Virtual Courses

[SgtTrojan]

Reading over this thread I feel like I have missed a chunk of it. What's going on?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Do you people really think that you can continue to get away with this?

At least 7 of you think I should not have made this post:

My company uses distance training quite a lot. No, it is not as good as the "real thing", but it is much better than no training at all because of cost constraints.

What works reasonably well, i.e. 2nd best, are virtual classrooms, rather than just self-paced CBT. i.e. the training is interactive - it is delivered by a live person, using web based tools for whiteboarding, showing slides, or even real-time video, and all the students need is a broadband connection and ideally a mic so that they can ask questions. That can be done via the keyboard, but it's a bit clanky, so although not absolutely essential a mic is, in practical terms, a necessity, but a headset that you can wear comfortably for hours is going to cost less than a week's travel to a class, or less than 1 day if it involves paying for accommodation.

I would have thought that with something like 2382 training it could in some ways be better - if you want to ask questions as you go along you can do so in a way that everyone has to answer, not just one person putting up their hand, and they can answer anonymously without fear of being seen by their classmates to be wrong, so the lecturer can get much better feedback, in real time, on how the class is doing.

Why?

Which parts of it do you believe are wrong, or unacceptable?

Do you think I'm lying about my experience of virtual classrooms? If so, on what evidential basis?

Do you think that my opinion of the value of such techniques is so dangerous or wrong that it should not be written here?

Do you honestly think that your behaviour is in the best interests of this forum?

 

[tonyelectric]

BAS, i'm confused, sorry being a new face on the forum and not having looked at this thread since I last posted on it I can't see any posts by you except your last one, do you mean someone has removed them?

Reading your quoted text I can't say i'm a fan of elearning, but can't see anything controversial in what you said.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

The post is here:

http://www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1822276#1822276

It did not criticise anybody else's POV on e-learning, it just gave my personal opinion of one general type of system, based on my own personal experiences.

And at least 7 people decided to vote it down, i.e. to say that I should not have made it. I say "at least" because what shows is the balance of +/- votes.

Earlier at least 3 people decided that dingbat should not have posted to say that his company does what it can to ensure that only those who are genuinely competent pass C&G exams in a field where getting it wrong can kill.


Well - I'm sorry, but I find that kind of baseless criticism, given by cowards who hide behind the anonymity of the rating system and who never even attempt to justify themselves utterly unacceptable.

 

[dingbat]

I'm intrigued by the whole 'thumbs down' issue here. What's the problem?

I should add that our policy is that, if you fail on our courses, we let you re-sit the course for free.

In fact, even if you pass, we are happy to have you back as a fly on the wall - you get the course again for free without the pressure of having to resit the exam.

Same show, same old jokes, yet our customers return for new courses again and again... and tell their mates. We regularly get people who have failed with other centres coming to us.

Why?

Because we are honest and brutal and straight about your prospects and your ability and that seems to be what you want. Our students do all the marketing for us.

And you can thumb-down this post if you wish, or you might want to come and see before you criticise. Your choice.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I'm intrigued by the whole 'thumbs down' issue here. What's the problem?

Don't ask me.

Try asking the 7 (minimum) people who thought that this:

My company uses distance training quite a lot. No, it is not as good as the "real thing", but it is much better than no training at all because of cost constraints.

What works reasonably well, i.e. 2nd best, are virtual classrooms, rather than just self-paced CBT. i.e. the training is interactive - it is delivered by a live person, using web based tools for whiteboarding, showing slides, or even real-time video, and all the students need is a broadband connection and ideally a mic so that they can ask questions. That can be done via the keyboard, but it's a bit clanky, so although not absolutely essential a mic is, in practical terms, a necessity, but a headset that you can wear comfortably for hours is going to cost less than a week's travel to a class, or less than 1 day if it involves paying for accommodation.

I would have thought that with something like 2382 training it could in some ways be better - if you want to ask questions as you go along you can do so in a way that everyone has to answer, not just one person putting up their hand, and they can answer anonymously without fear of being seen by their classmates to be wrong, so the lecturer can get much better feedback, in real time, on how the class is doing.

should not have been written.

Just don't expect them to provide any rational explanation for their behaviour.

 

[SgtTrojan]

Ok. Now I see. Your post was valid, interesting and provided a good stand point (as you always do). If the posts were deleted by the daft vote system then that would be another matter but I can read them all in one click. I sense a bit of discrimination here and the mods should have a keen eye on the situation using their moderator tools.

 

[SgtTrojan]

I should add that our policy is that, if you fail on our courses, we let you re-sit the course for free.

In fact, even if you pass, we are happy to have you back as a fly on the wall - you get the course again for free without the pressure of having to resit the exam. Same show, same old jokes, yet our customers return for new courses again and again... and tell their mates. We regularly get people who have failed with other centres coming to us.

Why? Because we are honest and brutal and straight about your prospects and your ability and that seems to be what you want. Our students do all the marketing for us.

I love this concept. I will put this to my manager. It would beat having two or three sitting the course.

^^ Sharing best practice in action folks ^^

Thanks dingers