At Big Nerd Ranch, we have some strongly held beliefs about how people best learn new technical practices. Some of the central tenets of our teaching philosophy include:
These have all been a critical part of our teaching practice for over twenty years and they will continue to be for any training we deliver. In the past, we even held some more ‘extreme’ positions like:
These last few are a bit tongue-in-cheek. As one must, we have evolved our beliefs as the world of learning has changed. What we’ve always cared about, more than any of the specifics, is that our students learn as much as possible as efficiently as they possibly can. We want them to have an unforgettable experience that they want to tell their friends and colleagues about. That’s how we’ve managed to stay around so long in the rapidly evolving world of technology.
After experiencing all of the ups and downs of the last five years, it’s probably less surprising that we would embrace a new way of training students. After all, the pandemic forced us to become a live-virtual training company overnight. Technology evolutions and our own growth have seen us branch out from our mobile core into new technologies and domains such as React, Golang, and Machine Learning.
Our blended-learning experiment stems from the same culture of learning and innovation that has propelled us from our earliest days through now as a part of a global experience, design, and technology consultancy (Stellar Elements).
So why are we offering our SwiftUI course as a blended experience?
The main drivers are our students and clients. We have the opportunity to work with leading companies from all over the world. Those companies are evolving, and so are their attitudes toward learning delivery. Our clients and students have told us pretty clearly that they want to have learning delivery options that provide flexibility and that enable them to learn while continuing to meet their day-to-day responsibilities.
Also, we believe in creating unforgettable learning experiences, and blended learning allows us to accomplish that goal in a way that is authentic to who we are and what we believe about students and learning. Quite simply, human learning needs a human touch. Learning modalities such as eLearning and video have their place, but to really learn a new skillset or to make a significant leap requires a more immersive and intensive approach with the guidance of an expert mentor. Blended learning combines the best elements of both worlds to create a cohesive and effective learning environment that allows students the flexibility to do some learning at their own pace while also giving them expert access, instruction, and interaction along the way.
Lastly, blended learning has a capacity for scale that we are eager to embrace so that we can accommodate more students and can provide more expert access to quality technical training. In turn we can offer the course at a lower price, which makes it more accessible to students and increases its overall value for the price.
We have crafted our blended experience based on a lot of research, trial and error, and learnings from our entire history. It’s geared toward giving students the best learning experience we can.
Here’s what to expect:
This carefully crafted experience is geared toward helping you to understand what’s possible and giving you the confidence to explore more. I hope we’ve gotten you interested in what blended learning can offer you and/or your team. Come join us on our inaugural journey into blended learning with our upcoming SwiftUI course. It starts on September 20 (less than a month away) so register now!
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