Date: Sun, 4 Jul 2004 13:05:20 +0100 From: Paul Robinson <paul@iconoplex.co.uk> To: freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org Cc: Mike Tibor <tibor@tibor.org> Subject: Re: training (was Resourceful BSD/Linux Network Administrator) Message-ID: <20040704120520.GJ43549@iconoplex.co.uk> In-Reply-To: <40E758D9.9060609@softweyr.com> References: <20040702183604.A41037-100000@xena.mikey.net> <40E758D9.9060609@softweyr.com>
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On Sat, Jul 03, 2004 at 06:09:45PM -0700, Wes Peters wrote: > I'm sure the advocacy list wouldn't mind a discussion of training, > it's been mostly dead for quite a while. If somebody wants something > more directed, that's good too. I think a training program with some > accreditation would be great, but I don't know how to go about getting > such accreditation*. I now of several Linux training programs that are > widely accepted in Linux circles but mean nothing to the average "HR > Professional" in the USA because they're not certified or accreditated > or anything like that. The Red Hat courses get some acceptance because > they're at least "vendor" coursework. Did you actually read the link I sent? Just asking, because it explains some of this... http://vagueware.com/Open_Training > (*I'm not even sure accreditation is a real word, but it's the one that > US education companies and school systems have adopted. When I was > looking for a university back when dinosaurs roamed the earth it was > "accredation" and "accredited.") You can accredit anything you want. So can I. The value of that accreditation is variable. One given by a famous University carries more weight than one I might provide. Accreditation really means nothing more than a set of processes that are a little like quality control processes in engineering. In other words, the FreeBSD project can accredit learning it feels is suitable. This is the way forward. As my notes indicate, we do NOT want to be talking to existing training companies about this, because they can not, and will not, reflect what is actually needed. I work full-time in a UK University, and deal with accreditation of e-learning materials in the "digitial media sector". The quality of Unix training is SHOCKING. I mean, truly, truly awful. I saw a piece of content last week which was just outright ridiculous. For example, here is one of their assessment questions: Which of the following companies has never produced a version of Unix: 1. AT&T 2. Berkley University 3. IBM 4. Microsoft Now, I know, you know, we all know, ALL of them have been involved in Unix, but according to this firm, IBM have never produced a version of Unix. Yes, AIX wasn't a very good Unix, but even so... A more open training and accreditation model based on existing high-quality materials such as the Handbook is a much, much, much better way to do it. -- Paul Robinson http://www.iconoplex.co.uk/
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