Exams are very competitive. There are many companies out there competing to provide the best certification courses to potentials candidates wanting to become certified using the Microsoft certification platform. In this article I want to describe Cloud Services Learning Objectives and explain why you should not only find a course that will help you pass your exam but one that is designed by experts in the field of cloud services.
When I was looking online for resources to prepare for my azure objectives I had to describe cloud services and cloud computing more than I had to describe Microsoft windows. When I started searching for online tutorials and training courses, I started seeing references to Microsoft’s own guide to studying for the exam. These references really whetted my appetite. How could I compare my knowledge with what Microsoft had provided? Was I losing out on valuable learning?
I decided to invest in a guidebook for studying for the exam and I started reading. It was quite impressive at how much information was available online. The next thing I did was check out the exam format and decided to purchase the PDF version of the exam. The study guide looked excellent and I was able to review my topics in detail without having to worry about being penalized for not understanding something.
In reviewing the exam I began to learn about the fundamental concepts in cloud computing and virtualization, cloud security, and how they relate to az-900. The guide covered all the topics in the format that I had been expecting: quick read with lots of diagrams, pictures and text references. I found that the e-Book provided a solid foundation to develop my knowledge. The book also demonstrated the relevance of the topics by showing various scenarios that reflected various areas of cloud usage. A strong step-by-step tutorial with video at the end provided additional insight.
After reading the eBooks and watching the video the next step was to check the actual exams and evaluate my understanding. To do this I created two PDFs, one that included the test questions and the second that I wrote to describe each section of the exam. Both are available on my website. In reviewing the test I gained some important information. I learned that the exams measure my understanding and my knowledge of the content within the topics rather than actual application examples. My understanding of the topics covered in the material as I had understood it without having to check the references.
The final part of the exam is the question and answer portion, which assess my understanding of the topics I reviewed. I believe the test is well constructed and the questions are designed to increase my confidence in my ability to use the material within the topics covered in the eBooks and in my role as a cloud advisor. The questions do not contain a large number of correct answers but I did learn some important lessons from this portion of the exam.
I learned that I need to think about how I learned the material rather than just reviewing the text. I also need to evaluate my understanding and how I organized the material so that I can create a coherent story about the topic. I learned that I need to explain cloud services learning objectives in simple language so that my prospects understand what is meant by the term and that they are able to see how the concept fits into their own business model. Finally, I learned that I need to keep the discussion short but interesting so that my prospects continue to read after I have finished. This is the format that I currently use with great success and it has contributed to my ability to quickly move through the material on the exam.
