EPCS Class Detail Report Report run: Fri Jul 27 06:54:07 MDT 2001 Class Code: 125612 Class Name: Advanced PERL programming with CGI Instructor: David Slimp Location: Herndon, Va Training Center, US Dates: Jul 09, 2001 - Jul 13, 2001 Number of Registered Students: 15 Number of Surveys Returned: 15 Student Survey Results QN CQI Short Label #Ans Average --- --- ---------------------------------------- ---- ------- 1 Yes Registration 9 4.22 2 Yes Clean and Staff 15 4.33 3 Yes Materials Applicable 15 3.73 4 Yes Course Description 13 3.77 5 Yes Instructor Expertise 15 3.93 6 Yes Classroom Management 15 4.13 7 Yes Technical Accuracy 15 3.53 8 Yes Facilities/Equipment 15 3.87 9 Yes Course Satisfaction 15 4.13 10 No Recommend to Others 15 5.00 11 No Met Prerequisites 15 4.47 12 Yes Helpful Labs 15 3.93 13 Yes Instructor Preparation 15 4.27 14 No Book as Reference 15 3.20 15 Yes Training Experience Satisfaction 15 4.07 Question 1: Was the process of enrolling for your class handled efficiently? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177582 Anonymous N/A someone signed me up 177580 Anonymous N/A I didn't do this directly, so I can't say. 177575 804579 N/A No comment 177571 804535 N/A My manager handled this and I never saw any of it. 177567 804522 N/A A manager enrolled me into this class. I had nothing to do with it but say "ya" I want that class. 177572 804542 N/A No comment 177581 Anonymous 5 No comment 177569 804530 5 I'm accustomed to training courses being usefull, but not really covering things that I had hoped they would. This class has focussed on *exactly* those items I was interested in before coming here. 177570 804533 5 No comment 177573 804567 5 Exceptionally easy 177577 812943 5 Was able to get into the class at the last minute. Greatly appreciated the assistance. 177576 804581 5 Someone did it for me! 177574 804575 3 Was basically effortless 177568 804525 3 My director enrolled me for the class, I did not do this myself 177566 801629 2 I did enrolled three times for this course. The first one as canceled that caused difficult to my travel arranegment . Question 2: Were the facilities where your training was conducted clean and well staffed? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177581 Anonymous 5 No comment 177577 812943 5 The facilities were always clean, well supplied, and the staff was very amicable. 177570 804533 5 No comment 177567 804522 5 No comment 177573 804567 5 Facility was excellent. 177580 Anonymous 5 No comment 177582 Anonymous 4 very clean, like breakfast and coffee machine 177566 801629 4 No comment 177568 804525 4 I have taken classes from here before and each time the facility has improved 177571 804535 4 Everything was very clean, and the staff was as friendly and helpful as I could have asked for. 177572 804542 4 No comment 177576 804581 4 Very nice. 177575 804579 4 This kitchenette was well stocked with drinks and snacks. 177574 804575 4 No comment 177569 804530 3 No comment Question 3: Did the course materials provide information that will be applicable in your job? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177581 Anonymous 5 This is a good class to learn CGI programming. David has a very good presentation style with right amount of info . His has a unique style to let the students explore and find the answers themselves. 177568 804525 5 Yes, the class materials for this class did build upon the beginning perl class materials 177570 804533 5 Great examples in the book. 177574 804575 4 Very concise. 177571 804535 4 Course materials were very helpful. The examples might be easier to read if they had more vertical white space. And I would like to have seen a more detailed example of how to use DBM files. But, overall, I am very impressed with the course. 177572 804542 4 No comment 177573 804567 4 The course materials will be helpful to me to a certain extent. Personally, I don't know how much business related web stuff I'll be using the information for, but it has certainly intrigued me to the point where I will continue personal independant study of the subject. 177567 804522 4 I wasn't expecting so much on the web programming but I wanted more on the complex hash arrays and map functions etc. 177569 804530 4 see comment on question #1 177582 Anonymous 3 Yes. Would've like a book with bigger type face, didn't mind a book book. Also, would be nice to have a reference book also. 177576 804581 3 No comment 177566 801629 3 No comment 177575 804579 3 No comment 177577 812943 3 I believe the information presented in the class met the expectations I had for the class. I wish that there had been more time to talk about the specific functions in CGI as that was my primary interest in the class and CGI was in the course title. I do think it would be a good idea if SUN worked with Oreilly and were able to provide Oreilly books/material in the class. Other than that, the course was on par. 177580 Anonymous 2 Some material in the book is out of date and needs to be revised for more recent perl verison. (ie using &proc is deprecated.) Question 4: Did your training experience provide the information that was described in the course description? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177575 804579 N/A I was not given a course description so I was not aware that the class was focused on CGI. 177571 804535 N/A I never saw a description of the course. 177581 Anonymous 5 I was looking for info on Database and CGI programming. CGI is well covered in the course. More labs on database stuff would have added value to the class. 177570 804533 5 No comment 177567 804522 5 No comment 177582 Anonymous 4 yes. however, I was expecting more info beyond the book. 177577 812943 4 Course criteria was met. The instructors real world experience was what exceeded my expectations. 177569 804530 4 No comment 177573 804567 4 Not sure, never looked at the course description. 177580 Anonymous 3 Course covered was it said it would. Some topics were not covered in depth (OOP) 177576 804581 3 No comment 177568 804525 3 Everything that was described was covered 177566 801629 3 No comment 177572 804542 3 No comment 177574 804575 3 No comment Question 5: Did the instructor demonstrate technical expertise regarding topics in the course? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177581 Anonymous 5 David has very good presentation style. Encourages lab work and lets students explore things rather than giving out the answers. He has very good knowledge of the subject and is able to present it equally well. 177571 804535 5 It was clear that David is very familiar with the subject and very experienced as an instructor. I particularly liked the fact that he really "teaches" the subject using lots of examples. And he's not afraid to say "I don't know", though he didn't have to say it very often. 177570 804533 5 No comment 177573 804567 5 He certainly seemed to, but as I had no exposure to the subject matter prior to the class, I couldn't say for certain. But, he rarely had the deer in the headlights look when presented with a question. 177582 Anonymous 4 very knowledgeable, however, would be nice to know why you would use some features or how one is better than another 177566 801629 4 David has shown a great deal of experence of Perl programming in his lectures and solved student's questions very well. 177567 804522 4 Never did figure out why one of the exercises wouldn't work. Otherwise knows the subject very well. Was this the first time he taught this book perhaps? 177568 804525 4 No comment 177574 804575 4 David is very thorough and again, concise... 177577 812943 4 I feel that David was able to discuss many of the classes questions with confidence, but I would suggest that he not say, "I don't know" as that can cause doubt in his expertise. Perhaps stating more along the lines of, "I have never tried that before but we can find out after class..." would be more appropriate. There were a few times that he did say the latter, but the former was more prevalent when he did not know the answer to a question. I am not mad about this, just trying to suggest ways to help improve his already excellent teaching methods. 177580 Anonymous 3 No comment 177569 804530 3 Dave is very knowledgable - but I've never had a problem with an instructor who wasn't 177572 804542 3 No comment 177576 804581 3 No comment 177575 804579 3 No comment Question 6: Did the instructor manage the training environment to promote learning? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177581 Anonymous 5 No comment 177573 804567 5 Absolutely. He was quite adept at tailoring the material to the needs of the students. 177577 812943 5 This was the first class that I have taken from SUN or their rivals where the instructor was not either "hard-nosed," boring, pushy (like trying to sell something every minute), or irritating. David was able to mix his own weird humor in and keep the class light and awake. Kudos. 177570 804533 5 No comment 177567 804522 5 One time the lecture went on a bit long and I was'nt so sure I could handle it. It was from 1pm till 2:40pm! At the break I just went outside and walked around the building as fast as I could. 177580 Anonymous 5 No comment 177582 Anonymous 4 yes, pointed students to online documentation and CPAN 177568 804525 4 The class instruction flowed in a timely manor...we where not held up and where able to comlete the book on time 177566 801629 4 David has followed the class shedule for both lectures and lab time. In addition, he gave time to students to discuss some their own insterested topics and questions. 177571 804535 4 Class was very well managed. David always started on time and gave clear indication of how long breaks would last. 177572 804542 4 David did a very good job to promote learning. 177576 804581 3 No comment 177569 804530 3 No comment 177575 804579 3 No comment 177574 804575 3 Yes, Whatever that means. Question 7: Were the course materials technically accurate? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177571 804535 5 I expected technical accuracy, of course, but I did not expect the level of detail I found in the student guide. That was a very pleasant surprise. Many technical courses rely on overhead slides with a few "bullets" containing only phrases. This guide has a lot of complete sentences which results in much more information that can be used for reference later. 177567 804522 5 No comment 177570 804533 5 No comment 177581 Anonymous 4 No comment 177580 Anonymous 4 Some minor typos in material, and some dated material 177582 Anonymous 3 yes, however it was a bit old. Also, some material (samples on disk) were missing. 177566 801629 3 No comment 177568 804525 3 The instructor did point out 2 errors in the book. 177577 812943 3 There were some typos and what not but David was able to acknowledge and correct them for us. 177576 804581 3 No comment 177575 804579 3 No comment 177569 804530 3 No comment 177574 804575 3 Like I said, concise. 177573 804567 3 The Solutions directories were missing for chapters 6 and 10. The solutions provided in the solutions directories were occasionally incorrect, or contained syntax errors. It was fun to find and correct them though. 177572 804542 3 few typo Question 8: Did the equipment in the classroom provide appropriate learning tools for the class you were attending? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177581 Anonymous 5 No comment 177577 812943 5 A sun ultra 10 for perl scripting -- need I say more? 177573 804567 5 I have to get one of these machines for home. 177570 804533 5 Good that we had internet access. Good that food was provided. Those Sun keyboards are hard to use compare to "normal" keyboards. 177567 804522 5 No comment 177568 804525 5 THANK YOU for providing free drinks from the pop machine. :) 177571 804535 4 No comment 177582 Anonymous 3 Yes. Didn't have to install Apache, however, hated the keyboard. 177580 Anonymous 3 Ocassionally, dns lookups on the lab computers failed at random, making some websites temporarily inaccessible 177576 804581 3 No comment 177575 804579 3 Getting keyboards that more closely match the layout used by other vendors would enhance the classroom experience. Also, configuring the hosts to print would be an improvement. 177566 801629 3 No comment 177569 804530 3 No comment 177572 804542 3 No comment 177574 804575 3 Workstations configured well. Files and apps needed were in place. Question 9: What was your overall satisfaction with the course? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177571 804535 5 I am very satisfied with this course. It was well worth the time. 177567 804522 5 No comment 177570 804533 5 The class was taught at the right level. The pace was fast but that was the right level too. The topics were exactly what I wanted to learn. 177569 804530 5 No comment 177568 804525 5 Great course, everyone in class had some experience which made the class flow smoother. In the begining class there are people who do not have any experience with Unix or the enviroment inwhich the class is taught and that tends to hold the class up 177582 Anonymous 4 Pretty good overall. Learned quite a bit. 177574 804575 4 Class material was mostly new to me. Learning the material was made much easier by the presentation by the instructor and the concise literature provided. 177566 801629 4 No comment 177572 804542 4 No comment 177573 804567 4 Although I find myself waaay behind the curve in this course (I had 0 perl exposure prior to the class) I believe I have gotten some valuable information from it. 177581 Anonymous 4 No comment 177577 812943 4 Facilities, staff, instructor, materials, information... all were above expectations. 177580 Anonymous 3 No comment 177576 804581 3 No comment 177575 804579 3 No comment Question 10: Would you recommend this course to others? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177582 Anonymous 5 yes. its not perfect but it does break down the material into easy to learn chunks 177581 Anonymous 5 No comment 177580 Anonymous 5 But only to a person with <6 mo. perl experience. I wouldn't consider the topics, or depth of coverage "advanced", perhaps "intermediate" 177577 812943 5 Of course the instructor really sets the tone for any class... so yes I would suggest that someone take a class taught by David. 177576 804581 5 Of course, it depends on the skill level of the person. 177575 804579 5 No comment 177574 804575 5 No comment 177573 804567 5 Provided they have the basics and at least some time using perl in a practical environment. 177572 804542 5 No comment 177571 804535 5 I would certainly recommend this course and, particularly, this instructor to anyone else. 177570 804533 5 No comment 177569 804530 5 No comment 177568 804525 5 No comment 177567 804522 5 No comment 177566 801629 5 No comment Question 11: Did you have the recommended prerequisites and/or knowledge to attend this class? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177582 Anonymous 5 Took another Perl class 2 years ago and have been working with it 177581 Anonymous 5 No comment 177580 Anonymous 5 No comment 177577 812943 5 I took the basic perl class a couple of months ago. David suggested that after having taken the basic class that we should have 6+ months of real world experience, but I think I did fine without it. 177576 804581 5 No comment 177575 804579 5 No comment 177574 804575 5 No comment 177567 804522 5 Well I was a bit rusty on some of the concepts and some that were assummed seemed more like advanced perl concepts to me but the instructor was patient and explained them in lab time. 177568 804525 5 No comment 177569 804530 5 No comment 177570 804533 5 No comment 177571 804535 5 No comment 177572 804542 5 No comment 177573 804567 1 No comment 177566 801629 1 No comment Question 12: Did the course provide exercises and labs that helped you understand the subjects covered in the course? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177581 Anonymous 5 No comment 177567 804522 5 The labs were excellent and plenty of time was given to complete them. I needed all of that time unlike others who seemed to fly thru the labs. 177570 804533 5 Labs reinforced the examples taught in class. 177582 Anonymous 4 Yes. Very good labs, however some were a bit confussing. 177580 Anonymous 4 No comment 177574 804575 4 Again, concise and to the point is the key. 177573 804567 4 The excercises were exceptionally difficult for me, as I had no prior experience with perl. 177566 801629 4 The class exercises are very helpful for me to understand the subjects. 177568 804525 4 Labs, where great, they just pointed out that I am in great need of HTML skills. 177569 804530 4 No comment 177571 804535 4 No comment 177577 812943 3 Some of the labs were really good. Others were lacking in the arena of "showing one how this might apply in the real world." In those cases, David was able to add spice to the class via other exercises. 177576 804581 3 No comment 177572 804542 3 No comment 177575 804579 3 More time could/should be spent on references. Question 13: Was the instructor well prepared to deliver this course? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177582 Anonymous 5 yes. Liked it when gave examples on how he used some of these concepts in real life. 177573 804567 5 I thought so. 177566 801629 5 David is not only knowing the Perl programming weel but also preparing before the lectures. He always ask some common questions to students and then give the answers to help students learning. 177567 804522 5 No comment 177570 804533 5 No comment 177581 Anonymous 5 No comment 177580 Anonymous 5 No comment 177577 812943 4 With the exception of not being familiar with the overhead device, he was very prepared. Of course we can't all be experts in everything but I think he was familiar enough within the class given that instructors are shipped around all the time. 177572 804542 4 No comment 177568 804525 4 David was able to answer any questions brought up about perl, and Unix....very helpfull when the instructor know more that the students 177571 804535 4 David was obviously well prepared both in knowledge of the subject and how to convey that knowledge to the students. He used many different examples and was very patient and helpful with questions. 177574 804575 4 David is a super instructor. 177576 804581 3 No comment 177569 804530 3 No comment 177575 804579 3 No comment Question 14: How useful do you think the course book will be as a reference guide in your job? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177571 804535 5 No comment 177570 804533 5 No comment 177567 804522 5 No comment 177581 Anonymous 4 No comment 177574 804575 4 As I said, concise material assists in learning. Materials offering greater depth might be needed in day to day problem solving. 177568 804525 4 No comment 177577 812943 3 This book would be so much more helpful if it had an index! Flipping through pages or looking in the table of contents is well enough, but an index would be the bomb. 177573 804567 3 Marginal. To implement perl scripts in my job will still require additional source and/or reference material. 177572 804542 3 No comment 177576 804581 3 No comment 177566 801629 3 No comment 177580 Anonymous 2 I will probably use other reference books (O'reily, etc..) more. 177575 804579 2 It doesn't have the depth of information to be one of my primary reference guides. 177582 Anonymous 1 Its okay as a primer but not as a reference guide. 177569 804530 1 The book is well designed for training purposes, but as a reference, the information would be too dificult to find since there's not a decent index to go with it. Question 15: What was your overall satisfaction with your training experience with Sun Educational Services? EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177581 Anonymous 5 No comment 177567 804522 5 No comment 177571 804535 5 No comment 177570 804533 5 No comment 177582 Anonymous 4 Good overall. 177566 801629 4 No comment 177568 804525 4 This is my 3rd class with Sun and any new training classes will be with Sun also 177569 804530 4 No comment 177572 804542 4 Really appreciate the food every morning. 177573 804567 4 Excellent facility, friendly and knowledgable staff. 177577 812943 4 See question 9. 177574 804575 4 Very well done. 177580 Anonymous 3 No comment 177576 804581 3 No comment 177575 804579 3 No comment Question 16: General Comment section EPCS ID Reg Number Answer Value Comments ----------- ----------- ------------------- --------------------------- 177576 804581 This course met my expectations. I am walking away from this course with new knowledge that I will be able to directly apply to my work. David did a great job teaching and answered all questions. When problems arose he investigated them and always had a solution/reason for the weird problems of coding. Thanks. PS: For me, "met expectations" is a very good rating. It would take a lot to exceed my expectations...No comment 177567 804522 Thanks for the food and the ice cream social. That made the course more fun. This was a good location for a class. Lots of parking was available.No comment 177573 804567 Nothing to add. No comment 177582 Anonymous Like breakfast, phone, coffee and classromm but didn't lke keyboard and book. The instructor was very knowledgeable and was willing to work with student one-on-one to finish the lab. Would be nice if email worked.No comment 177571 804535 In general, I dislike taking week-long classes like this because I feel so tied down and restricted. Also, they are frequently boring since the subject matter is generally so dry. But David did an excellent job of making the material interesting and taking sufficient breaks so we could get up and walk around.No comment 177569 804530 I'm very happy with this class. As I've already mentioned, my past experience with classes of this nature was that they didn't cover the material that I was really interested in... not the case here. Dave was a very effective instructor. He knows the information, is receptive to questions and didn't s`dwell on any one topic for too long.No comment 177572 804542 I was really enjoying the class. David did a good job to promote the learning environment.No comment 177581 Anonymous I enjoyed and learned several tricks from the class.No comment 177566 801629 I believe this course will help me a lot to my work. I like this training experence and wish to have some other Sun education training again.No comment 177574 804575 Good job. No comment 177577 812943 Any chance of having CDs printed with the labs and exercises on them? We are mailing our stuff if we want to do so, but CDs would be the way to go. Also I am serious about the index in the course book... :)No comment 177570 804533 . No comment Instructor Survey Results Instructor: David Slimp Question No Short Label Comments ----------- ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- 1 Course Material Comments Overall the course materials are pretty good, but a few things popped up that the students dont feel very good with. One is Chapter 6 Lab 2, where none of us were able to create a database with a complex data structure which would be the real-world way to handle that lab. There IS a way to accomplish the lab, but it would never be done that way in the real world, so some students felt frustrated. Also, Chapter 10 Lab 2... the cookie does not REALLY get set. The webpage does have it's color updated, but that is from the environment variable and NOT a cookie. I don't think that's a problem with the lab itself as I tested many other ways to try and do it researching it on the web as well, and still didn't set a cookie, but even if it's a general Perl problem it's bad for students to have a lab that does work. 2 Hardware/Software Comments Classroom set up was great! 3 Student Comments Students were great... lots of good questions. I'm a little worried about Bill, as he said this was very over his head.. I offered help many times and he stuck it out, but he left early many days. 4 Facilities Comments I enjoyed it here. Staff was very helpful and available. Report parameters: ------------------ Class Code 125612 Class Name Advanced PERL programming with CGI Class Dates Jul 09, 2001 - Jul 13, 2001 Instructor David Slimp Product Code SL-205 Country Code US