IT training: why experience beats rote learning every time

If you're a VMware admin, you don't need us to tell you that there's a lot of knowledge to keep on top of. Broadcom's acquisition of VMware ushered in changes to the catalogue that can throw a curveball into any working day.

The best way to stay in the loop is through continuous training. And where VMware is concerned, one of the best avenues for training is through VMware Education Delivery Partner (VEDP) courses.

These offer a sandbox environment where VMware admins can try out core tasks with no risk of real-life repercussions. In an ever-changing field, this is invaluable experience.

It's a great example of experiential learning (learning through doing). Online manuals and walkthroughs are certainly helpful – but only up to a point. In the world of complex computing with real-life ramifications, experience is king.

Not convinced? Here are five reasons why experiential learning is your best route to proficiency – whether in VMware in particular or education more generally.

1. How deep is your knowledge?

Do you remember your least favourite subject at school? Chances are, you crammed for an exam. You stuffed your mind's pockets with the information you needed to get through it. And the minute you closed the exam paper, that information plunged into oblivion.

But perhaps your least favourite subject at school involved a school trip, an experiment or a group activity. This may have stuck in your memory long after you left school and vowed never to touch that subject again.

Why? Because experiential knowledge plants roots in your memory. Rote learning, on the other hand, has a tendency to go in one ear and out the other.

The difference, then, isn't just between active and passive learning. It's also the difference between short-term and long-term knowledge. And in an IT environment, you need knowledge that lasts.

2. Getting ready for the real world

In many countries, learning to drive involves two separate tests – a theory test and a practical test.

The theory test gives you the information you need. However, without practical application, you're unlikely to bring that information to mind when it's needed to keep you safe.

The same goes for information related to VMware software administration. You might know how to deal with a disaster in theory. But without experiential learning, you're unlikely to confidently implement that knowledge.

In other words, experience and experiential learning give you the gift of adaptability – so when real life strikes, you're ready to act.

With this readiness to act comes a deepening of critical thinking, analytical skills and general problem-solving. In the sandbox, you can try before you do.

3. Meaningful feedback

Let's say you have to memorise 20 facts about Barbary macaque monkeys. Once memorised, you have to complete a multiple-choice quiz. This will be marked by a monkey expert.

This feedback tells you what you got right and what you got wrong. But in itself, it doesn't help embed that knowledge.

Compare that to an online classroom where your tutor is giving you in-the-moment feedback. Let's say you're deploying an app. Any mistake you make can be instantly corrected and put back on course.

This feedback isn't just the postscript to a dull exam. It's integrated in the learning process itself and is far more likely to stay in your mind, ready for real-world applications.

4. More engaging, less… boring

This is the big one. We can theorise all we like about the virtues of experiential learning. But at the end of the day, if training is boring, it's not going to sink in.

Rote learning is boring. That's not to say it has no value. If you want to learn your times tables, it's probably the way to go. However, if you're talking about complex IT procedures, rote learning is likely to make your eyes glaze over and your eyelids droop.

Experience, on the other hand, is a great teacher because it's engaging. Learners are given dynamic problems to solve, not dry theories to memorise.

The importance of learner engagement can't be overstated. It's the difference between giving a professional the basics they need to get by and the deeper skills that enable them to flourish in challenging situations.

5. Creative thinking allowed

Rote learning encourages you to memorise facts. It doesn't encourage you to use your creative thinking, much less deepen your creative thinking skills.

Active learning, however, activates those creative lobes. It encourages you to think outside the box in your quest to solve real-life problems.

And because training takes place in a virtual sandbox, you can explore to your heart's content. As you explore, you can rest assured that no mistake is permanent and nothing you do will cause downtime or disruption.

Exploration, after all, is all about considering multiple solutions and landing on the best. IT professionals don't just complete training with deeper knowledge. They also leave it with deeper creative thinking skills.

What is VEDP?

VEDP stands for "VMware Delivery Education Partners". It refers to VMware-authorised training courses that teach IT professionals how to unlock the full potential of VMware's product suite.

VEDP's training labs are hands-on, active, experiential programmes. This means they bring learners all the benefits we've looked at:

Deepening knowledge
Getting learners ready for the real world with engaging courses
Providing meaningful feedback
Encouraging creativity

VEDP has replaced VMware Authorised Training Centres (VATC). This change was a consequence of the acquisition of VMware by Broadcom in 2022.

How we can help

Here at Ascend Cloud Solutions, we provide lab hosting services for VEDP courses to help bring training to life. Our platforms are highly secure, highly available and highly flexible.

Interested? Please don't hesitate to get in touch with our experts to discuss your needs in more detail. You can also browse our range of supported courses to see exactly what our infrastructure is capable of.

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