PHrePeat
Category: Tech...
Posted Friday, May 14, 2004 at 04:06 PM [GMT-6]

Some of you may recall a post here and there earlier this year about my experience with an online beginning PHP class, offered through the International Webmasters Association/HTML Writers Guild. I completed the requirements for the course in February, but never felt that I had mastered the material...so I'm enrolling for a repeat.

Frankly, the first course was a mess. It was, indeed, the first course, with a new instructor and an untried curriculum. Judging by the comments on the message boards, most of my fellow students became frustrated for two reasons: we tried to cover too much, too quickly, and the "textbook" was really an advanced technical reference book, with little value for someone trying to learn the basics.

I -- and, I suspect, many others -- submitted formal feedback at the end of the course suggesting some changes, including a more realistic, slower-paced curriculum and a better textbook. When I received the notice of the new class, I was pleased to see that both suggestions have been incorporated. In addition, the same instructor will lead the class, and that's a plus.

From one perspective, I feel like something of a failure for needing to repeat this course. However, PHP is such an important and useful tool for my line of work that I can't afford to let pride prevent me from taking the opportunity to master the basics of the subject. So, beginning May 24, you may see more signs of frustration and agony on these pages. If my plans work out, it will just be me growing less incompetent.