[ale] Fwd: AJUG Java Certification Study Group - Enrollment

[aaron]

A couple months back a few of us had kicked around the idea of organizing a 
"Peer Group" instruction class, possibly focussed on Java.  This Study Group 
isn't *quite* the same thing, but it is similar, does encourage some peer 
instruction, and it is free of charge (outside of purchasing the primary text 
book).

With the group leader's permission I've forwarded his invitation from AJUG 
below. I will be definitely be participating in this course and hope other 
ALE folks can take advantage of the opportunity too.

Just a couple of info points not in the initial invitation:

  The group will be meeting 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Tuesdays
   at the Sun Training Center. (GA 400 @ exit 5e)

  Additional (and rather throrough) details are available at
  http://www.seelink.org/AJUG

peace
aaron


----------  Forwarded Message  ----------

Subject: AJUG Java Certification Study Group - Enrollment
Date: Thu, 05 Sep 2002 10:31:33 -0400
From: Lee Chalupa <lchalupa at seelink.org>
To: ale at ale.org
To: ajug-members at ajug.org

ATTENTION:  AJUG MEMBERS
Does this sound like you?

You have a genuine interest in advancing your Java skills. You may or may
 not be using Java in your present job.  You have some experience in
 another language.

To date, you haven?t made as much progress as you would like.  You talk
 about your intentions but your progress is sporadic and something else
 always seems to get in the way.

You  need to make the time you do have count.  Your busy.  Your schedule
 is already full with family matters and that boss that expects you to do
 your job.

Your  not as confident about your skills as you would like to be.  You
 have worked or played with some part of the Java API but you don?t feel
 that you are ?ready? to get involved in a study group.  You keep
 thinking that you need to warm up first but a month goes by and you are
 still not ready.  If you thought about it, you know your lack of
 confidence stems from the fact that you don?t know what you know and
 what you don?t know when it comes to Java.

It is easy to get frustrated studying alone trying to grasp new
 information out of a textbook.  You can get 90% of it but you sure wish
 you had someone to explain stuff you don?t understand.

Hello.  My name is Lee Chalupa, I am the administrator of the AJUG Java
 Certification Group. Here are 7 ways the Java  Certification Study Group
 can provide value to you as a member of AJUG:

1. Self Confidence.  You can read the internet about the pros and cons of
 the certification exam itself.  The outcome of this study group is more
 than a final exam.  The exam isn?t ?final?.  You need an on-going 
 process.  A process that builds not only your java skills but also your
 self awareness of those skills and with that comes your self confidence.

2. A Clear Target.  We can help you assess your Java skills by
 identifying the learning/ behavioral objectives that you need in your
 tool box as a Java Programmer, help you assess your performance of those
 objectives, and  help you close the knowledge gaps.

3. New Friends.  You can network with people that share your enthusiasm
 in Java to help you fill in the gaps in your knowledge without the pain.
  We provide a support group for you where it is ok to talk about what
 you don?t know as much as what you do know. Where you start in not as
 important as where you finish.

4. Productive Time.  You can become
 productive quickly through reuse of the organization that the study
 group already has in place.  No need to reinvent training materials,
 practice tests, exercises, research, etc.  Help us build on what we
 already have.

5. Flexible Scheduling.  Our group is organized to provide flexibility to
 help you juggle your schedule.  We are striving to become more ?virtual?
 and depend less on physical meetings so you can study when you have the
 time and still be involved when you can?t ?be there?.

6. Maintenance.  Have you even considered how you are going to maintain
 this knowledge once you acquire it?  We have some ideas about how we can
 help you with this too.

7. Freedom.  If you need it, the weekly meeting gives you a reason to get
 out of the house for one night every week. Just kidding?.

Still interested? Ready to act? We are starting our next cycle through our 
curriculum on September 10th. Register for the study group by contacting Lee 
Chalupa, the group?s administrator at lchalupa at seelink.org.

You are welcome to join our group at any time but some people prefer to start 
at the beginning of the book.

-------------------------------------------------------



---
This message has been sent through the ALE general discussion list.
See http://www.ale.org/mailing-lists.shtml for more info. Problems should be
sent to listmaster at ale dot org.