Been on a course, but still not got it?

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 Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own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))

Attending a course is one thing, but usefully applying what you learnt can be another if the course just taught you the mechanism. And whoever's course you attend, you need to practise afterwards, and have some way you can get back and ask questions. There's a follow-up responsibility on both the course taker and the course provider.

I'm going to share with you part of a response I wrote to someone who has attended a mechanistic PHP course ....

"I understand that you've already attended a course that included some PHP, though not one of ours; if you're needing further help on what you learnt, can suggest that you might also be provided with an element of ongoing help from the trainer or organiser of that course - that's certainly a service we provide here at Well House Consultants for our delegates, and chances are that your tutor knows you and your application a bit already.

Programming is an art as well as a science, and you do need to practise and get into the flow of things as well as having taken the course. I take great care when I teach to ensure that I cover not only the mechanism of specific examples but also the techniques for adapting and applying those techniques. There's something of a parallel to a creative writing course, where copying the tutor's work really won't do much for you."

Yes, I do find it slightly ironic that I'm being asked to provide help by someone who's just bought (a course) from a competitor but, what the heck, this business is all about networking and I know how hard it is to choose the right course - after all, if you knew what you were looking for, you wouldn't need a course, would you?
(written 2006-02-16, updated 2006-06-05)

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

G501 - Well House Consultants - Customer Service
  [72] On Customer Service - (2004-10-03)
  [91] On line every 24 hours - (2004-10-17)
  [126] Feedback shows the tip of an iceberg - (2004-11-22)
  [150] Confession - (2004-12-13)
  [189] Tuesdays and Fridays - (2005-01-25)
  [195] Customer service - examples to warn us - (2005-01-30)
  [233] Giving customers best value - (2005-03-02)
  [265] Business practise, 2005 style - (2005-04-03)
  [327] How far should our support go - (2005-05-28)
  [350] Want to be one better - (2005-06-17)
  [393] Trainer answers phone - (2005-07-28)
  [440] Upgrade! - (2005-09-09)
  [482] Different ways of selling - (2005-11-01)
  [552] Keeping Customers Informed - (2006-01-02)
  [566] May all your screw-ups be big ones - (2006-01-16)
  [569] Instructions for bright people - (2006-01-19)
  [621] And the staff put the icing on the cake - (2006-02-23)
  [628] Active Learning - (2006-02-28)
  [650] A person of few words - (2006-03-18)
  [717] A customer service company - (2006-05-11)
  [725] Better communication - (2006-05-19)
  [841] Forum help - a push in the right direction - (2006-08-21)
  [852] Eventful evening - a lesson in looking after contacts - (2006-09-02)
  [944] Just ******* Google it - (2006-11-25)
  [961] Products that our customers want more of - (2006-12-03)
  [966] CSL, KISS and RTFM - (2006-12-05)
  [1007] Friends and family - (2006-12-25)
  [1046] Bounce, bounce, bounce - (2007-01-20)
  [1262] Keep in touch with PHP, Perl, Python and old friends too - (2007-07-09)
  [1319] Customer feedback - lifeblood of a business - (2007-08-25)
  [1434] Market survey - to learn, to prove a point, or to sell your product? - (2007-11-17)
  [1446] An answer to a student asking 'Help' - (2007-11-27)
  [1516] Pictures you can use - for free - from our library - (2008-01-23)
  [1606] Sheep Shearers, Marathon Runners and Ocean Sailors - (2008-04-09)
  [1637] Providing exceptional service - and carrying on doing so. - (2008-05-09)
  [1835] 23:30 bookings and midnight checkins - (2008-10-12)
  [1985] Learning to program as a part of your job - (2009-01-10)
  [1991] Rules for a King - (2009-01-13)
  [2015] Service Excellence Awards - (2009-01-30)
  [2049] Why Choose Well House Consultants for your course? - (2009-02-20)
  [2102] What do people think of our Apache httpd / Tomcat course? - (2009-03-24)
  [2124] Building down expectations - (2009-04-09)
  [2236] Alumni - revisiting and supporting the old University - (2009-06-13)
  [2258] Questions I have been asked on answering the phone - (2009-06-26)
  [2530] Taking a knock over Santa - (2009-12-08)
  [2650] Getting a phone line changed ... - (2010-02-25)
  [2880] Getting in touch - Please allow me to see you when you are online - (2010-07-21)
  [2961] Initial handling of phone calls and walk in visitors - (2010-09-19)
  [3073] Customer Service - the boundary - (2010-11-27)
  [3103] Thank you - and Happy Christmas - (2010-12-24)
  [3271] The importance of feedback - (2011-04-30)
  [3294] It's not just about the jam in the sandwich - (2011-05-19)
  [3378] New product - ensuring that supply matches demand - (2011-08-03)
  [3808] Can you put names to faces? - (2012-07-19)
  [3835] The Information age - not yet truly with us? - (2012-08-12)
  [4077] Palty or Parliamentary? - (2013-04-30)
  [4078] Train works for me! - (2013-05-02)
  [4232] Not wanted here - hotel guests who will not be happy - (2013-12-30)

G305 - Well House Consultants - Post Course support
  [136] Please tell us - (2004-12-01)
  [199] Post course support - part of the service - (2005-02-02)
  [244] Getting your examples, my examples and the data files after your course - (2005-03-13)
  [248] Use me, but use me effectively - (2005-03-16)
  [293] Course follow-ups - (2005-04-27)
  [336] Targetted Advertising - (2005-06-05)
  [389] Tough Love - (2005-07-25)
  [509] Snippets from Geekmas - (2005-11-28)
  [516] Open source questions? Anyone can ask. - (2005-12-03)
  [651] Please Register with Opentalk - but just once! - (2006-03-19)
  [1245] Ensuring that our tutor answers YOUR questions - (2007-06-25)
  [1874] Is it worth it? - (2008-11-07)
  [2732] Asking about Jesus - (2010-04-20)
  [3045] After Course Resources - do we publish sample answers. Example from Java Exceptions module. - (2010-11-13)
  [3391] For programmers who use Internet Explorer as their browser - (2011-08-13)
  [3419] Data that we use during our training courses, and other training resources - (2011-09-04)
  [3701] Refresh and Revision training class days - Perl / PHP / Python / Lua / Ruby / Tcl / C / C++ - (2012-04-19)
  [3770] Sample answers to training course exercises - available on our web site - (2012-06-21)
  [4588] What teach you in a week stays with you for a decade - (2015-11-29)

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Some other Articles

Greetings from Dublin
Coming or going?
Look out for the motor cyclist
Need a hankie
Been on a course, but still not got it?
Don't expose your regular expressions
On being British
Train service from December
Design your day with a walk
Perl - multiprocess applications

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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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