eLearning Courses
ITS is pleased to offer IT Academy, an e-learning system for Microsoft products. IT Academy provides free online training courses for students, faculty, and staff for a variety of Microsoft programs. This includes training in Microsoft Windows, Office, Visio, and Project. Training is also available for the various Microsoft certification exams, including the MCAP, MCAS/MOSexam, MCAD/MCPD exam, MCSA exam, MCDBA/MCITP exam, MCSE exam, MCITP exam, and the MCDST exam.
Technical Requirements for IT Academy Courses:
- Internet Explorer 7 or 8. Currently Internet Explorer 9 is not fully supported. If you are running Internet Explorer 9, you can run the courses if you set the browser to compatibility mode. These courses will not run in Firefox or Chrome.
- Courses run in a pop up. Make sure your pop up blocker is turned off while you are training.
- IT Academy requires Silverlight to run all courses, and .NET to run certain Administrator courses. If these programs are not installed on the machine, the machine will prompt you to install the programs. Administrative access is required to install these programs on the machine.
These courses are available at no cost. To take a course through IT Academy, you will need a Live ID. If you do not already have a Live ID, you can register for one with a non Vanderbilt email address through Microsoft's website. Vanderbilt has a partnership with Microsoft that will allow you to register for a Live ID with your Vanderbilt email address through VULive. If you would like to use your Vanderbilt email address, instructions for that process are available at the VULive website. Registering for VULive will allow you access to other VULive services.
Once you have your Live ID, you will need to choose a course. There are currently 300+ courses available from IT Academy. The listing of courses is below, and you will need to log in with your VUnet ID and password to access the link. Use the arrow keys below the table to browse through the courses, or the search box above the table to search for a specific course. Once you have found the course you are looking for, write down it's code. The code is in the format of xxxx-XVU-xxxx in the third column of the table.
Course Listing and Codes
Now that you have your code, go to IT Academy My Learning. There is a large gray box in the middle of the screen that says "Enter Access Code." Enter your code in the Access Code box, and be sure to click the box that says you agree to the End User License Agreement. After you have done that, click Enter to access the training. You will be prompted to sign in with your Live ID.
Training is self paced. You may stop training and return at any point. To return to training, go to the IT Academy My Learning site and click on the "Access Site" button at the top of the page. You will be prompted to sign in with your Live ID.
Digital Literacy Courses
These five courses have been created by Microsoft to teach basic computer skills and are free to everyone. Offered online, they walk through using a computer, using Windows, web and search skills, and introduce beginning users to Microsoft Office. Each course is estimated to run two-three hours and is an excellent resource for those new to computing.
The digital literacy courses can be accessed by clicking here.
Discounted Certification Test Vouchers
Microsoft certification test vouchers are available at a discounted rate through the Software Store. Professional exam vouchers, for the MCAD/MCPD exam, MCSA exam, MCDBA/MCITP exam, MCSE exam, MCITP exam, and the MCDST exam, are $72. This is a 50% discount off the retail price. Payment for these vouchers can be made by a department or by an individual (credit card processing charges apply). Log in to softwarestore.vanderbilt.edu to make your purchase. When you log in, you will find the vouchers listed under "Training - IT Academy Certified Professional Test Voucher." Once payment has been made, please fill out this form to indicate the exams you are intrested in using the form below:
Register for Certification Test Voucher
Microsoft eReference Library
Students and Faculty may purchase discounted one year subscriptions to the Microsoft eReference Library at the rate of $100. This is a library hosted on the Books 24x7 website that allows access to more than 500 books published by the Microsoft Press. This subscription allows you to search, set bookmarks, make notes, and download up to five chapters of books each month. Your subscription is good for one year from date of purchase. Log in to softwarestore.vanderbilt.edu to make your purchase. Please note that these orders must be fulfilled through Microsoft, so it may take 2-3 weeks after your purchase through the Software Store before you receive your subscription.
Contact Us
For questions about training, please contact:
Merritt Chandler
merritt.chandler@vanderbilt.edu
615-322-0369