Best Tech Tutorials

Thursday, 12 January 2012

Evaluation Guides for Information Technology Training

It goes without saying that by far the most common type of training to undergo in the workplace today is Information Technology. Whether you're a trainer looking to deliver successful IT training programs or are a business manager looking to enact some successful performance measurement for past IT training processes, it can be difficult to know where to start.

In some ways IT training is different to other types of training, but in most aspects it involves the same broad principles, both in terms of the learning process and the evaluation phase.

It's difficult to overstate the importance of IT training in the modern workplace, as so many jobs are now totally dependent on it. From the trainee's point of view it may be vital to performing daily tasks. From the employer's point of view it can yield vast improvements in productivity. Finally, from the trainer's point of view it is a professional activity that should be enacted according to best practice.

Here are a few resources on the subject of evaluating training for IT with links to detailed information from both the training and business management perspectives:

Ambysoft: Strategies for Effective Training and Education in Information Technology (IT)
This is a comprehensive guide to Information Technology training within business organisations. This page distinguishes between training and education, with clear guidance on strategies to facilitate effective learning of IT systems, practices and processes in the workplace context. One of the most useful elements here is a lifecycle model for the training and education experience.

Acend Corporate Learning: Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Learning
This page explores the Kirkpatrick model for evaluating the success of training programs. The model addresses various aspects of performance measurement, including reaction, learning, behaviour and results. This is specifically aimed at people in business contexts, with particular reference to Return on Investment (ROI). The official Kirkpatrick site has lots of info as well.

Free Management Library: Evaluating Training and Results
Detailed guide to evaluation of training processes within business environments. Includes a comprehensive section on training evaluation with regard to Return on Investment (ROI). This page isn't dedicated to IT training specifically, but is a useful general overview of the evaluation task.

FAO Corporate Document Repository: Principles and Methods of Training
Comprehensive overview of training principles including a section on evaluation, covering aims, tools and content of evaluation materials. This is a really useful guide to refer to for all aspects of training, not just for IT and not just for the evaluation process.

Ara Research and Development: Evaluating Training Effectiveness
This is another general, non-IT specific overview but has a range of useful points, tools and techniques for measuring the success of a training process. The focus is on feeding back into the training content to improve it over time.

BusinessBalls: Training Programme Evaluation
Another generic overview, but with links to additional resources. This page has a section on lessons workplace trainers can learn from childhood educational principles. This page is a great reference for links to information about models and sample paperwork for feedback capturing.

Intulogy: The ADDIE Instructional Design Model - Evaluation
The ADDIE model is used by trainers when creating training programmes. This page overviews the evaluation principles within the ADDIE model through a series of broad questions.

Finally here are a couple of mine:
Checklist for IT Training Evaluation
Evaluating IT Training

So there you have it. Although these are not all specific to IT training, they do all contain material that is relevant to it. Hope it proves useful.

Wednesday, 25 May 2011

Data Mapping Tutorials and Guides for XML and Relational Databases

Data mapping is sometimes an inevitable task for developers, although it can be difficult to know where to start. Application and project changes can lead to the decision to shift data models and systems, such as changing from XML to other database platforms. If you've ever been faced with the task of transferring data between XML and database systems such as MySQL, you'll know the sheer number of decisions that sometimes need to be made.

Of course there are database systems in which XML data can be modelled natively, however the trickier case is where a different model is going to be used, for example relational. This kind of XML database mapping initially involves creating a relational database design that effectively models the same set of data that the original XML was structured for. This needs to include all of the same information as well as reflecting the relationships between data items, and as with so many design tasks, there is never only one right answer.

There are lots of software and Web application tools that automate the process of importing XML data into a database. It's really up to developers to decide whether this is going to be appropriate or effective in any particular project. The focus of the resources listed here is more on manually creating a relational model designed to accommodate data that is already stored in XML, with the XML model perhaps represented using an XSD (XML Schema Definition).

Here are some useful resources I came across reading about the topic:

O'Reilly XML.com - Mapping DTDs to Databases
I've found this an excellent site generally for anything to do with XML. This section runs through the key principles and considerations in mapping from an XML structure such as one represented in a DTD, to an object relational system.

W3C - XML Database Mapping
This may be a pretty old document but it makes an interesting read, exploring some of the major concepts in translating data between XML and database structures.

XML and Databases - Ronald Bourret
This is one of the best resources I've found on this topic. It's a very thorough guide to just about every imaginable angle on XML and databases, including both table based and object relational mapping.

O'Reilly XML.com - Storing XML in Relational Databases
Another one from the O'Reilly XML.com site, this piece discusses various approaches taken by major applications and vendors including Oracle, Microsoft, IBM and Sybase.

MySQL Developer Zone - Using XML in MySQL 5.1 and 6.0
Naturally this is specific to MySQL, so if that's the platform you happen to be targeting there's some useful info in here. Topics include XPath, importing and exporting XML data.

Oracle XML DB Developer's Guide - XML Schema Storage and Query: Basic
This contains Oracle specific info but there is also some interesting general material on data mapping, including mapping data types from XML Schema to database and SQL types.

International DB2 User Group (IDUG) - Converting XML to Relational Data
A thorough and balanced explanation of XML to relational data conversion, with a particular focus on shredding, including a well reasoned weighing up of when it is and isn't likely to be suitable.

IBM DeveloperWorks - XML Matters: Putting XML in context with hierarchical, relational, and object-oriented models
The DeveloperWorks site is always a good resource for very specific technical subjects like this. This article takes a high-level, abstract but still accessible view, discussing the conceptual aspects of each model with relation to importing XML data.

Lorentz Center - Structured Mapping of XMLType
Again, this is specific to Oracle and other technologies, but there is a fair amount of generally useful info within it. Particularly helpful sections cover XML Schema and various topics on mapping to SQL.

Kitebird - Using XML with MySQL
This is focused on MySQL but again covers some of the central issues in mapping between XML and any database system. The subjects are covered from a few different angles here, including importing XML into MySQL using different techniques.

Finally here are a couple of mine:
Using XML Schemas (XSDs) to Create Database Tables
XML Database Mapping Using XSD (XML Schema)

So that's it, this is one topic I must admit I've found it difficult to discover useful material on. I don't personally have much experience in using any of the software and application tools for this type of activity, but I suspect a manual redesign will probably always be the most successful approach in switching from XML to relational database systems.

Monday, 2 May 2011

Android User and Developer Guides

Finding guides to using and developing Android applications is not particularly easy. The number of useful sites and blogs is growing, but still seems pretty small. As a casual Android developer I recently started a blog about Android development topics because I was surprised by the lack of resources available apart from the official Google guide. However, I've also been surprised by the relatively small amount of information for Android users (as opposed to developers).

Anyway, here are some of the more useful sites I've found:

Android - The Developers Guide
As mentioned above, the official guide is by far the best source for Android development information, including tutorials, the official API for the Java Android resources and all sorts of recommendations.

Android Developers Blog
This is another official source from Google, but I've found it often contains info I had been struggling to find on the official guide. It's also a bit more informal as it's article based.

AndroidGuys
AndroidGuys is a great source for information about Android devices, apps, news and user guides. There's a healthy portion of comment in it too so it's a readable resource to have a regular look at.

TalkAndroid
TalkAndroid is an excellent source for real Android geekery. A news-based site, this is a great place to find info about upcoming releases, devices and apps.

anddev.org
Anddev.org has proven to be one of the most useful developer resources I've come across so far. It's a community site so the information is forum-based.

Android Tapp
Android Tapp is one of the many Android app review sites, with a lot of detailed information about the featured applications.

Android and Me
Android and Me is another fantastic source for news about all things Android. Again, this is more of an Android geek resource than a casual user one.

Android Central
Android Central is one of the few sites I've found that manages to strike a good balance, catering equally well to casual and technical Android fans. This site contains a lot of different types of Android information, including apps, tips, news and tutorials.

You can of course find Android info on sites that are not focused exclusively on Android. This information tends to be a bit more arbitrary, so you're more likely to come across it by Googling what you're looking for. However, there is decent Android info on both Smashing Magazine and Mobiletuts+ among others.

Finally, here are some of my own: