Our live online training courses have received a lot of attention lately, and it’s easy to see why. Not only do our live online training courses save money, they are a quick and convenient way to get the training you need. We’ve partnered with Cisco WebEx to give you the best virtual classroom experience possible.
I recently received a review from Helen, a student who took the live online Developing Requirements with Use Cases training course with ASPE instructor Mary Repetto, I thought was worth sharing.
“I am really enjoying ASPE virtual training. I was a telecom technician for over 20 years before getting into the business side just 3 years ago, and hold many technical certifications [from another training provider]. The other training provider’s virtual training was, frankly, always a drag. Boring, primarily lecture with very little interaction, and always followed by annoying ambiguous tests with questions that conflicted with the handouts and/or training manuals. If (other training providers) virtual courses were not prerequisites to their live lab classes, I would have never suffered through any of them. It’s safe to say, based on that, my experience is mostly negative, but I haven’t had a training class since 2004, and oh wow, has technology improved! So in defense of the other training provider, we didn’t have the ability to do breakout sessions for small-group lab work, or share whiteboards or any of that back then in a virtual classroom, or at least they did not incorporate the technology yet.
ASPE utilizes the Cisco WebEx technology features in such a way that the class feels more interactive, and the curriculum is cleverly designed in a lecture-lab-lecture-lab rhythm that keeps the participants alert and engaged. It seems to flow well, and the dreaded ‘multi-taskers’ who insist on checking their work emails during class get pulled into the interactive sessions often enough that even they have to stay engaged. (I totally understand, I have to shut Outlook down with an out-of-office message so I’m not tempted to get distracted.) So I was happily surprised to find that I really enjoyed the format for the virtual medium of the ASPE classes so far.
For this week in Use Cases, we had a lively class full of debaters, and Mary handled it quite well. I have no idea how she kept us on track for time with all the windy talkers we had. I learned a lot, although I’m not sure yet how my management team will weave what I’m learning into our current business methods. We’ve talked about a reorganization, and bounced a few other ideas around, but I asked if they could just wait until I get all 5 classes done and have a moment to absorb what I’ve learned, then I might be able to make more informed recommendations (Mary showed us a use case for a BA, maybe I can use that, ha, ha.)
We currently do not employ ANY project planning methods. We’re lucky to get a Scope of Work. We are hard-core implementers, and most of us (including me) are techs at heart…we do incredible things with 78 employees and 20 contractors in the public sector, for what most private sector companies do with 1000 employees. Anyway, with the economy the way it is, we’re not going to be hiring any time soon, so we’re trying to find ways to work smarter instead of busting our humps all the time. Our CEO personally sent me to BA class – he has a vested interest in having me apply this knowledge asap – the man does not spend money without being absolutely certain of a return, so this info will be used, trust me. “
If you have any training needs and would like to “go virtual!” visit our page LIVE Instructor-Led Training over the Internet to read about all our virtual courses.
The growth and migration toward virtual enterprise requires the constant development of new and groundbreaking technology and software. To learn more about the importance of software testing, check out our live web seminar Testing as a Service and Not Simply a Process.
For more virtual meeting tools and resources check out the article Virtual Team / Virtual Meetings.
ASPE has worked hard to put together a Live On-line learning service that incorporates all the elements of a traditional physical classroom. There is a live instructor with whom attendees can interact with publically or privately in real time and hands on workshops or equipment based labs. The web-ex tool allows the workshop to work just like the classroom, in that the team "pod" gets segmented virtually both over the internet (with their own workgroup and whiteboard) and over the conference bridge in that only the team "pod" can hear each other during workshop sessions. The instructor had the ability to "pop" in and out of each of teams.
You get the same course materials and learning objectives as a physical class. Although the materials are adjusted to fit the on-line format and since the session is live the students can interact with one another publicly or privately in real-time. That networking is one of the most powerful tools in learning the ability to learn from someone with the same issues and problems as you. You do NOT get this peer interaction in asynchronous e-learning solutions. It is exciting to hear about how students are using our Live on-line training solution and it is wonderful to learn how much value it is providing.