If you live in Washington state, chances are that your community library has a great resource if you want to learn how to use Microsoft Products (Windows, SharePoint, SQL Server, etc.): Microsoft IT Academy.

You can enroll in high-quality courses that will prepare you for certification exams…for free (as far as I understand the service, public libraries will offer the courses, but won’t be offering the certification testing.

If you just want to become more solid in your understanding of fundamental technology skills and aren’t interested in certification, that’s fine, too. With how much satisfaction I receive from taking on new technological challenges, I know that learning is its own reward.

To read more about the partnership between with Washington State Library and Microsoft: http://www.sos.wa.gov/library/libraries/projects/ita/

I’ve also seen news that Hawaii also offers this service at public libraries.

To learn more about Microsoft IT Academy: http://www.microsoft.com/education/itacademy/Pages/index.aspx

http://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/library/libraries/projects/broadband/MicrosoftITAcademy_Flyer.pdf