Dashcourses' Blog

Dashcourses Online Training VS the Firewall

What happens when you buy an expensive online training course for your staff and discover that it’s not compatible with your firewall? You have a lot of unhappy people on your hands, that's what happens.

Your staff isn't happy because they aren't going to get the training they have been anticipating. Management isn't happy because you’ve spent money. You're not happy either.

Many of the online webinar-style tools suffer from this problem. Ours does not. The classroom environment is hosted on a Dashcourses server farm that allows students to connect to it through their corporate firewalls. Once inside this virtual classroom, students are then able to talk to the instructor, watch the instructor, and connect to Dashcourses' computers which are pre-loaded with the requisite software.

For example, if it is a Java development class, all the Java development software is already pre-installed and pre-configured on a a PC in the Dashcourses virtual classroom. The student does not need to install java development software on his own PC.

The important aspect of this is security: even though the student is going through his own PC to connect to ours, no one has visibility into his PC

The student hears the instructor, sees the instructor, and talks to the instructor. When it's time to do the exercises, the student clicks a button and presto, he/she is on a computer in the virtual classroom dedicated to him/her.

The instructor can watch students work just as if he is standing there right at the student's side.

Gas Prices Make Online Training More Compelling

With gas prices still hovering around $4 per gallon in some areas, many companies are taking a long hard look at online training.

Colleges and universities are seeing a significant uptick in demand for online courses. For example, three of four southern Illinois community colleges reported that demand for online courses increased more than 40 percent over last fall.

For IT managers, reduced travel cost is not the only benefit. Leading-edge training organizations like Dashcourses International are structuring their online courses so that in many cases they occupy only a few hours per day. The result is that the IT professional can attend class in the morning and still carry out his normal responsibilities in the afternoon. Students like it too because they can continue to get work done instead of facing a huge backlog when they return to the office after a week’s absence.

Object Oriented Programming in Visual Basic Training Course

Dashcourses wil be holding an online Object Oriented Programming in Visual Basic Training Course Sep 8-12, 2008.

Course Description<

Students who take this course will gain an understanding of the .NET architecture and gain a working knowledge of the Visual Basic programming language.  They will also learn how to build object-oriented applications using Visual Basic; learn how to implement Windows desktop applications using Windows Forms, including programs that interact with databases; and finally, gain a working knowledge of local type inference, object initializers, anonymous types, extension methods, lambda expression, LINQ, and other new features in Visual Basic 2008.

Course Outline

Module 1: .NET: What You Need to Know

• .NET Executables and the CLR
• A .NET Testbed for Visual Basic Programming
• Visual Studio 2008

Module 2: Fundamentals of Visual Basic Programming

• Program Structure
• Namespaces
• Data Types
• Variables
• Conversions
• Operators and Expressions
• Console I/O

Module 3: Control Structures

• If Statement
• Select Case Statement
• Do/Loop Statement
• For/Next Statement
• Exit and Continue

Module 4: Procedures

• Subroutines
• Functions
• Pass-by-value vs. Pass-by-reference
• Access modifiers
• Overloading
• Optional Parameters

Module 5: Advanced Data Types

• Arrays
• Enumerations
• Structures

Module 6: Exception Handling

• Error Detection
• Exception Handling

Module 7: Object-Oriented Programming

• Object-Oriented Concepts
• Defining Classes
• Methods and Properties
• Shared Data and Methods
• Constructors

Module 8: Inheritance

• Inheritance
• Controlling Base Class Construction
• Access Control
• Polymorphism
• Events
• Abstract and Not Inheritable Classes
• Type Conversion in Inheritance

Module 9: Interfaces and Collections

• Interface Fundamentals
• Programming with Interfaces
• Using Interfaces at Runtime
• Resolving Ambiguities
• Collections
• Generic Types
• Type-Safe Collections

Module 10:Introduction to Windows Forms

• Creating Windows Applications using Visual Studio 2008
• Partial Classes
• Handling Events
• Common Controls

Module 11: Windows Forms Controls

• Buttons, Labels and Textboxes
• Radio Buttons and Group Boxes
• Check Boxes
• List Boxes and Combo Boxes
• Timer Control
• Flexible Event Handling

Module 12: User Interface Features

• Dialog Boxes
• Menus

Module 13: Database Programming

• ADO.NET
• .NET Data Providers
• Using Data Readers
• Using Data Sets
• .NET 2.0 Data Binding

Module 14: New Features in Visual Basic 2008

• Local Type Inference
• Object Initializers
• Array Initializers
• Anonymous Types
• Partial Methods
• Extension Methods
• Lambda Expressions
• Query Keywords

Electronic File Supplement 1: Using Visual Studio 2008

• Versions of Visual Studio
• Overview of Visual Studio 2008
• Creating a Console Application
• Project Configurations
• Debugging
• Multiple-Project Solutions

This course will be conducted using Dashcourses’ new Virtual Learning Environment classroom. We designed this industry-leading facility to provide you with a training environment that is not only economical, it is as effective and interactive as having a real live instructor standing right next to you.

Date: Sep 8- 12
Location: Your computer
More Information and to Register: http://www.dashcourses.com/public-courses.html

eLearning is NOT Virtual Classroom Training

In recent conversations, I've noticed that most people don't understand the distinction between eLearning and our Virtual Classroom Environment.

eLearning is typically self-paced using canned 'modules'. Often times the module is concluded by a an online quiz or exam. With eLearning, you - the student - are basically you are on your own.

Dashcourses' Virtual Classroom Environment is a completely different world. You are interacting in real time with a real live instructor. The instructor is talking to you, answering your questions, and giving you feedback. You can ask your questions and get immediate answers. It literally is just like having the instructor standing at your side.

Dashcourses' Virtual Classroom Environment Makes High-Quality Training Affordable for International Firms

IT departments in the far corners of the globe have always faced a significant training challenge. The high cost of international airfare meant that the travel costs almost always exceeded the cost of the training itself.

The other alternative has always been to fly the instructor in for on-site training. The drawback of this meant that the classroom was not usually equipped optimally for the training.

The availability of high-speed internet and Dashcourses' new Virtual Classroom Environment has changed all that.

The classroom environment is hosted on a Dashcourses server farm that allows students to connect to it through their corporate firewalls. Once inside this virtual classroom, students are then able to talk to the instructor, watch the instructor, and connect to Dashcourses' computers which are pre-loaded with the requisite software.

For example, if it is a Java development class, all the Java development software is already pre-installed and pre-configured on a a PC in the Dashcourses virtual classroom. The student does not need to install java development software on his own PC.

The important aspect of this is security: even though the student is going through his own PC to connect to ours, no one has visibility into his PC

The student hears the instructor, sees the instructor, and talks to the instructor. When it's time to do the exercises, the student clicks a button and presto, he/she is on a computer in the virtual classroom dedicated to him/her.

The instructor can watch students work just as if he is standing there right at the student's side.

The Paradigm Shift, or Who Killed Training?

Everyone needs training, but training budgets are being slashed.

Everyone likes off-site traiing because it gets them out of the office, but companies have freezes on unnecessary travel.

If something doesn't change, high-quality training will simply disappear.

The good news is that we are seeing the beginning of a paradigm shift: Technology is making it possible to deliver high-quality, high-fidelity training at a lower cost and without travel.

Dashcourses' Virtual Classroom Environment is just such an innovative solution. Don't believe me? Come try it for free: http://www.dashcourses.com/contests/dashconnect.html

Don't Let A Tight Budget Keep You From Getting Trained

I know management is cutting your training budget, but people still need to be trained, don't they?

The beauty of our Virtual Classroom Environment is that you can get trained at a lower cost without giving up the fidelity of classroom environment. You still have the interactivity with the instructor and still have the hands-on experience.

Don't believe me? Then try one of our free Test-Drive courses: http://www.dashcourses.com/contests/dashconnect.html

Online Oracle 10g Admin II Training Oct 27-31, 2008

One of the most challenging tasks ever presented to database administrators is that of recovery from failure, especially if the recovery must not result in a loss of any data. This course presents all the standard failure scenarios and the best recovery strategies for each. Strategies for on-line backups, complete and incomplete recovery, media recovery vs. flashback database recovery and many other subjects are discussed. Extensive exercises allow students to simulate failures and perform actual recovery within the workshop.

Additionally, some of the most exciting new technologies ever released by Oracle are considered within this course. Subjects like the Database Scheduler, Flashback operations, Automatic Storage Management (ASM) and many others are included. This course book is filled with in-depth conceptual diagrams, hundreds of actual code examples, detailed exercises and complete solutions.

Course Objectives

The overall objective of this course is to bring database administrators beyond a basic understanding of their environment and to focus attention on more advanced skills needed to effectively configure, administer, monitor and tune the database. Specific subjects to be considered are:

• Using flashback technology to recover from user errors and from database failures.
• Controlling resource utilization on database servers whose resource demand exceeds its capacity.
• Automating routine tasks and functions using the database Scheduler.
• Handling database corruption and even preventing such occurrences wherever possible.
• Utilizing diagnostic sources in troubleshooting database problems.
• Automatic database management, monitoring and tuning facilities. Included is automatic management of storage space and memory resources within the database.
• Automatic resumption of database operations even in the face of failures and errors.
• User-managed and automatically managed backup strategies and database recovery operations.

Audience

Target audience for this course is Oracle database administrators.

Mandatory Prerequisites

• The Dashcourses International course Oracle Database 10g: Introduction to SQL - Complete Library
• The Dashcourses International course Oracle Database 10g: Program with PL/SQL - Complete Library
• The Dashcourses International course Oracle Database 10g: Adminstration l

Suggested Next Courses

There are various courses that could be taken as a followup to this course that feature data warehouse issues, advanced tuning techniques, or for help with common operating systems used for Oracle database servers, please consider the following courses:

For Data Warehouse Issues

Administrators should proceed onto more focused and specialized courses with these modules:

• The Dashcourses International course Oracle Database 10g: Implement Parallel SQL & Partitioning
• The Dashcourses International course Oracle Database 10g: Data Warehouses l

For Advanced Tuning Techniques

• The Dashcourses International course Oracle Database 10g: SQL Tuning
• The Dashcourses International course Oracle Database 10g: Advanced PL/SQL Programming & Tuning

Common OS for Oracle Database Servers

For Help With the Most Common Operating Systems used for Oracle database servers, please consider the courses contained in the following Dashcourses International curricula:

• The Dashcourses International Ccrriculum Linux Enterprise Administration
• The Dashcourses International curriculum Windows Server

This course will be conducted using Dashcourses’ new Virtual Learning Environment classroom. We designed this industry-leading facility to provide you with a training environment that is not only economical, it is as effective and interactive as having a real live instructor standing right next to you.

Date/Time: Oct 27 - 31, 2008
Location: Your computer
More Information and to Register: http://www.dashcourses.com/public-courses.html

Online PCI Express Training Oct 7-9, 2008

PCI Express is a next generation PCI enhancement, and is here to stay. Express is now a serial bus inter-connect I/O technology, along with associated speed, protocol, and capabilities enhancements well beyond PCI and PCI-X. Express is an extension of the PCI Base Specification and maintains binary backwards compatibility with previous versions of the PCI and PCI-X Specification.

Dashcourses four-day PCI Express course will cover the PCI-SIG‘s PCI Express Base Specification, including the up-coming version 2.0 changes/enhancements. Emphasized material will include the details of the new PCI Express protocol stack for Express devices, including, protocol layer functions and formats, transaction details, and configuration requirements. Also presented are the 2.0 changes including Trusted Configuration Environment, Trusted Configuration Access Method, Trusted Computing Group, and Trusted Platform Module or TCE, TCAM, TCG and TPM. Legacy and native PCI Express devices and power management, fabric topology, switching and the use of virtual channels, which provide the ability to allocate bandwidth and support isochronous applications, will be discussed.

Course Objectives

In this course you will:

• Learn about PCI Express fabric topology, the terms and definitions


• Understand the PCI Express protocol including layer definitions and layer relationships


• Traffic types defined by PCI Express and the meaning and usage of isochronous traffic


• The PCI Express definition of ‘virtual channels’ and PCI Express configuration


• Compatibility requirements with PCI and PCI-X, and PCI Express new enhanced features


• Understand the parallel/serial paradigm shift and PCI Express capabilities relative to other serial hardware/software architects


• Learn the Virtual Channel register set and how to program this register set to differentiate services (category of service/quality of service system capabilities)


• Serial protocol analyzer usage in design and debug, validation, and testing

Who Should Attend?

This 4-day PCI Express course is designed to provide a detailed understanding of the PCI Express technology as it relates to board, platform, and system design issues as well as to BIOS, device driver and application programmers, and test and de-bug issues. It is appropriate for design, debug, validation, and field engineers, and managers wanting a good understanding of the hardware/software capabilities and the disciplines required for successful introduction and support of PCI Express devices or systems.

Prerequisites

Participants should have attended the Dashcourses three-day PCI/PCI-X course or have a good working understanding of PCI 2.2 or later. Knowledge of the related PCI supporting specifications as defined by the PCI Special Interest Group (PCI SIG) is helpful but not required.

This course will be conducted using Dashcourses’ new Virtual Learning Environment classroom. We designed this industry-leading facility to provide you with a training environment that is not only economical, it is as effective and interactive as having a real live instructor standing right next to you.

Date/Time: Oct 7 – 9, 2008
Location: Your computer
More Information and to Register: http://www.dashcourses.com/public-courses.html

Online USB Architecture Training Sep 29 - Oct 1 2008

USB, Universal Serial Bus, has become the interface-of-choice for connecting peripherals to desktop computers and, increasingly, workstations and servers. It offers a flexible, localized serial I/O bus that allows connection of a dizzying number of external devices in many different topology configurations. This three-day USB Architecture course focuses on version 2.0 of the USB specification including the USB protocol, signaling environment, electrical specifications and the hardware/software interaction required to configure and access USB devices. Live Demos of frame and traffic types and packet field formats are shown in the class via a CATC protocol analyzer.

Course Objectives

• Explain the architecture of USB and its components


• Understand the operation of USB low-, full-, and high-speed devices and protocols


• Describe the electrical and signaling requirements for 1.5, 12, and 480 Mbps operation


• Describe USB Hubs, power management, and split transactions


• Learn USB configuration requirements


• Explore USB transaction types and device classes

Workshops / Demos

Demos will show and analyze previously captured data. Workshops will allow participants to capture and analyze data for various USB peripherals. Examples include:

• Device recognition


• Bus enumeration


• Data traffic for the different transfer types


• Transfers, transactions, and packets


• Packet sequencing


• High-speed bus traffic


• Split transactions

Who Should Attend?

The course is intended for hardware, software, and validation engineers who will be involved with the design, troubleshooting, and/or validating USB based products. In addition, the course is beneficial to systems designers and managers responsible for integration of USB based devices. Attendees are expected to have a good understanding of PC hardware and software architecture found in Dashcourses’ PC Architecture Overview course. An understanding of serial communications techniques is also highly recommended.

This course will be conducted using Dashcourses’ new Virtual Learning Environment classroom. We designed this industry-leading facility to provide you with a training environment that is not only economical, it is as effective and interactive as having a real live instructor standing right next to you.

Date/Time: Sep 29 – Oct 1, 2008
Location: Your computer
More Information and to Register: http://www.dashcourses.com/public-courses.html