Courses. Beneficial ?

[chris h]

I wonder what the view is of people who have taken hands on courses in Photoshop either 1 day or extended. I live in a fairly densely populated area of Northern England and courses on the program are thick on the ground. I can find my way round PS6 and consider myself beyond the beginner stage. With this in mind I enrolled on a couple of advanced 1 day courses to polish up bits of Photoshop that I'm less than familiar with.
Alas on commencing these courses I've found that other participants haven't even used the program before ! In one case the tutor (Very good) told the class to create a temp folder for their work (he'd burn it onto a disc for them at the course end) and was met by blank stares and requests on folder creation. In the latter case I got a refund, have people found this to be a problem in courses they have taken ? The college I used set out the course aims very clearly and yet had pupils who had paid £70-$120 for courses that used a program they were unfamiliar with.

[Ed_L]

I haven't taken a course, but it seems to me that if it is made clear that the assumption will be that the student has at least a specified amount of background, the problem of learning lies with the student. How could you possibly run a class when the student body is far behind what the class is intended for?

Ed

[chris h]

Ed,

I fell into the trap of assuming people would read the course outline, with hindsight I think some people were on subsidised fees and thought what the heck, its a change from paper folding ! Seriously though it wastes the time and funds of those who want to wring the maximum benefit from a course.

[Ed_L]

It seems to me that the instructor should explain that the course will go on as intended. If all courses were run the way you described, how could the schools expect to fill the classes with people who fit the target audience? If people find out that they are wasting their time like you did, why would they consider signing up for another class from that school? I think you'd better tell the instructor to get out the dunce cap (and use it!)

Ed

[thomasgeorge]

The only experience I had along those lines was to sign up for what was suppost to be an advanced probe into selections and channel manipulations, however when I discovered that several individuals I knew, who had no knowledge of channels-- period --were signed up for the "advanced" course, I withdrew before the class started. As it turned out, the course deteriorated into instruction in simple selection technique. No channel manipulation and very little on alpha channels.... I think the driving force behind far too many "classes" is-- Money-- rather than actual instruction. Not all classes, mind you, but a lot of instructors and colleges etc., are far more interested in the dollars than in properly screening applicants, which is why I am hesitant to enrole in any more, prefering to gain knowledge by independent study and excellent sites like this one. Personal motivation is what drives learning anyway. If you are interested and motivated, you will find answers to your questions and in doing so, at least I think, tend to remember more and forget less. Just my rambling opinion though.... Tom

[DJ Dubovsky]

Generally courses are listed with what you are expected to know beforehand and whether or not there are any prerequisits. When the class does finally start, those that are behind usually have to catch up on their own because it is not fair to those that took the class expecting a certain level of training. Sometimes people over rate their own expertise I guess.
DJ

[chris h]

Agreed with all. As said the instructor/tutor should be ruthless and stick to the specified aims of the course. Over here if a college can show a large demand for its courses to central government its grant increases but not the quality of the product.
As Tom says its best to draw on alternative sources to complement the personal 'hands on' work.

[Paul Rupp]

There are several very good Video courses out there. You don't have to worry about the "level" of the other students because there are none! The instructor can get down to the nitty gritty and teach!

Paul Rupp