With apologies to The Beatles, the theme song that’s been stuck in my head this month goes something like this,

Learn, learn, learn

There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done

Nothing you can build that can’t be built

Nothing you can learn that can’t be learnt

It’s easy…

I spend a lot of my time helping people learn about business intelligence and I do that in many different ways. I’ve been doing this type of work for a long time, but each year I try to learn how to do a better job of helping the people around me learn more about BI. As I review my plans for the first half of the year, I see a whole lotta learnin’ going on! Maybe you can join me…?

In the Classroom

First, there’s the traditional route that involves teaching in the classroom. For a multi-day experience, I will be providing an intense dive into BI at the Immersion Event – Business Intelligence (IEBI) in Chicago, May 4-8. I love this class because we get to cover a lot of BI ground with some really practical stuff, and I had a burst of inspiration this month on how to make it even better based on an experience I recently had working with a client and fixing up some problems they were having. I really like practical, and so do my IEBI students, one of whom said:

Any presenter can teach someone how to use a tool, but how best to use that tool to interact with the business in order to have a successful implementation that you’re confident business can adopt is what set this apart.

On the Road for SQLSaturday

SQLSaturdays are great events where you see local speakers and speakers from the national and international conferences present on our favorite subject, SQL Server, FOR FREE!!! I don’t have a complete schedule yet for 2015, but so far I am committed to speak at:

In fact, in Boston, I am also presenting a full-day preconference workshop, SQL Server Reporting Services Rookie to Rockstar for a nominal charge on Thursday, April 16. This is another class that is getting a makeover this year based on some new ideas I’ve been exploring, so I’m really excited to get Boston to see it come to life!

Oh, and I’m putting together our second SQLSaturday in Las Vegas. The location and date are still in the works, but we’re aiming for September!

On a Ship

Yes, that’s right! It’s a classroom on a ship! Specifically, SQLCruise Meditarranean, June 14-21, sailing from Barcelona with an amazing group of technical leads: Grant Fitchey , Aaron Bertrand, Andrew Kelly, and Argenis Fernandez. It’s a conference, it’s a classroom, it’s a classroom-conference! But it’s better because we get to spend time together talking SQL-ly things in a relaxed environment. But don’t think that cruising thing gets in the way of learning. In fact, it’s pretty conducive because there are a lot less work/life distractions to steal your attention away.

In Video

I’ve been a Plurasight author for several years now, and I really appreciate hearing from viewers from time to time about how much they learn from the material available. I’m very pleased to announce the release of my 10th video, Advanced Integration Services Part 2. Because apparently the first Advanced Integration Services wasn’t enough! After teaching Integration Services in the classroom for clients a few times, I was asked some questions that led me to develop the content for this newest course. A Twitter follower said “thanks, you’ve just made my ‘Todo’ list longer :)”. I think that’s a compliment, right?

I love working with Pluralsight. Creating courses for video has really forced me to rethink how I approach the education process. Earlier this month, I went to Utah for Author Summit 2015 and learned a lot of amazing things that I’m still trying to digest, but I’ll work these ideas into future content – whether live or recorded. It’s been amazing to see how Plurasight has evolved over the years and I’m excited to see the direction they want to go in the future. I am also very pleased to be part of a Women in Technology discussion that was recorded and published on YouTube.

imagejpeg_0

Park City Ski Lesson

Pluralsight sponsored a snow day at Park City after the summit where this girl got to learn (or at least attempt to learn) how to ski for the first time ever. Apart from my partner, I was old enough to be the other students’ mom … I guess what they say (sort of) is true: there’s… Nothing you can learn that can’t be learnt, at any age!