So you’re thinking about virtual instructor-led training?

Okay, so maybe you aren’t completely sold on virtual instructor-led training yet. I am here to reassure you. There’s a place for it in your Tableau education plan. If you haven’t taken virtual training before, the unknown might make you question whether it’s right for you. Or, if you have taken virtual training, you may wonder what Tableau has to offer.

Let us ease your concerns and get you excited about attending a Tableau virtual training.

Convenient and flexible

Who doesn’t love working from home in their pajamas? Tableau virtual instructor-led training allows you to grab your first cup of coffee (or fifth, we’re not counting) and leisurely get to your computer before class starts. No worrying about getting out the door and commuting—you can join right from home. You can even attend from the beach, lake, coffee shop, or pub down the street. As long as you have internet access, you can join a virtual training class.

We offer classes in time zones worldwide, so there will be options in or close to your time zone. This allows you the convenience of taking a course during the workday or in a different time zone, so it doesn’t interfere with your daily work. We also offer virtual classes of varying lengths. Some are full days (9 am - 5 pm), and some are partial days (2 - 3 hours/day). This gives you the flexibility to complete the course in a couple of days or spread it out over a week. Either way, you are getting the same proven Tableau curriculum delivered by an expert certified instructor.

The only downside is that you don’t get a catered lunch. But it also means you can have potato chips and chocolate for lunch—no judgment here.

Interactive and engaging

I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s hard to focus when a presenter doesn’t engage with the audience. In a virtual environment, this becomes even more important; no one wants to be talked at for multiple hours in a day. Tableau’s virtual training instructors use many different tools to engage with you throughout the class—in the form of a verbal question, a multiple-choice poll, or a hands-on discovery task. You have the opportunity to use the chat or anonymous poll to answer questions. Having multiple outlets for interactivity and switching between the lecture, interactivity, and hands-on activity will allow you to interact more comfortably and keep the class moving. 

Not only do our instructors use interactivity to keep you engaged, but they also throw in fun ways to learn the concepts. For example, to make complex topics more relatable—they may use ice cream sales to help you understand scatter plots or superheroes to discuss sets and combined sets or even cookie recipes to get you more familiar with relationships. Once you understand the concepts at a fundamental level, the instructor relates them to industry-specific examples so you will know how to apply them to your work. 

In a perfect world, I would want instructors to ask me questions to keep me engaged, and get my questions answered in real-time. Guess what? Our virtual training instructors don’t follow a script and answer any questions you might have throughout the course. You can ask questions about the content the instructor is demonstrating. Most importantly, if you ever get stuck during a hands-on activity, the instructor will be able to clarify steps, so that you can move ahead seamlessly. And remember, if you don’t want to unmute to ask a question, the virtual training environment has a chat feature to chat directly with the instructor.

Support

Technology doesn’t come without its pitfalls, and many times it can be daunting to have to use new systems and technologies. Our Global Services team is here to help. A week before your training session, you will receive all of the information to download the course materials and log in. You can download the materials ahead of time and test your connection to the virtual environment before the training starts. This not only allows you to stroll into class a few minutes early with peace of mind, but if you have any issues before class begins, you can get help from Global Services. They can assist with troubleshooting or even use other resources and technologies to make sure you have the content and information you need. 

Not only do you have Global Services to help with technical issues as your first line of defense, but you also have the certified instructor to help. The instructor knows the technologies’ ins and outs and can point you in the right direction if something happens during class. Many of our instructors are seasoned experts and have likely dealt with all the technical issues you throw at them. 

Now that you know a little more about virtual instructor led-training at Tableau, you are ready to take your learning experience to the next level! Once you get into the virtual classroom, you will quickly understand how fun and engaging our virtual classes and instructors are.

Convinced and ready to sign up? Go to the Live Virtual Training Classes page to see courses and a full schedule. You can register for a class directly from there!

Still not convinced? Check out the video at the bottom of the instructor-led training page that gives you a window into our virtual instructor-led training with snippets of live classroom experiences.