I have been a Microsoft Certified Trainer now for around 7 years. I have worked for various Microsoft partners to deliver Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) classes to customers across the world. I specialize in Microsoft SQL Server classes. The MCT Download Center allows a qualified instructor to download instructor guides and DVD images in order to conduct these standard courses in training centers and customer sites. This implies travel and, yes, I have clocked up my fair share of airline miles over the years. But what if we wanted to deliver this curriculum over the internet and save those carbon emissions? Well, now we do.
When we started delivering classes via the Virtual Classroom, VMWare was chosen for its superior virtualization capabilities allowing students to perform technical lab work remotely. We would build VMWare images for each course, and allow students to login during class week to get their hands-on work done. This was great for our own curricula as we had control over the images. Now a Microsoft Gold Partner, the company needed to deliver MOC (Microsoft Official Curriculum) courses over the internet too. But Microsoft built all of their course images using their products, namely Virtual PC and Virtual Server. Not VMWare. Apparently, there are utilities out there that will convert Virtual PC images to VMWare but we did not have the best of luck with these. Even the smallest change may cause a lab to malfunction, so we decided we wanted to use the official Microsoft images as delivered, unchanged. It’s all part of our value proposition that allows us to deliver exactly the same curriculum online as we deliver in our training centers: same courses, same labs, same instructors. No travel.
The solution came from our brilliant folks in our Remote Labs team. As with all great solutions, it appears deceptively simple. The Microsoft technology RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) is used to connect to the remote servers in our Data Center in Raleigh, NC. Once connected, the student then uses Virtual PC to execute the labs according to the Microsoft student guide. An identical lab experience whether the student attends a training center class or a virtual class. Using both RDP and VPC technologies together did present some challenges (and dare I say it, a couple bugs) but we mitigated the risk by producing a “Hints and Tips” document to help a student in their first steps in this new environment. Once they get used to it on the first day of class, it becomes second nature. Many students are already familiar with RDP and VPC so for them it’s a breeze. And when a new course comes out from Microsoft (which happens almost every day believe it or not) all we have to do is upload the images to our remote servers. And so we can deliver virtual classes as soon as Microsoft makes them available.
I am not sure Microsoft intended this, but we are leveraging their technology to deliver distance learning. And of course, this is all part of reducing our carbon footprint as we see more people wishing to be globally responsible, spend more time with their families and let’s face it, save some “green” dollars in the process.
Cheers
Brian
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