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O'Reilly Opens Online Tech School

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the exams-are-today-and-you-didn't-study dept.

bl8n8r writes "The popular book author has started the O'Reilly School of Technology which offers online training and certification. "The O'Reilly School of Technology and the University of Illinois have partnered to offer Certificates of Professional Development in information technology and related skills." Among classes offered are Linux/Unix administration, Open Source coding, Java coding, C Programming and others."

19 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Hard Knocks by Channard · · Score: 3, Funny

    No, but there will be plenty of scope for.. 'I'm doing an online course!' 'Oh, really?' 'No, O'Reilly' style jokes.

  2. Open Source coding? by Timesprout · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What does a class with a title that generic entail?

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    1. Re:Open Source coding? by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Personally I think this could be the most interesting course if done correctly. Rather than "Here's how you code, do this, do that" it could be a mix of coding standards, how to deal with people and how to deal with the bullshit drama in some areas. This would be a useful course for geeks lacking social skills and while they may not learn a huge heap about coding, they could learn a lot of more useful stuff to them in the long run.

      --
      I like muppets.
    2. Re:Open Source coding? by kuom · · Score: 2, Interesting

      This is what's listed under "Open Source Programming" on the O'reilly site (all of these are $398):

      - Learn Perl for CGI Programming
      - Linux/Unix 1: The Unix file system
      - Learn Object-Oriented Programming using Java
      - PHP/SQL 1: Introduction to Database Programming
      - Introduction to PHP

      I would hardly consider any of these specifically "Open Source Programming". There are plenty of closed-source perl/PHP/Java programs out there. This curriculum sounds more like a mix of web and database programming, mixed in with a little bit of UNIX system administration. I guess "Open Source Programming" is a catchier title.

      But again, it's hard to narrow down on what exactly Open Source Programming is... I was hoping that there would be a certification for preparing someone to lead a open source project, and the course materials would cover project management, documentation, software packaging, and bug tracking system.

  3. Hmmmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    O'RLY?

  4. "Hmong classes offered are Linux/Unix...." by jddj · · Score: 5, Funny

    Damn. More offshoring...

    1. Re:"Hmong classes offered are Linux/Unix...." by garcia · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes, because there's not a good sized community of Hmong people in America (especially in Minnesota)...

      Why do you immediately have to assume that those that are not "American" are off-shore?

  5. CEU? Why not for credit? by garcia · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'd rather find a community college offering similar courses for credit rather than CEU. At least then I would have less of a chance of it not transferring. Too many poorly accredited institutions are out there today offering CEU courses which probably wouldn't transfer anywhere else anyway because they weren't taken for actual credit.

  6. Developer Certs v. Code Samples by WED+Fan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As a mid-level manager, I have yet to hire anyone with a certificate. We do hire people with proven skills. Prospective developers are given a few problems to solve to see how they solve it.

    I did work for a company that hired only those with certificates. Not too many skilled there.

    The problem with certificate schools is that state and federal job training agencies send out-of-work truck drivers, ex-cons, the chronically under-employeed to get trained in networking, programming, or project management. Then, there are the certificate schools that are just scams.

    --
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    1. Re:Developer Certs v. Code Samples by cyber-vandal · · Score: 4, Insightful

      How does a person who wants to get into IT but has no experience get into IT?

    2. Re:Developer Certs v. Code Samples by cyber-vandal · · Score: 2, Insightful

      How do you get a year's experience from a book?

  7. that and a ham sandwich... by SuperBanana · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "The O'Reilly School of Technology and the University of Illinois have partnered to offer Certificates of Professional Development in information technology and related skills."

    students will earn 4 CEUs (Continuing Education Units) and a CEU letter from the University of Illinois Office of Continuing Education.

    $1600 (let's see- that's 2-3 weeks pay) for a new school, completely unproven? I'm eligible for tuition reimbursement and such, but my HR department would laugh me right out the door.

    This CEU/"certificate of professional development" and a ham sandwich at an interview would get me something to eat.

    --
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  8. Re:ATTN: Windows/Linux refugees! by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 2

    WTF. How is this related to my post?

    --
    I like muppets.
  9. Re:ATTN: Windows/Linux refugees! by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 4, Funny

    WTF. How is this related to my post? After some stringent analysis and peer review, it is my professional opinion that based on its X/Y position as compared to your post, its relationship to your post is that of a hierarchical child.

    In all seriousness, the guy is just being an asshat.


    warning: The above content tests positive for sarcasm and/or is a failed attempt at humor and should be taken with a pound of salt.
  10. Wow, I think this is great... by writermike · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Some of the drawbacks aside, I am very jazzed about this.

    1. I trust O'Reilly.
    2. I definitely learn more by reading-and-doing than simply reading.
    3. When I try to self-learn, I have trouble dreaming up interesting/challenging projects to complete.
    4. I don't necessarily have the time to devote to on-campus learning.
    5. I am not interested in attaining a "degree" or a "certificate." I just want to get my hands in technologies that will help me in my job.
    6. I don't find the course prices out of line.

    I sincerely hope it's successful and they start offering a larger range of the courses.

    --
    If Nalgene water bottles are outlawed, only outlaws will have Nalgene water bottles.
  11. O'Reilly has been offering this for years by poboxbot · · Score: 2, Informative

    This "school" has been around for at least two or three years. Same partnership between O'Reilly and the University of Illinois, same courses, same cost, same certificates.

    They just rebranded it "O'Reilly School of Technology."

  12. Re:Hard Knocks by ez76 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Let's just hope they don't use any O'Reilly publications as textbooks. I mean seriously, is it me or did their quality peak in 1992?

  13. Re:CEU? Why not for credit? by scott_mills_gray · · Score: 5, Informative

    Hi, I'm the director of this thing. Our goal is to eventually become accredited, but to do so we'll have to get some rules changed. There are a lot of rules that exist either because of the legacy of the classroom, or because of the limitations of the first generation of Learning Management Systems (LMS companies like Blackboard lobbied to get implemented.

  14. Big disappointment by matria · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I got the "web developer" certificate over two years ago; it was a sad waste of $1,700. I found numerous errors in every course, and had to patiently explain the error several times to my "mentor" before he finally realized what was wrong. I wonder if they've ever corrected the errors.

    And then the certificate itself is just a drab printout. I would have done better to fire up GIMP and make my own. Very disappointing.