OT: Opinions on New Horizons Training?

[EPT]

Hello All,
I'm trying to learn more about VBA and get beyond the point and click stage. New Horizons offers a course Mastering Microsoft Access 2000 Programming. It is not one of the standard courses, it is considered a 'technical' course, which among other things means it's more expensive. I have the go ahead to take it. Has anyone taken this course? Any opinion on New Horizons training?

TIA
Ed

 

[WildHare]

I'd just recommend before you plunk money down on the course, ask to see the textbook and any other course materials you'll be getting. Just look through it all and you'll be able to see whether the course will be too little, too late, or too much...

That's assuming the instructor follows his/her course outline.

I would NOT pay one cent to any training organization that would not let me see the materials before I paid for the class.

Ex-JimAtTheFAA
78.5% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
Another free Access forum:

http://www.forumco.com/jmhare

More Neat Access stuff at

http://www.jmhare.com/wildhare2.htm

 

[gnosis13]

I took the class in the Little Rock area a couple of years ago. actually, I was forcing some other IT people to go so we could finish our Y2K projects.

At that time it was a very good course. Even if you don't remember all of the course material, it will help get you past that fear of code. Some of the IT people I was working with completely quit using macros and wizards to get their work done in Access after they found out how usefull VBA was.

I would deifinitely recommend the course.
A+, N+, MCP

 

[dannyocean]

i took this class in san antonio, tx from New Horizon's. I was not impressed with even though i got the class at half off of list price.

 

[Pipewelder]

I took the 97 course in Memphis. It was my 1st + only formal instruction related to MS Access.

It's amazing what you can learn for free.

I'm glad I took the course but I'm also glad I didn't have to pay for it.

The materials were very good. The instructor knowledge regarding questions not addressed in the materials was less impressive but still helpful.

I had never talked to a "real programmer" and it wasn't quite what I expected.

 

[sgaphotog]

I took 2 of the classes at my old company's expense. I'm glad I didn't pay for it. You can do a lot better by buying a good book and just doing the tutorials provided. I wish I could remember the names of the books I used when I first started using access. The truth of the matter is that I really learned most of this stuff just by using the help files with Access 2.0 and Access 97 (Access 2000 help files stink!). The best way, in my opinion, to learn Access is find a problem to solve and just start plinking away at it.

The courses I took at New Horizons were terrible and I discovered that I was already more advanced (I'm no genius mind you) than what the classes had to offer. They focused too much on macros than on real code (which, by the way, you can convert macros to VBA code, which is an excellent way to learn to write some of your own code). I just really felt they came up short if you really want to learn how to use VBA.

In short I would say not to waste your money. You would do better by constantly checking the web for solutions (I use google.com a lot in my Java programming searches) and finding a good tutorial book.

 

[demoman]

My wife took this course and found it OK. She did not think it was cost justified. I have been to a couple courses over the years, and have evaluated many more. I think they are universally over-priced.

The human brain can only absorbe a finite amount of information at a time. Course flyers tend to show a vast amount of subjects which the student will become proficient with. The course may very well cover all those subjects. But, the student is unlikely to become proficient in any of them. However, there is some benefit in being 'exposed' to new subjects and methods. Then it becomes a matter of determining whether the payback justifies the cost.

Personally, I have been recommending community college classes to my friends and colleages. The cost is relatively inexpensive and the schedules are very flexible. They also learn so much more, because they learn it at a rate which is more reasonable for comprehension and retainage.

Also, if you want to be a programmer, take a class in programming. I suggest plain old VB, not VBA. VB classes teach programming at a more fundemental level than VBA.

 

[hsitz]

I've never taken a class in Access (although I may begin giving some soon). But I have to agree with sgaphotog when he says:

"The best way, in my opinion, to learn Access
is find a problem to solve and just start
plinking away at it."

(to which I would add, "... with a good Access reference book." like Access Developer's Handbook, Beginning Access 2000 VBA, or others).

It's just part of the nature of computer training classes that while you may get wide exposure to lots of different things, next to none of it will stick with you. It may help to give you an overview and get you started. But almost none of the stuff you are presented with will sink in. Later, when you've got a problem in front of you on the job that you've got to solve, you may recall that some method or other was used to solve it at the class you attended, but you're still going to have to figure it out yourself at that point.

In my opinion, learning programming is more like learning math than like simply "learning facts". To learn math you've got to work problems. To take a class on math without actually working through lots of problems by yourself -- that is, without lots of your own sweat and frustration -- is virtually worthless. A class on Access, or any other computer subject, could be really useful if were combined with lots of work on your own, unaided by a teacher. That might happen in a semester long course at a university, but it's simply not gonna happen in week long (or less) training class.

As someone said in an earlier post in this thread, these classes can be good for getting someone past their initial intimidation of working with a new program or technology. But they're awfully expensive just for that. --- Herb

 

[cmmrfrds]

My 2 cents. I have worked with software for 28 years and probably learned over 100 new technologies in that time frame. Also, have watched many co-worker learn new technologies. Over half of these technologies were learned with out training. The only time the training was not worth the investment was when the technology was not used immediately. If you are taking training in a technology that you will be working with immediately as part of your job it will be worth the investment. Of course, you get out of any class the effort you put into it. Go for it!