What do you look for in your IT trainer?

For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))

Who should you learn from? Should you learn from the most knowledgeable person that you can find on the subject you want to learn?

Not necessarily. The geek that you find may not be a skilled tutor, may not have training material, may assume too much prior knowledge and, importantly, may not know what to leave out. He might not enjoy training, and that may run off onto the trainees and give you a not-enjoyable course. And he may be so much of a specialist that he's unable to help you with associated technologies and he can't tell you when you should use "his" technology and when something else might be more fitting.

It's said that the skill of being a teacher is being ONE step ahead of the class; that's usually said with a wink, but there's some truth to it. Personally, when I'm presenting an advanced or highly tailored course I worry more than I should about it ahead of time, do some research, and aim to be two-to-three steps ahead rather than one. If I've a class of 11 (as I have this week), then I have to be able to answer each question that comes up without delay and know how the answers fit in to the broader picture.

Perhaps I make my own life difficult - but I ENCOURAGE questions. I may say "I'll come back to that" but I'll also add "please keep asking - even if I'm not answering to later, it's helpful for me to know where I should be heading the course / what's your hot points". But the approach does work - it leads to satisfied customers who come back for further training. And where a customer tells me that he's attended some lousy courses in the past where the tutor "has just read the notes out to the class", I know that's a high compliment to me - he's contrasting the Well House Consultants approach to these others.
(written 2004-08-10, updated 2011-12-31)

Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles

G207 - Well House Consultants - Staff
  [41] A Thousand and four words - (2004-09-07)
  [88] Getting the right level of trainer - (2004-10-14)
  [168] Welcoming Leah Davies to our team - (2005-01-04)
  [185] Who am I? - (2005-01-21)
  [371] The training team that's looking out for you - (2005-07-07)
  [393] Trainer answers phone - (2005-07-28)
  [578] Woman screaming at me - (2006-01-26)
  [862] 4 weeks to go - (2006-09-11)
  [895] Welcome, Martin - (2006-10-16)
  [972] Both one team and two - (2006-12-08)
  [1002] Meet the neighbours - (2006-12-20)
  [1065] Graham Ellis - an Introduction - (2007-02-05)
  [1083] Behind the scenes - (2007-02-17)
  [1141] A strong team broadens the professional coverage - (2007-04-10)
  [1324] Well House Manor appoints a General Manager - (2007-08-28)
  [2009] The Royal Mail Receipt - (2009-01-26)
  [2044] Please Trouble me - (2009-02-16)
  [2050] Why the Pony Tail? - (2009-02-21)
  [2164] Updating my public profile - Graham Ellis - (2009-05-09)
  [2566] Excellent staff make for excellent hotel - (2010-01-07)
  [2772] Graham Ellis - Summary of Training Record - (2010-05-21)
  [2775] Declarations of interest - knowing where you stand with people - (2010-05-22)
  [2934] Not so much software training - more hotel keeping! - (2010-08-25)
  [2960] The Well House team - September 2010 - (2010-09-19)
  [3051] Positively reforming the system - could it be done? - (2010-11-14)
  [3103] Thank you - and Happy Christmas - (2010-12-24)
  [3201] A change to the Well House team - thank you and good luck, Chris - (2011-03-14)
  [3212] Well House Manor - a home from home for the business and leisure guest in Melksham - (2011-03-26)
  [3311] Exhilarating day! - (2011-05-30)
  [3425] Our National Autograss Champion, from Melksham - (2011-09-08)
  [3460] Flying Colours! - (2011-09-28)
  [3490] How not to call when job seeking ... - (2011-10-20)
  [3586] Emergency First Aid Provision at Well House Manor - part of the service - (2012-01-19)
  [3961] Well House Staff Party - (2012-12-22)
  [4189] Who are we - Lisa, Graham, Gypsy and Billy - (2013-10-07)
  [4227] Happy Christmas from the Well House Manor team - (2013-12-25)

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Some other Articles

London - Most expensive city??
Mobile Office revamp
How many people in a room?
A bolt of lightning on Multicasting
What do you look for in your IT trainer?
Study room - the Oxford train
How much does fuel cost for an airline flight?
Writing on a Sunday
Blog v Forum
Driving in the UK for new arrivals from the USA

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This is a page archived from The Horse's Mouth at http://www.wellho.net/horse/ - the diary and writings of Graham Ellis. Every attempt was made to provide current information at the time the page was written, but things do move forward in our business - new software releases, price changes, new techniques. Please check back via our main site for current courses, prices, versions, etc - any mention of a price in "The Horse's Mouth" cannot be taken as an offer to supply at that price.

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