Guy's Ezine 144 - Insider Advice on Training from a Trainer
Microsoft recently sent me a 10 year achievement certificate to celebrate my
decade of being an MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer). This milestone prompted me to write the following
insider advice on technical computer training. Please note, my diary is
full and I am not touting for business.
Instructor Lead
Training
Benefits of a technical training course
The biggest benefit of a 5 day instructor lead course is that you can learn away from the day-to-day distractions of your business.
The only worrying factor is if nobody misses when you return to the office next week!
Hand-in-glove with the freedom from interruptions is the chance to absorb
oneself in a sytem such as Exchange 2007 or Windows Server 2008.
Incidentally, it breaks my heart if the customer cuts corners by shoe-horning a
5 day course into 3 days.
What else delegates get out of a training course varies. Some take the chance to
network with techies from other companies. A few button-hole the
instructor and ask for solutions to specific problems back at their base.
Others, especially on residential
courses, combine business with pleasure, and party in the evenings.
The best time for training
The biggest debate in computer training is timing. Managers and
educationalists would say that courses are best at the beginning of a student's
career when they know little or nothing about the subject.
Guy disagrees, and says technical training is most efficient when delegates have some experience of the product. My reasoning
is because of their content, technical training courses assume a basic knowledge (despite what the pre-requisites may say).
Also, when you have gained some experience of the product, you can go on a
course and seek solutions to particular problems.
Despite the fact that complete newbies always think their trainer is wonderful
and give the best critiques, I still believe that training delegates with 6 months
experience makes for the most productive education. Those coming to a
course with a medium amount of knowledge ask tough questions and give poorer
critiques; yet at
the end of the course I go home happy in the knowledge that a there was a lot of
learning rather than a lot of teaching. With complete beginners I worry that they won't be able
to reproduce what they did on the course back at their base.
Let us take Exchange 2007 training as an example. I believe that before you start
learning Exchange you need a good grounding in Active Directory. As a
'Litmus test' I would ask: 'Do you know how to configure 'Function Levels'?'
My fear is that even if the training goes perfectly, delegates with limited
experience would return home and not retain their knowledge. Consequently,
back at their base, they would not know how to check that DNS had been setup
correctly, and not have the skill to install Exchange 2007.
Insider Advice for Training Courses
Surprisingly, surveys indicate that fewer than 1 in 5 delegates read the course outline before they book
their
training. Consequently many are overqualified. Others
attend a computer configuration course when they would be better off on a
network planning course. On the other hand, don't be put off if the content
is just what you need, but you only meet 75% of the pre-requisites.
A sign of a difficult subject is when there are many flavours of courses. In the
case of Exchange or SQL, do read through the content decide
if you need a course on Administration (Easiest), Design, or Troubleshooting (Advanced).
Guy's instructor tip. Always ask to speak with, or email
the instructor BEFORE you book your course. Indeed, the company's response to this request will tell you more
about the course than any flashy brochure. Again this is a pain for me,
but it's worthwhile to get the right people on the right course.
Once the course starts make life easy for your instructor. Laugh at
their jokes, nod your head from time to time to show you comprehend, or
ask a question if you don't understand. Few delegates realize how
a positive approach from their side of the desk can improve the
instructor's performance, and fuel their desire to go that extra mile for
the delegates. For example, answer your company specific
questions, rather than say 'That's off topic'.
For each topic, ask yourself, 'How can I apply this back at my work?'
When I am receiving a course I buy a special little notebook and write down 2 or 3 tips from each topic
so that I can try out the ideas when I get back to base.
How the attitude of delegates varies
In Iceland (the country) I ran a training course where
the instructor's machine had a squeaky fan, we all found it most irritating. One of the delegates said,
'I
have a spare fan in my office, I will bring it lunch time'. He did, and his
friend fitted it while I ate my sandwiches. It was a labour of love to
stay on in the evening and help these techies solve some of their actual
computer problems, even though the topics weren't on the course.
In France I had the exact same problem, this time all the delegates did was
moan about the noisy fan, and the training company just shrugged their shoulders
and said, 'c'est la vie mon ami'.
At the end of day 1 of 5, I bought a tube of WD40 and in a 'kill or cure' moment, sprayed the fan
with oil.
Phew - it worked, silent computing once more. At 5:00 pm Guy could not get
out of there fast enough.
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UMRA.
Computer Based Training (CBT)
Because I find it difficult to get away for a 5 training course, I now rely on
self-paced training material. What I find is that the simulations with CBT are much more responsive than they
were 10 years ago. What I
particularly like are realistic virtual machines where I can digress and explore
things of interest, even though they are not directly related to the topic.
The reason that I promote TrainSignal training packages is that I like the company. My litmus
test of a good company is how they respond when something go wrong, trust me, you
will get support from people who care at TrainSignal. I have perused their
training materials for Exchange 2007 and Windows Server, and I have also learned
Cisco routing for real. There are other CBT companies with similar
products, but none are better, and I say again with TrainSignal you will get
backup from people who care about you.
Summary of Insider Advice on Training from a Trainer
Like many aspects of life, planning and research pay handsome dividends when
you choose a training course. 5 day training courses are the best, but CBT
materials are handy if you cannot leave your office for a whole week.
If you do go on an instructor-lead course then make it a two way street, you
help the instructor to give a good course, and they will not only give you a
rewarding time, but also answer your computer questions.
Will and Guy's Humour
This week Will and Guy bring you
funny stories from the Supermarket. Does any thing like this happen to
you?
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