If you’ve never checked out the Microsoft Learning site I would recommend giving it a look. This site provides a great deal of training-related information for various Microsoft products. You can easily find training for a variety of products based on the learning resource types, technologies, or subjects.
You can also search for a specific exam and get detailed information on what materials are available for use in preparing for the exam. It will also give you other useful information such as what certifications does the exam apply to.
Another cool feature of the site are the Learning Plans. There are several pre-defined learning plans that allow you to easily add a group of learning resources to your “My Learning” page. For example, you can select the Learning Plan for MCPD Certification as a Web Developer and get a list of steps that you can follow to achieve the MCPD Certification as a Web Developer.
The best part of this site is that a lot of the content is offered for free (who can resist free on-line training? :-). As of this post, here is a list of the developer-related e-learning modules available for free (or you can view all current free items on-line by clicking here):
Distributed Applications
- Clinic 6264: Introducing Windows Communication Foundation using .Net Framework 3.5 & Visual Studio 2008
- Clinic 6263: Introducing Windows Presentation Foundation using .Net Framework 3.5 & Visual Studio 2008
- Clinic 5137: Introduction to Developing with Windows Communication Foundation and Visual Studio 2005
- Clinic 5136: Introduction to Developing with Windows Workflow Foundation and Visual Studio 2005
Windows and Smart Client
- Clinic 6262: Introducing Windows Workflow Foundation using .Net Framework 3.5 & Visual Studio 2008
- Clinic 5135: Introduction to Developing with Windows Presentation Foundation and Visual Studio 2005
.NET 3.0
- Collection 6261: Developing Rich Experiences using Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 & Visual Studio 2008
- Collection 5134: Developing Rich Experiences with Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 and Visual Studio 2005
ASP.NET
- Clinic 5230: Developing Enhanced Web Experiences with Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX Extensions
- Clinic 3402: ASP.NET for PHP Developers: Introduction to ASP.NET
SharePoint Technologies
- Clinic 5046: Inside Look at Building and Developing Solutions with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
- Clinic 5045: Inside Look at Developing with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
Security
- Clinic 2807: Microsoft Security Guidance Training for Developers II
- Clinic 2806: Microsoft Security Guidance Training for Developers
Microsoft BizTalk
Microsoft SQL Server
- Clinic 6342: Developing an Application for Microsoft SQL Server Data Services
- Clinic 6341: Overview of Microsoft SQL Server Data Services
- Collection 6340: Introducing Microsoft SQL Server Data Services for Developers
- Clinic 6339: Database Fundamentals in Microsoft SQL Server 2008
- Collection 6187: What’s New in Microsoft SQL Server 2008
Hands-On Labs
There are also several hands-on labs available for free. Here is a short list of a few of them – I have no doubt there are others available as well:
- Windows Presentation Foundation Hands-On Labs
- Even more Windows Presentation Foundation Hands-On Labs
- Silverlight 2 Hands-On Labs
- Windows Mobile Hands-On Labs
- Visual Basic LINQ Hands On Labs for Visual Studio 2008
- Hands-on Labs for Windows® Workflow Foundation in C# and VB.NET
- BizTalk Hands-On Labs
Happy learning!