DAT201x

DAT201x: Final recap

I really enjoyed this MOOC. I even considered upgrading to a verified certificate, but that was before I realised that after conversion, it would cost me ~ R1100. I might as well take the actual exam (~R747) and use my UNISA school discount to pay ~R422.

Overall, I think it was a very comprehensive basic -> intermediate course on using SQL with SQL Server 2012. It was great for me to able to apply some of the theory I’ve learnt over the years, and to understand more about the technology which underpins our SDE.

I hope that Microsoft will be offering more courses in this format in the future, as I find it a much better environment for learning than MVA. I also like how they’ve tied this course into convincing people to write the official exams. I’m definitely considering it seriously (after studying. A lot).

Now that my schoolwork is done for the moment, I have about two months to get a couple of MOOCs in. Also, I should look at ESRI Certification again, as it is a stormcloud hanging over my head, especially now that my PLATO application is complete.

DAT201x Querying with Transact-SQL: A timely MOOC

I mentioned a while ago that while I was chuffed that Microsoft has started offering MOOCs on edX, I was not at all pleased about the peer assessment requirement in DEV203x.

peer assessment meme

Fortunately, another MOOC caught my eye: DAT201x Querying with Transact-SQL. The timing could not be better – I’m currently preparing for my first university exam in 5 years, so I’m trying to get back into that frame of mind. The exam is focussing more on the theory of database administration, best practice etc (so pure study work – my favourite!), but one of the assignments included a question where the answer was to write a query in T-SQL.

While I did that in undergrad, things have gotten understandably hazy over the years. Coincidentally, I had to modify some queries at work on one our SQL Server databases recently, so after not doing anything pure SQL related in 5 years (besides the SQL stuff in ArcGIS), in the same month I get hands-on experience at work, plus this MOOC to refresh my memory. Just in time for the exam in 3 weeks. Yay!

Also, no peer assessments. Just pure learning.