I am Certifiable!

Nathan Zaugg — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:54:12 GMT

It may come as no surprise to those who know me that I have recently confirmed that I am certifiable! After all, when you have been doing what I do for as long as I have been doing it it’s hard not to be affected. It happens to a very large number of people in my field and that number continues to grow.

Although I have been certified before, after some exhausting battery of examinations, this online examination is nice as I can quickly determine my status even if there is some kind of doubt – just for my minds sake.

Thanks to Microsoft there is now an online tool to check your IT status as Certifiable! What, you thought I meant mentally unfit or crazy? Nope, I’m talking about the uber-geeky Microsoft Certifications. For some time now they have had the Measure Up practice tests for study preparation, but now there is a new skill-building tool, Are You Certifiable. Rather than a boring, dry, practice test this new site is a game show!

This actually makes a lot of sense to me because when I was Microsoft Certification Coordinator for STG I found the best way to get the material to sink-in was to have fun with it. That usually included some form of study group Jeopardy. Facts just don’t sink in as well when your mind is not very stimulated and some of the questions can be quite dry.

Here is a screen shot of me capturing the high score for guests. It will ask you if you are an IT professional or a Developer and gives you questions relevant to your position. The questions vary greatly and it takes a very well-rounded skill set to do really well, but it’s fun regardless.

My only critique is that it is not practical to practice for a specific certification test you plan to take because you don’t get to pick which topics or banks of questions you get. It is a lot of fun and has some great “thinking music”! Leave a comment if you happen to beat my score.

I would like to also mention that it is built using Silverlight 2.0 as it is a great example of the power of Silverlight.

Nates Stuff : Silverlight 2.0, Microsoft Certification

I am Certifiable!

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