Anyone who knows me knows I'm a BIG Tom Kyte fan.
Tom's published his list of New Years Resolutions for 2009, and the top of the list is "Practice a restore at least once a month." You can read the rest of the resolutions here:
http://www.oracle.com/newsletters/information-indepth/database-insider/jan-09/kyte.html
(Thanks to Chen Shapira on Twitter for the pointer to this.)
Esther Schindler of CIO.com has a great article on PC World, listing 17 Telecommuting Disadvantages. One of them, #8, is all about the annoyances of teleconferences -- but if you flip those annoyances around, they become training tips.
...people who lead teleconferences (with a half dozen participants) and start out by saying, "Who's here?" Doing so makes everyone on the phone wonder if it's their turn to speak up...
Tip: take roll call instead, using the list of invited participants. Starting out this way also puts you squarely in control of the meeting. If possible, use web conferencing where rollcall is always available on the screen.
Organizers who show up late. Telecommuters are stuck listening to music-on-hold for ten minutes, during which they wonder, "Was today the right day? Did I miss the meeting?"
Tip: Be there early if you're leading a session. Just like in the classroom, being early means you get to welcome everyone individually and establish rapport before the group session starts.
People who refer to a lot of visuals without bothering to send the file to telecommuters; and then they don't refer aloud to the data they're pointing at.
Tip: Reference at least the slide title (and slide number -- you do put slide numbers on your slides, don't you?) when referring to visuals.
[A big thank you to Twitter user Reg Saddler (zaibatsu) for the link to this great article!]
When I got started in training, the pencil-type laser pointer was over $100. Needless to say, I found other ways to point at the screen (hand shadows being the primary one).
Recently, I finally broke down and got a laser pointer, which I keep in my trainer kit. The cost? Only $3, in a clearance bin at Walgreens. It was sold as a cat toy: a way to put a spot of light on the wall for cats to chase around. (It also puts up an image of a mouse, a butterfly, a star, and my favorite, a smiley face.)
The use of laser diodes in mass-market equipment such as CD and DVD players has lowered their production cost so far that now they can be sold as toys, not $100 professional tools. I don't care what it says on the package, it's a dandy training aid.
On the other hand, training is often compared to herding cats, so maybe the package description is appropriate.
NOTE: Do not put this in your carry-on luggage. It's considered a weapon and forbidden by the TSA, so pack it with your trainer kit in your checked luggage.
UPDATE 2/4/2011: Laser pointers no longer appear on the TSA's list of prohibited items, and haven't for some time. Thanks to reader LaserPointers for asking me to research and update this post.
I've just finished creating the test environment I'm going to use to prepare for the 11g OCP upgrade test. Instead of installing directly on a lab machine as I've done before, I decided to do this one inside a VMWare virtual machine. Here are some notes on what I did, while they're fresh in my mind.
Don't you just love the Internet? I found an excellent step-by-step install guide by John Smiley, and it really shortened the learning curve. It also contains links to the download sites for Oracle Enterprise Linux 5, which is functionally similar to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, and Oracle Database 11gR1.
VMWare layer:
I created a VM with 1024Mb memory, a single 20GB hard disk, one network adapter bridged. I don't plan to do RAC scenarios with this image, it's just for the basics, so I kept it simple. I can add more virtual hard drives to it later to practice ASM.
Linux layer:
I used Oracle Enterprise Linux 5, downloaded from Oracle. I followed the install instructions from Oracle-Base, which included details on disk partitioning. OEL5 includes 5 CD images as .iso files, but the install only required the first 3.
On my first attempt, I did as the Oracle notes suggested and did a default install of packages. But this led to problems later with missing libraries needed by various RPMs. So, I started over, selected "Customize Now" instead of "Customize Later," and followed instructions I had used successfully with 10gR2 in terms of which packages to include and not:
This worked much better.
I then followed the Oracle instructions exactly for preparing the OS for Oracle, in terms of adding several additional RPMs, setting kernel parameters, creating security groups and creating the oracle user.
Oracle installation:
My first try failed due to unzipping all the files on my Windows machine and burning an ISO image. I got permissions errors when trying to start the Oracle Universal Installer. So, I reburned the image with just the ZIP file as downloaded by Oracle, and unzipped it within the Linux environment. The rest of the install was textbook.
Throughout, I used the VMware Workstation 6.5 snapshot feature, taking snapshots of the base Linux machine, Linux machine plus additional packages, Linux machine plus customizations for Oracle, and finally after the successful install. I connected with sqlplus and was rewarded with the opening banner giving the version as 11.1.0.6.0.
Let the studying begin! Oh wait, it already has.
New candidates for Oracle's entry level DBA certification must now pass an exam on SQL, in addition to the existing requirement for passing the Database Administration I test. The Oracle Certified Associate (OCA) credential is the first rung in Oracle's 3-step DBA certification ladder. The change went into effect December 1st, 2008.
According to the Oracle University website, any of four exams will meet the requirement:
Existing OCAs and OCPs do not have to fulfill the additional requirement. Their upgrade paths remain the same.
Training on-site at customer locations is sometimes challenging. Every classroom is set up differently, and that means having to be adaptable to the tools available.
For example, I like to draw on whiteboards as I talk, but many classrooms have such a big pull-down screen that the whiteboard is almost completely covered. It's a hassle (and distracting) to constantly raise and lower the screen.
My accomodation to this was to open a Word document, set the font to 24 pt. Arial, and use it to type my notes. It was awkward at first, but after a while, I found I really liked this approach. I can use the notes during review on future days without messing with bulky easel pads. And I email the entire whiteboard document to the participants after class is over, which makes a good "after sale" reminder of the value I've delivered.
I'm still struggling with how to draw diagrams: the tools in Word are a bit primitive.
One tip: back up the whiteboard to a flash drive before you leave each day. Some classroom environments reset themselves upon logout, and your documents might not be there the next day. Also, some on-site training rooms are shared spaces that others might use between class sessions. Be prepared: backup!
Training professionals, like all knowledge workers, need to plan their time. There is always more to be done than time available, and choices have to be made. These choices become commitments -- and once made, these commitments need to be tracked to ensure we follow through on them.
What city am I in next week? Has the venue been prepared? Did I send the course materials ahead? Which course is it, so I can pack the right Instructor Guide?
Two popular approaches to planning systems are top-down (or values-driven) and bottom-up (or action-driven).
An example of the top-down approach is the Franklin-Covey Planner. Their process starts with writing a personal mission statement that embodies your personal values. "Begin with the end in mind," says Steven Covey, and work backwards from that. The mission statement leads to long term goals in the various roles in your life, such as spouse, parent, worker, church member, etc. These long term goals in turn lead to shorter term projects, and eventually, daily tasks which are tracked on the pages of the Planner. Your purpose becomes a compass that guides you in daily decisionmaking.
David Allen, author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, works from the bottom up. You start by itemizing every "open loop" or unfinished commitment in your life, and taking them one at a time, determine if there is a next action to be performed. Any action that takes 2 minutes or less is done immediately, and longer actions are either delegated or scheduled on a calendar or action list. Allen contends that as you gain control over execution, your mind will become freer to strategize what's important to you.
So which system is right: top-down, or bottom-up? The answer for me is "both." (Your answer, of course, may vary.) I have done some work identifying my personal values, and I use a paper-based Franklin-Covey Compass planner. (Classic size, wire-bound, weekly format, in case you're interested.) But I don't use it the way that Franklin-Covey says to use it: instead, I use it as the calendar component of an overall Getting Things Done (GTD) filing system.
I've been working with planning systems for over 35 years now, constantly refining and adapting as my needs change. And I still miss things occasionally. But my systems help me do the best job I can of fulfilling my commitments, both to others, and to myself.
