Coached e-learning student - interview - 1

posted by John Rizzo

This is the interview of the first three students having taken the new JavaBlackBelt coached e-learning.


John is co-founder of JavaBlackBelt.com and has 10 years experience in Java training and skills management.
Patrick is a consultant with 4 years of Java experience. He is currently working on a Java project in a bank.

Patrick followed the JavaBlackBelt's JPA/Hibernate course in January/February 2009. His employer gave him one day to do it, then Patrick did finish the rest home. John was his personal coach.


John (JBB): How do you usually learn?

Patrick:
I'm mainly self-taught, I use resources found on the Internet. To solve small problems, I search on Google, or sometimes in a book. The need to learn always comes from a specific need on a real-life project. Except for Hibernate, which I decided to learn on my own initiative. I tried to follow the tutorials on the Hibernate website, but phew! Mainly, it was a question of not having enough time more than anything else.

I've also done classroom trainings with an instructor. One at BEA on weblogic, and another on Business Objects.


John (JBB):
You just finished the final exam of a JPA/Hibernate course from JavaBlackBelt. How would you compare that with your past learning experience?

Patrick:
The course material is top notch. The course website is well designed, with good examples, the learning process has a very interesting logic. The references to external resources are also interesting for those who want to dig deeper into the subject. I really liked that.

The only thing I found repetitive was the workshop. It's true I'd already acquired a little knowledge about Hibernate before the course and that I did all the workshop projects on the same day. But I understand its usefulness for weaker students.

The idea of letting each student go at his own pace, even when we were all together was great.


John (JBB):
How would you compare the atypical training you've had at JavaBlackBelt with the classic trainings you had in a classroom with slides and an instructor?

Patrick:
With JavaBlackBelt, time just flew, I felt I was learning at a faster pace, because I didn't have to wait for someone to speak. I probably felt that because I had a faster speed than the average in my group.

As for the exercises, JBB is more open and more interesting than the step by step exercises I came across in both the classroom trainings.


John (JBB):
How would you evaluate the relative speed of these 3 learning methods (alone on the web, classic class training, JavaBlackBelt) ?

I'm self-taught, so for me classic classroom training is the slowest. With JBB, it took less time to assimilate because I didn't have a need for what I learned at the training centers right after the course.
Whereas with the workshop and test system, I had to use what I learned right away. I certainly went twice as fast as with a traditional course.

Compared to learning by reading a book, I must have learned 30% faster with JBB, because it uses real-life examples earlier in the course. And the exam was a real incentive.

John (JBB):
One month ago, you started JavaBlackBelt's JPA course. Now, one month later, do you feel you retained more information than with other methods?

Patrick:
Yes, because I had reviewed the subject for the exam not so long ago. Because of that, I learned better. That's what happens when you put into practice what you have learned. I couldn't have done it alone with a book without JavaBlackBelt. The problem with traditional classroom training is that it rarely comes at the moment you need it the most, so you don't tend to use it immediately and you tend to forget it quite fast.


John (JBB):
Would you participate in another course with the same (JavaBlackBelt) methodology?

Patrick:
Yes, certainly. Honestly, it's the best training I've ever taken.