FreeOCP

I apologize for the cross-post of this message but I think it applies to most Oracle related groups.

The following document outlines the Free OCP concept. Please read it and seriously considering contributing a small amount of work to the project. Working together we should have no problem accomplishing the tasks outlined. If you want me to keep you posted or you are sure you want to contribute send an email to epost1_at_yahoo.com.

Free OCP

Contact: Ethan Post (epost1_at_yahoo.com) Domain: www.freeocp.com (not active yet) in the meantime I will be setting stuff up at www.freetechnicaltraining.com. Date: Dec. 01, 2000

What Is Free OCP?

The purpose of Free OCP is to build a complete archive of free training materials for the Oracle Certified Professional Program exams. If you are not familiar with the Oracle Certified Professional Program you can visit the Oracle web site for more information. The program consists of a number of various tracks, some orientated towards developers and others administrators. Successfully completing each track consists of passing a specified number of exams. The concepts that are tested on each exam are clearly broken out in candidate guides which can be downloaded from Oracle.

At this time there are few resources of significant quality and quantity on the Internet for OCP preparation. I don't want to overlook OracleNotes and Cramsession (www.oraclenotes.com, www.cramsession.com), two very good sites, but working together we can do better. Your other option at the moment is to join the Oracle Learning Network at > $1000/yr. and go through their courses.

The Advantages of Collaboration

The point of this project is to draw on the resources of Oracle professionals all over the world. This is a group effort. In the perfect world the entire project could be completed within a month provided those capable of participating did so. Unfortunately things may take a bit longer because my experience is that 1 in 10 who commit to participation actually participate.

The advantages of working this way are:

Better quality over time through peer review and the fact that the content can quickly be updated to correct mistakes. In effect the quality is dynamic, unlike a book or most courseware available on the Internet.

Distribution of workload and faster development over time as interest and participation grows.

Multiple instructors and styles means it is most likely going to be more interesting than most training content created by a single instructor. If you have been to my site
(www.freetechnicaltraining.com) you know I'm all the proof you need
that creating interesting training is a very hard task, let's face it this stuff is boring sometimes. By working together and possible recording audio content using multiple individuals in a discussion style forum maybe we can make this a bit more interesting.

How Do I Participate?

First let me answer a quick question, "Do I need my OCP to participate?". The answer is no. I'm looking for Oracle professionals that are willing to help other Oracle professionals. I have chosen to produce content for the OCP exams because there are well defined guides to follow and it easily segments the workload. If you are capable of teaching a particular task or skill then you are free to contribute. Your peers will decide if the training is accurate before it is published or certified.

The first step to participation is to contact me, Ethan Post
(epost1_at_yahoo.com). Let me know you are interested in participating
and I will contact you with further directions in January. I will spend December simply promoting the concept. In January I will define the requirements for the content, you will pick an area to create content for and we will begin publishing. The content in it's most basic form would consists of slides (480 * 360 if possible) in .GIF format, and a Real Audio or a transcript of the audio you want tentatively recorded. I personally create my slides in PowerPoint and use the free version of Real Producer to record the audio. The details on how to do this will all follow soon but suffice it to say it is really simple.

As content is created the group will begin to create streaming video examples which will add a richer base of content to the streaming slideshow presentations. We will also develop sample quizzes and tests. This is of course eventually going to require a lot of bandwidth so the hope is to obtain some sort of financial support or build the materials into a distributed structure using mirrors and whatever other free sources can be obtained. I will maintain the materials using a suite of tools I have already developed to support my current web site.

The Rewards of Free OCP

If you participate in Free OCP you are contributing to the success of others all over the world in the Oracle community. You will also receive public recognition and praise for your efforts. That may not sound like much but if you have ever done it you know it is worth a lot more than money. A single email from someone thanking you for your efforts and recognizing the hard work you have done makes it all worth while.

Why Will Free OCP Succeed?

Demand for this type of content is huge. There are an unbelievable amount of people seeking OCP prep content that is easy to understand and orientated towards passing the exams. I think materials can be put together that accomplish both the training of the user and exam prep at the same time. Most materials available currently are actually aimed at folks with a lot of Oracle experience and merely provide review. My belief is that most people studying for the exams have very little experience and need exam prep content to be very clear and thorough.

I guess ultimately success has to be defined before one can understand if they have achieved it. My goals are lofty but my measure of success is not. If in the next year I have complete training materials for a single exam that includes multi-media content and I'm delivering it for free that will be a success in my mind. If I have more than 5 individuals actively participating in the creation of content I will also consider that a success. Each day folks from all over the world log on to my web site, I would hope I can convince a few to join the effort.

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy. Received on Sat Dec 02 2000 - 02:12:29 CET