additional stops TBA

Thursday, May 7th: Kansas City, MO to Denver, CO

  • MCP Study Break, Red Rocks Community College, Lakewood, CO, 8:00am – 10:00am (featuring live rounds of “Are You Certifiable?” and Windows Server 2008 exam prep sessions)
  • Ask the Experts at Ameriteach, Greenwood Village, CO, 4:30pm – 8:00pm (featuring live rounds of “Are you Certifiable?” sessions on Windows 7, SQL Server, OCS and more—delivered by stellar MCTs!)

Friday, May 8th: Denver, CO to Santa Fe, NM

  • Get Off the Bus! Free day for our intrepid but tired riders—come join us as we explore Santa Fe (follow us on Twitter to see where we’ll be!)

Saturday, May 9th: Santa Fe, NM to Phoenix, AZ

  • Microsoft Technology Round-Up, Training to You, Phoenix, 12:00pm – 3:00pm (featuring Windows 7 previews and Windows Server 2008 certification sessions)
  • Additional Stops TBA

Sunday, May 10th: Phoenix, AZ to Las Vegas, NV

  • “How to Thrive in Your IT Career” at Netcom, 2:00 – 3:30pm (featuring Windows 7 preview)

Monday, May 11th: Las Vegas, NV to Los Angeles, CA

Register for April 16th’s Chicago Windows Users Group!

There’s still time to register!

Special location based events whether you’re in Chicago or Downers Grove!

Chicago: 7:45 p.m. System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 Overview
Downers Grove: Resume and Job Interviewing tips

Event URL: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032413068&Culture=en-US
Event Title : CWUG: April Meeting – Chicago Loop
Event Date: Thursday, April 16th
Event Address : 200 E. Randolph, Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60601

Event URL: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032413069&Culture=en-US
Event Title : CWUG: April Meeting – Downers Grove
Event Date: Thursday, April 16th
Event Address : 3025 Highland Pkwy. Suite 300, Downers Grove, IL 60515

5:00 – 5:30 p.m. Networking
5:30 – 6:00 p.m. Room Introductions
6:00 – 6:15 p.m. Meeting kick off
6:15 – 7:30 p.m. Windows Gone Mobile (Windows mobile, netbooks, and multitouch devices)
7:30 – 7:45 p.m. break
7:45 – 9:00 p.m. Hands On Lab (Bitlocker To Go – bring your own USB Stick)

Join our group on Facebook
Follow CWUG on Twitter
And don’t forget to visit the main site for the CWUG!

Preparing for SharePoint Certification is literally a day away! 4/16

That’s right! April 16th is the day for the:

Microsoft Certification Coaching Session: Preparing for your Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 – Application Development Exam (70-541)

If you’re interested in SharePoint and want to get Certified, this is a must see event!

More details below!

Duration:
60 Minutes

Start Date:

Thursday, April 16, 2009 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

Event Overview

Take advantage of this coaching session hosted by a Microsoft Certified Trainer to help prepare for your Microsoft Certification exam.

This session is intended for Developers and IT Professionals pursuing Technical Specialist: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 – Application Development certification.  You will review key exam topics including deploying Windows SharePoint Services and custom components, developing components, manipulating site content and configuration.  The session will help you understand the key exam topic areas and how to better focus your study efforts.

Registration Options

Event ID:
1032406314

Also, if you’re interested in other events ‘out in the future’ check out this link

Free Certification Exam Preparation

A glance into the future will reveal:

April 21: Preparing for your Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring / Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring Exams (70-640/642)

Register Now:  7:30 A.M. Pacific Time   (What time is this in my region?)

April 23: Preparing for your PRO: Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator / PRO: Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Administrator Exams (70-646/647)

Register Now:  7:30 A.M. Pacific Time   (What time is this in my region?)

April 28: Preparing for your Exchange Server 2007, Configuring exam (70-236)

Register Now:  10:00 A.M. Pacific Time   (What time is this in my region?)