I mentioned elsewhere, I’m an intermediary geek and in my quest for übergeekdom, when I’m not working, cycling or running I’m either cleaning, sleeping or learning something. Probably less cleaning if I’m honest. My preferred mode of learning is video-based or alternatively reading. There was a time when I read literature, but now how I laugh in the face of reading for pure pleasure! My kindle is packed to its plastic brim with books on project management, psychology and books on operating systems and programming.
The best training for any application, scripting or programming that I’ve ever received has been via training videos. I’ve tried classroom-based learning, and webinar-based learning, but videos always win for me. Why? Because they are generally reasonably priced and you can chose when and where to view them. I like classroom-based training for languages but for technology my firm training preference is via videos.
On reason for this is brevity. I prefer to learn a skill and then go away and apply it. I also struggle with anything more than an hour, I just can’t concentrate that long. I don’t think it’s just me and my generation x attention span, but rather that everyone listens for a little while and then they zone out. I think the maximum amount of time you have to keep your audience is at about 15 minutes.
A further reason for my video preference is that every corporate training session that I’ve attended sucked, massively. In a big way. Most corporate training I’ve paid a huge amount of money to attend was delivered from a booklet or slide set that had been prepared by the corp. It’s faceless, formula-based, takes no account of the learner and is often delivered via a script. The worst tech training I’ve received provided no opportunity to get involved in practical application of skills. Without that I retain very little info. With most corporate training, the content is padded to include some really basic stuff. This is to make sure it meets the requirements of everyone in the class. The net result is that it means I have sat through hours of content I’m already familiar with.
Training companies might argue that you get the support and an expert to consult with. We have the internet and forums. If you have any questions after you’ve watched a video, find a forum. If it’s technology-based, geeks are the most willing community I know of to share knowledge and advice.
If you want to build on your technical skills to be a web developer or designer, here are a few video-based training providers that I can recommend.
My Recommended Training Providers
- http:www.peepcode.com
I love the videos over at Peepcode. They are generally less than an hour in length, cover a wide range of content and are delivered by area experts. Great videos on productivity, managing your email, programming and much more. They are also magnificently affordable at around $12 per video.
- O’Reilly
O’Reilly have got a fantastic range of books and videos. Some of the videos are broken into neat chunks giving you the opportunity to learn in stages. The programming training videos from OReilly I’ve tried have been the best of any provider.
- Lynda.com
Lynda, lynda, lynda. I don’t subscribe anymore, but some years ago these videos saved my web developing bacon on a number of occasions. Lynda helped me to learn ASP, PHP, Javascript and ActionScript and many applications. .
A huge library of up to date videos, on a massive range of subjects, tech hard and soft skills and presented by some of the best known names in the industry. Well worth the subscription.
- Net Tuts
I haven’t used NetTuts extensively, but there are a huge number of up-to-date and useful videos and tutorials. These are available via subscription. Well worth the subscription cost.
- Cartoon Smart
In the good old days of circa 2006 (I think) when I first found Cartoon Smart I used Justin’s videos to pick up some Flash skills. Justin has also got some truly excellent resources on drawing too. He now does a bunch of training videos on a wide variety of applications and scripting languages. His videos are great to watch, incredibly reasonably priced, available on a per video basis and help you build your arsenal of wed dev/design skills.
I have some questions for you:
How do you prefer to learn applications or technology?
Do you have any recommended places for tech training? Anyone/site you’ve used that you recommend?
