These notes answer some of the questions we are asked
about the organisation of our training courses,
They describe our normal way of working but arrangements can
be flexible.
Please call or email if you need more detailed information.
Terms
Courses on a client's site are charged at a basic daily
rate with a small adjustment for the number of delegates.
A typical day's course runs from 09:30 to 16:30. This gives four
ninety-minute sessions with breaks for coffee and lunch and allows for
preparation beforehand and questions afterwards.
We can arrange courses away from your site if you feel that delegates
need to be separated from their everyday work.
The course fee includes a copy of the manual for all delegates. We can
present these in your corporate style if required.
Free email support is provided for three months
after the end of the course.
Conditions
Provisional bookings may be made at any time
but will lapse if not confirmed within a week.
Confirmed bookings may be cancelled without
charge up to four weeks before the start of the course. After that,
cancellation fees rise from 25% to 100% week by week as the start date
approaches.
Alvechurch Data retain copyright in the manuals.
Training Environment
An appropriate training environment is essential if the course is
to deliver benefits:
No more than six delegates
One PC each
Isolated from the main network so that operational data cannot be harmed
Appropriate software loaded - including the Help and Sample files
Flip chart with paper and pens for the trainer
A quiet room with no interruptions from other staff
Breaks for coffee or lunch every 90 minutes
We have found from experience that courses run more smoothly
if these extra conditions can be met:
High-spec PCs reduce frustration - databases need
much more disk space and memory than word-processors.
Big monitors - a basic 800x600 screen cannot show enough information.
A printer - otherwise delegates have to use pen
and pencil to record useful snippets of code.
Typical data from the delegates' work available - learning
is more effective when it can be associated with familiar
applications.
Preliminary meeting between trainer and delegates - the
examples on the course can then be tailored to match the
delegate's background.
MS Office loaded - importing and exporting data
are often important parts of the course.
Data projector - modern databases use a visual interface
instead of typed commands and delegates need to see what the
tutor's mouse is doing.
A data projector is essential for three or more delegates.
Preparation
We will always be on site half an hour early to ensure
that everything is set up and working correctly before the
delegates arrive.
Hints & tips
The textbox class in Visual FoxPro 9 has a new Autocomplete
property which shows the user the previous values that have
been entered in that textbox.
Autocomplete in VFP 9
Your Access database will look more impressive if you add custom toolbars...
Custom toolbars