DABlog

This introduction is the first—number zero, if you like—in a series of articles about technical training, intended to be read by trainers but of interest, I hope, to a variety of teachers, managers, and interested learners from various backgrounds. After this introduction I am planning at least three further articles, addressing such topics as how to handle classes with mixed levels of experience and what’s involved in choosing among different teaching modes (lecture, hands-on, etc.). After that, we’ll see.

Not all teaching is training. But as far as I’m concerned, all training is teaching; and teaching is a fascinating, challenging, absorbing art. I’m not going to philosophize at any length about the terminology. I just want to make it clear that in this series about training, I consider myself to be addressing a branch or style or permutation of teaching, with all that that implies.

I’ve taught a lot and I’ve been at it for a long time. From 1992 to 2005 I was on the faculty of the Department of Communication at Seton Hall University, teaching media history and research to undergraduates. Meanwhile I’d been programming computers as a hobby since 1972 (with some gaps, but pretty steadily since 1990), and I’d become a Ruby and Ruby on Rails expert.

By mid-2005, my academic career and my supposed hobby were on a collision course. I had a year-long sabbatical coming up, with the expectation that I would write an academic book; but that summer I signed a (non-academic) book contract with Manning for Ruby for Rails.

The timing was favorable for a change. Ruby beckoned; and with a sabbatical scheduled I wasn’t expected to be in the classroom anyway. So I changed careers: I resigned from Seton Hall, instead of taking the sabbatical, and started to earn my living as a Ruby consultant, author, and trainer.

I figured I’d finish Ruby for Rails and then get a programming job. I did finish the book, but instead of getting a job I set up a one-man consultancy, Ruby Power and Light, and started taking on short-term contracts—and a lot of training jobs. I trained and trained. In 2006, I traveled to something like twenty-three cities, from California to Sweden, training people in Ruby and Rails.

I continued to make my living mainly from Ruby and Rails training through most of 2009, at which point I started working full-time as a developer at Cyrus Innovation. I’m still involved in training projects, though, especially (though not exclusively) a recurring training event called The Compleat Rubyist. Teaching isn’t my main bread-and-butter at the moment, but it is a part of me and always will be.

I hope you enjoy the series.

Next up: Handling mixed levels of experience in a training class