The idea of a business version of YouTube for dispensing IT skills training — for new technology and software, tips of the trade — may not be so outlandish after all.
Actually, software simulations already exist in the thousands, says one Canadian expert — YouTube, or something like it, would just be another platform for IT managers looking to acquire new skills via a shortcut to traditional modes of learning.
According to Richard Pappas, president and CEO of Laval, Québec-based technical training firm Simgraph Inc., a tutorial via streaming video is easy to make, and easy for the learner to come by. “The technology has come to an age where producing this kind of small video is economical, easily deployed and rapidly put into the hands of the users who could benefit from it.”
SAP AG’s Hasso Plattner recently shared his vision for IT knowledge workers to be able to share and receive how-to tips, courtesy of YouTube-type video tutorials. Nothing, he said, beats a two-minute video demonstration.
However, it should be recognized that technology such as a business YouTube is merely an enabler for training, and should not form part of the primary consideration when creating a tutorial, Pappas said. Achieving training goals should take priority, he added.
First, come up with learning objectives, then perform a media analysis, he advised. If that analysis leads to streaming video, then start looking for technology that will enable that. Pappas thinks that a YouTube-type platform is potentially an enabling technology, with Flash video being best-suited given the broad spectrum of users.
However, video tutorials he’s observed thus far are wanting. “From what I’ve seen, most of what is being produced is ad-hoc and lacks focus and doesn’t meet training objectives.”
Just because technology enables you to do it, doesn’t mean the tutorial will be great — do the groundwork first. If done well, it will catch on. Check out these choice picks of technology how-to videos from YouTube.
Demystify Linux for the Luddites
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LkDWyDcQaco Scenario: An explanation of what Linux is, its usefulness and limitations.
Approach: This five-minute monologue by a computer science professor might help IT managers explain to their business counterparts what Linux is and why they may want to invest in it.
Tips: Gives you the basics: Used heavily in scientific applications and the entertainment industry to render movies, Linux allows developers to see and recompile the code for themselves, instead of trusting developers of proprietary software to work on proprietary code against pressures to go to market. Linux programmers have easy access to the code, and have a stable system that can stay up for years without needing to be rebooted. On the flip side, Linux can be difficult to pick up, given that it was written by programmers for programmers. However, there are now user interfaces to make coding easier. Being open source also means it lacks a common design pattern, which might make it tricky to apply your know-how of one app to another.
Make your own blog with Ruby on Rails
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Gzj723LkRJY
Scenario: Creating a company blog quickly and easily using Ruby on Rails, a development framework for building database-driven Web sites. It provides skeleton code, or scaffolding, for the IT manager who may not want, or know how, to create a blog from scratch.
Approach: Fifteen-minute, step-by-step screen presentation narrated by Ruby on Rails creator by David Heinemeier Hansson.
Tips: Only prerequisites to creating blogs using Ruby on Rails are a Web server and database. Besides that, the user interface — blog title, date field, body text, etc. — is built using existing scaffolds. Scaffolds merely get you started, but changes can be applied on top of the base structure. Validations can also be added to model objects, such as requiring all posts to have a title, which automatically maps to the interface. Ruby on Rails minimizes coding, mapping and configuration required. It can also make unit and functional testing easy by setting it upon creation of new model objects.
Server virtualization explained
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KLF-hvtrrRc&mode=related&search=
Scenario: Benefits of server virtualization to organizations, and future directions in this area.
Approach: Webcast of a segment of a panel discussion on Scientific Computing.
Tips: Virtualization has been around since the early 1960s; it has many uses and comes in various configurations. Four configurations are discussed: hardware partitioning, server operating system, storage and application virtualization. A case study is mentioned where drivers to virtualizing a data centre were lack of storage capacity, reducing costs (system administration costs around hardware, lifecycle costs, better uptime and business continuity), a need to retire old hardware, and reduce power and cooling demands. The future of virtualization is a wider acceptance of features available today, such as live migration, live snapshots and backups, automated load balancing between physical servers, and ease of scaling up and scaling out.
Get the stats behind enterprise Web 2.0
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yGwVIvvswfk
Scenario: How Web 2.0 will impact business models, and change how organizations interact with customers and employees.
Approach: Webcast of a conference session discussing results of a Web 2.0 survey of 400 senior-level execs.
Tips: Today, marketing and sales, customer service, and information and research are using Web 2.0 tools the most. Web 2.0 is expected to influence public opinion about organizations, and shift the balance of power between companies and customers. Businesses will be able to use the Web to turn customers into partners. When making a business case to the CFO, it’s useful to mention Web 2.0 will increase customer acquisition and facilitate innovation. It will also reduce costs for customer service, public relations, marketing and innovation. To succeed at Web 2.0, bridge the generation gap by including the younger generation on the team, and borrow what you can’t build by partnering with companies who have already done the job.
Master the art of Microsoft’s WPF
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kyrN_Ky3HWc&mode=related&search=
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jo2acEXxbSM&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpo9Bbu9ZRE&NR=1
Scenario: Creating an Xaml (Extensible Application Markup Language) browser application using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). Formerly named Avalon, WPF provides developers a unified programming model for building applications that incorporate user interface, media, and documents.
Approach: A tutorial composed of a series of short (average of six-minutes each) step-by-step screen presentations narrated by program manager Filipe Fortes.
Tips: The series starts by showing how images and vector graphics can be inserted and sized using WPF’s XamlPad, a Xaml visual editor, via a sp