As training professionals we are often asked what the best way is to learn about any particular technology.  We decided to create this guide to assist anyone who is considering the purchase of technical training.  Enjoy :)

Types of Training

    There are essentially three types of training that are available for any subject:  Instructor-Led Training (ILT), Computer-Based Training (CBT), and Technical Books.  Each has its strengths and weaknesses.  Let’s take a closer look at each one:

Instructor-Led Training (ILT)

     ILT is the traditional training that most people think of when training first occurs to them.   This is where the student is in a classroom environment with a live instructor available to guide the course.  The main benefit to this type of instruction is the ability to ask questions throughout the course and get immediate feedback. 

    Unfortunately, the disadvantage is cost.  ILT is the most expensive of the three types of training available and typically runs (depending on the course) from $99.00 (for simple one day classes like Microsoft Word and Excel) up to $5,000+ per student (for very high level classes like .NET Programming and Oracle).

Computer-Based Training (CBT)

    CBT refers to the broad category of training that is available though digital media.  This includes Web-based training and instruction provided in CD or DVD format.  The main advantage here is the ability (usually) to stop/pause the class then resume whenever you feel like it.  This means that you can take the class according to your schedule in the comfort of your own home instead of having to take time off work to attend ILT.  Additionally, this type of training will typically cost much less than ILT. 

    The disadvantage lies in the ability to ask questions or clarify certain points immediately.  Another problem is that your success with the material depends on your ability to stick to it and complete the course.  There is no instructor there to make sure you are doing the work.

Technical Books

    Books are, by far, the most common approach taken by many when considering training.  They often are the same price or cheaper than CBT and tend to provide much more information. 

     The down side to books is they are plagued by inaccuracies and error corrections.  In ILT or CBT the instructor is showing you what is to be done; there is no room for error in this process as the demo is live and any errors would be immediately obvious.  This is not true with books.  Often typos range from the annoying to the dangerous and it may take several hours or many pages later to discover the inconsistency.  At that point, you have to unlearn what you thought was the right way and commit the correct approach to memory.  To give you an example, one of our instructors recently read a book on Java Server Pages(JSP) and found that in the first chapter a technique was mentioned for writing code; then two hundred pages later a different technique was mentioned for the same code.  Which one was right?  He tried both and found the later one was correct and the technique mentioned in chapter one was completely wrong.  Not a fun situation.  Always, always, always make sure you go to the publisher’s web site to get any errata (error corrections) they offer for your book.  In the case of the JSP book, this was not possible because the book was so new the publisher didn’t have any errata posted.

Which Training Should I Choose?

    Now that you know the types of training offered out there, you are probably wondering which one is right for you.  There is no correct answer to this question.  Each person is different and they learn better with one style over another.  Generally the best approach is a blended approach.  Mixing two or more types tends to cause much better retention than any single type.  For example, reading a book on the material before or after ILT or CBT will tend to reinforce the learning experience.  We have found that if you read a book (and do some work with the examples) before attending ILT that it will significantly improve retention.  If you are using CBT, we suggest you go through the CBT then use a book to augment the training (the reverse of the ILT approach).  The reason the CBT approach is reversed is due to the nature of the medium.  If you have enough discipline to finish the CBT then you should have no problem going through a book; with ILT the ability to get though the book is considered an added bonus but not mandatory in order to complete the course as the instructor will be there to guide (and hopefully motivate) you. 

Buying Training on eBay

So how does all this tie into eBay?  Let’s take a look…

Technical Books

    Obviously there are many technical books for sale here and they are at a great price.  Pay attention to the publication dates for the book.  You want to buy a book that is as recent as possible for what you want to learn.  For example, buying a book on Windows written in 1995 probably will not help you much with learning Windows 2003. 

     See if you can find an excerpt of the book somewhere or go to your local bookstore and browse through the books in order to find an author with a writing style you like.  Some authors make jokes and others are very serious.  Find a writing style you are comfortable with then get the ISBN (see next paragraph) of the book so you can buy it on eBay.

     Always double check the ISBN number (see picture below) to make sure it is the book you are looking for.  A common mistake is to purchase a book on the incorrect version of a product.  For example, you buy a book on Visual Basic .NET Programming.  But you didn’t realize that it was for version 2002 and you have version 2005.  Make sure you know what version of the product you want to learn.

Instructor-Led Training (ILT)

    As for ILT, we haven’t seen it offered but that doesn’t mean it isn’t, we just may have missed it.  Be careful when buying ILT make sure that the course includes a computer for each student and it is a hands-on course.  Many training facilities will sell a course as a seminar or overview while not disclosing that the training is just an instructor giving a lecture with some PowerPoint slides.  If you buy an ILT course on eBay make sure it is offered in a location that you can get to easily.  A $500 course for $100 doesn’t do you much good if it is in Los Angeles and you are in New York as the airfare, hotel, rental car, etc… will eat up any savings you made.

Computer-Based Training (CBT)

    When it comes to CBT there is quite a variety of it offered on eBay.  Unfortunately much of it appears to be copies (and not all of it necessarily legal) of the same course from different vendors.  Also we have noticed that sellers will offer a billion gigabytes (we’re exaggerating of course) of training for 99 cents.  Wow!  Sounds like a great deal, but it actually could be the worst thing you could do for your training effort.  People tend to learn discrete topics very easily (Beginning VB.NET 2005, for example) but when presented with everything they could ever learn all at once they tend to shut down. 

    Here is an example:  If you are reading this you clearly have access to the Internet.  Anything and everything you want to learn is available so why even buy any training at all?  The answer is simple; information overload is just as dangerous as not having any information at all.  Learning in chunks of information that is organized is easier than trying to take it all in at once.  You need time to absorb what you have learned but the tendency when presented with everything is to keep going through all the lessons without taking time to reinforce what you learned previously.  So be wary of the huge amounts of CBT that is available with a billion hours of training it may not only be illegal but ineffective toward your goal. 

    Also we have noticed that much of the training available on eBay doesn’t have screen shots available showing an example of the product.  This is very disturbing.  Make sure to request one if there is not a screen shot shown in the auction.  Below is an example of a screen shot you may encounter (greatly reduced in size for this guide).  Don't be surprised if the screen shot is blurry as reducing the photo size often results in some blur; rest assured that the actual product will be clear when played on your screen. 

Final Note

    Before we conclude this guide we want to warn you about another technique that training vendors of all mediums like to pull on their customers.   Many times we have heard of a seller offering a certificate or, worse yet, a certification exam that you can pass to get their prestigious or recognized or world renown certification.  In 99.99999999% of cases this is total junk. 

    For example, let’s say you want to get certified in Microsoft Excel (or any Microsoft product for that matter).  You look online and see that XYZ seller offers a course and a certificate as well as their prestigious certification if you pass an exam they offer.  You do all these things thinking that it will look good on your resume or help you get a job.  It’s only after you have taken the course that you find out no one cares that you have a certificate for completing the course nor do they care that you passed a test for some certification they don’t recognize.  In the case of Microsoft and many other companies (Oracle, Cisco, etc…) the only certification that is recognized is the official certification from them.  This is not to say that the training can’t prepare you for certification from Microsoft or Oracle or any other company.  A good training vendor will guide you through the process of what you need to do to get certified.  Again, this is a VERY common tactic of training sellers, so don’t be fooled.

Well that’s all folks.  We hope you enjoyed this overview and if you want some great CBT check out our offerings under our id:  insert_knowledge_here.  If you want a course that we don’t have, ask us about it.  Good Luck and Happy Training :)

--The IKH Team