By Bryan Goldman – Customer Service Manager     

The online learning business is booming. Here are just a few stats on the digital education economy, taken from this infographic by eLearningIndustry: 

• 77 percent of U.S. companies used online learning in 2017 
• For every dollar spent on eLearning, companies make back $30 in productivity 
• 43 percent of U.S. college students find digital learning technologies “extremely helpful” 

No matter if you are in sales, marketing, finance or IT, chances are there is an online learning module tailored just for you to sharpen your skills. Enterprise tech companies have taken notice of this trend and are now developing their own curricula.   

Most notably for Protech, Microsoft Learn has become a vital resource for educating our customers about how to best utilize our association management software (AMS). 

But what is Microsoft Learn and how can it benefit your association’s staff? Let’s break it down. 

What is Microsoft Learn? 

Formerly known as the Virtual Academy, Microsoft Learn is the ultimate hub for educational materials regarding Microsoft 365 – Azure, Dynamics 365, Power Apps, Power BI and Power Automate. The best part is that it’s all free (with a few additional features accessible through a user license) and available in 23 different languages. 

Users can easily find and filter content based on job roles, level of expertise and products. The content is then organized into modules that cover various administrative topics, such as importing and exporting financial ledgers through Microsoft Excel or sharing computer screens with your staff in Microsoft Teams. Each module is further broken down into units, like chapters in a textbook. As you complete each module, you will achieve badges highlighting your certified proficiencies that you can share with other users or on social media. The interactive design and simple formatting will also get you acclimated quickly even if you are not familiar with Microsoft’s products and services. 

How does Microsoft Learn benefit nonprofits? 

There are currently over 900 Learning Paths and Modules on Microsoft Learn. In short, a learning path is a list of modules covering a broad set of topics. These topics can include Azure Cloud Fundamentals, Introduction to Microsoft 365, Get Started with Power Apps, and many more. 

Benefiting from these learning paths and modules is simply a matter of assigning the appropriate courses to your staff members and committing the time to work through each module (estimated time to complete each module is 30-90 minutes). 

With such a comprehensive array of tools and services, there’s something for your entire association to learn – from the membership manager to the financial analyst. The team will be organized as users can have designated roles in automating workflows and developing advanced analytics reports.  

Closing Thoughts 

Bill Gates has long been a proponent of the 5-hour rule – no matter how busy you are at work, set aside an hour per day to learn something new. 

Microsoft and the rest of the technology giants now compete by providing resources for your online educational development. Listen to Bill’s advice and take advantage of the free offerings.  

Looking ahead, there’s sure to be an increase in learning paths coming for artificial intelligence (AI); machine learning (ML); augmented, virtual and mixed reality (AR/VR/MR); robotic process automation (RPA); and cybersecurity. Whether you subscribe to newsletters or follow Microsoft products on social media, do what you can to stay up-to-date on these topics. 

Interested in learning more about mobile applications? Watch our webinar – How Apps are Changing the Association Landscape.