Times have changed . Few Years ago , we used to wonder if we can study online . But Today We are having Live Online Instructor Based Class and its as interactive as Class Room Training .

I would agree Even Today Class Room Training is the best way to study , provided you have the professional available in your locality who can train you the skill set that you can immediately put in use in your day to day work . But on the other hand , if you have to Travel for hours or you do not have the Trainer with the required skill set , Instructor Based Live Online Training Fills the gap provided the number of students in the Live Online Classes are such that the Sessions are interactive enough, the student / instructor are comfortable enough to raise their query and get an answer . Here again it also depends on the smartness of the students taking the class. If they are attentive enough to stick to the Trainers curriculum , take notes while the online classes are happening , and send an email with their question to the instructor before the start of the next class , they are bound to get the maximum advantage.

The third mode of Training these days are Pre – Recorded Videos . To be Honest enough i do not understand the concept of these . There could be people who would be taking the advantage of these videos , but to my knowledge , what i have seen people are kind of addicted to just buy these videos . Since these are recorded videos they tend to be 50%-80% low cost than the instructor lead classes. I have seen people who are just going ahead and buying the video. So for the same area of interest of their topic , they have bought videos from multiple authors , or subscribed to multiple YouTube Channels but if you go a little deeper they have never been able to complete more than 20% of the Knowledge Material . So In a way they are stuck and never been able to take real advantage of what is actually offered.

Pre-Recorded Videos are really helpful to people who are Self Starters or who are already an expert of the topic . When you already know the topic , you are able to appreciate the trainer on the fly the way he teaches a topic , but if it is something new , you are not able to give it the due weightage . The reason i believe most people are not able to move more than 20% of the topic in these videos is , they try to watch it as movie. In the first 20% of the course content , you have introductory topics that you have already heard of or you are able to connect , but as you move ahead , you start encountering topics where you would need to do proper hands on and do lab work.

So Based on My experience , No Matter whether you go for Classroom Learning Or Instructor Based Live Online Classes , If you want to Learn You would need to follow the below steps

1. Stick to the Schedule : Find out the Right course for you i.e. Decide about the Instructor , Course Content before hand but once you get enrolled for that course stick to the schedule. There are tonnes of material available now a days on the internet , if you will try to learn too many things or rush or keep something for future the purpose of the training will get wasted. First get yourself expert in the Course that is being taught . Once you have learned even this much , You can explore the world
2. Test Your Learning by Doing : When we watch the instructor do something like a movie it looks very easy . Make a simple rule while you have set up a Learning schedule for yourself i.e. After each class Just “Do” what the instructor did and see if you can do it without watching the video again and again . Its very simple before the start of the next class you just need to be confident of what the trainer taught in the last class. If she has done some Lab or hands on exercise , you should be able to do the same before the next class.
3. Revise the New Concept Several Times : Whenever you learn a new concept revise it several times. There can be infinite knowledge material available on the internet but all those concepts that you have learned from an expert and co do it without referring to it actually becomes your thought process . So whenever your work puts in front of you a problem statement , these concepts that you have learned becomes your thought process and guides you in moving ahead. Remember , even to search on Google , You should be able to define the Problem statement well , And to define the Problem Statement , you should know the capabilities & limitations of your Tool very well.
4. Complete the Course Till the End : To know the capabilities & limitations of your Tool , its highly essential that you have completed the course . So Rather than buying multiple courses , complete one course first end to end . Once you know the tool end to end , there after you can start to drill down on complicated topics . If you have not completed the course end to end , you have partial knowledge and that means you are trying to solve a puzzle without limited skill set . On the other hand once you know about all that is there to offer , you can very well search on YouTube for a particular topic when you encounter a problem and use the expert help in solving the problem .

With Pre-Recorded Videos or Self Paced Videos where you Just Buy them all at one shot i.e. the entire course content in one go, this becomes much more difficult . So unless you are the Self Starter Types or a very disciplined person the Videos are just going to keep lying . This is the reason i have seen many people just thinking to Learn something from years. While on the other hand i have participants in my Online Class who have followed the above points and within a matter of months time have successfully shifted to Analytics Domain , Got a new Role in the Data Analytics Tableau Team , Got Promoted in Tableau or even nurtured some of their ideas into well praised Customer Dashboard While their friend’s kept collecting Videos . If you are interested in the next Batch , reach out to me at the earliest : Data Analytics With Tableau .

Even I record my session and share it with the participants for future reference but i believe this is useful only for person who have attended the session. I Have the recorded session of all my previous class , but honestly i believe if i sell them , Participants would not be able to get the value out of it . It would just be a marketing gimmick , and a feel good for the buyer that he has everything related to the subject and will use SOMEDAY.

Hope this post will help you in achieving 100% in your Knowledge Journey and enjoy the Learning Process . You can also visit my website that has knowledge material with respect to the Latest Technologies in the market – https://www.technicaljockey.com/