Communications Skills and Surfing Microsoft:
                A Trainer’s Perspective



Meet the Trainer: Ex-Army Trainer Says Communication with Management is Key for IT teams

Nov-Dec 2008  Print

Name: Wayne McGlinn

Title: Technical Instructor

Role at DDLS: I’m primarily a Microsoft Trainer covering the 2003 and 2008 Windows Server courses plus all the Vista courses. I also teach System Center Configuration Manager 2007. My other area of expertise is Check Point Security products; I train all the Firewall-1 courses.

Wayne McGlinn

Highlights of your career with DDLS? There are two that stand out. The first was being invited by Microsoft to attend the Microsoft Certified Masters – Active Directory course at Redmond in July this year. Incredible! The second was being invited by Check Point to sit on their Courseware and Exam Review Committee where I can have input into the content of the courses and exam questions.


Favourite past time:  Relaxing with a good book (science fiction is my favourite genre). I’m also a volunteer Surf Lifesaver at Coolum Beach.


1. How do you like to conduct your training courses?

I aim to keep my courses relaxed and fun; I’m there to facilitate learning, not lecture. My video sent to Microsoft to become a Microsoft Certified Trainer (in 1996) shows me on a desk, pretending to “surf” (the lesson was “The Differences between Internet Explorer 1 and Internet Explorer 2”). I believe in showing my students how and why things work the way they do, they need to understand what’s “under the bonnet”. It’s not only about what’s going to be in exams.


2. How did you become a trainer?

As part of my 12 years working in the Army, I spent nine months on a Regional Training Team, where I taught Units how to set up their Q-Store Accounting networks (AUTOQ). That was my first taste of instructing and computing rolled into one! I loved it then and still do now.


3. What questions do you get asked most as a trainer?

“What time do we finish on Friday”?
Sheesh, it’s only Monday, ask me on Friday morning!


4. What are the most popular courses you conduct and why do you think this is so?

The initial Server 2003/2008 courses because these are not widely taught at tertiary education institutions (although that is changing). I find that many people beginning their IT careers were taught on UNIX and Linux, only to find that potential employers use Windows servers. That’s when they come to me – there are currently a lot of people sitting Windows courses.


5. What new technologies are you watching and what will be their impact on organisations?

There’s more and more data available every day however how can we effectively access that data and put it into an easy to understand format? An area I’m watching is the ability for technical people to provide reporting to management. By presenting reports in graphical ways that are relevant to management, IT teams can better communicate with them and have more influence within the organisation.