WebActivate programme

Witchie · 07-05-2015 07:10PM

sharon31924 wrote: »

Currently on Web Innovate course and it's the worst educational experience ever. This course is a scam. Everyone on the course has either dropped out or are so disillusioned with the incompetent people who run the course. The mess everything up and I have learnt so little. Essentially it's set up to siphon money of the government, which the government are fine about because 1) it's not their money and 2) they can pit-pat out stats on how many new IT graduates they have to both the public and potential corporations intending on setting up here. Everyone on the course is just really depressed and disillusioned. No one has anything good to say about it that I've spoken to...and I've spoken to a lot. I could write forever on just how many things they mess up and there's no support or even interest in any problems anyone on the course might be having.

I spoke to two people who did the course last year and they couldn't believe they'd moved it online as they said it was a disaster off line not to mention online. One of them said he feels someone should just blow the whistle on them but just didn't have the time with family and looking for work etc.

Just stay away from DSA. Disaster.

Wow.

I am also currently on WebInnovate and enjoying the experience and learning from it. I have completed 2 other courses with DSA and have had a mostly positive experience. Of course there are some problems, it is a new method they are using and it is taking some time to get everything right. I know my team are happy enough, the coders are struggling a little but when they have asked for help and guidance they have gotten it.

Having done previous courses with them I know lots of people who did courses there and the majority of them are happy with what they learned at DSA.

26-05-2015 07:04PM

Does anyone have any feedback on the work experience part of either the Elevate or Activate programmes? Just sitting at a pc all day surfing the internet or real work?

Witchie · 26-05-2015 07:08PM

Well for activate I built 3 websites for companies, rang them, met with one of the companies and got all the info and built the websites.

In Elevate I worked for a start up company developing their digital marketing plan and also arranging a launch party for their product using online PR so all real world practical stuff.

In Innovate we are currently developing our own digital product from scratch.

uck51js9zml2yt · 26-05-2015 07:09PM

Witchie wrote: »

Wow.

I am also currently on WebInnovate and enjoying the experience and learning from it. I have completed 2 other courses with DSA and have had a mostly positive experience. Of course there are some problems, it is a new method they are using and it is taking some time to get everything right. I know my team are happy enough, the coders are struggling a little but when they have asked for help and guidance they have gotten it.

Having done previous courses with them I know lots of people who did courses there and the majority of them are happy with what they learned at DSA.

I did the first webactivate course they ran in 2010. From reading this thread nothing has changed .
I would have thought 5 years would have taught them how to run a course properly...sadly not.

B.A._Baracus · 28-05-2015 08:48AM

tatranska,
You say 'sounds like nothing in the course has changed in 5 years' Like the course is a complete waste of time. But weren't you the person who said 'I did the first webactivate and it led me onto other IT qualifications.'

WebActivate is a stepping stone course. For me, it led on to doing WebInnovate (bachelor honours degree) which I finish in a couple of months.
So why the bashing? It put you on the path, it put me on the path, it put witchie on the path... so many others surely

uck51js9zml2yt · 28-05-2015 09:07AM

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

tatranska,
You say 'sounds like nothing in the course has changed in 5 years' Like the course is a complete waste of time. But weren't you the person who said 'I did the first webactivate and it led me onto other IT qualifications.'

WebActivate is a stepping stone course. For me, it led on to doing WebInnovate (bachelor honours degree) which I finish in a couple of months.
So why the bashing? It put you on the path, it put me on the path, it put witchie on the path... so many others surely

I did say that

I went onto more reputable collages. They had their problems but fixed them and improved the experience based on our feedback for the following years students.
With DSA I've been hearing the same issues again and again both here and from people I know who did a course with them.

31-05-2015 09:57PM

I think I've got a permanent Google account with unlimited storage out of it so anything else is a bonus!!

Witchie · 31-05-2015 11:33PM

I got a laptop so ha! &#55357;&#56838;

civis_liberalis · 07-06-2015 08:19PM

Witchie wrote: »

I got a laptop so ha! ��

I don't know when that was discontinued, but there is no talk of them any more. I don't know if it's true or not, but some have said that they were lead to believe they would be given laptops. Personally, I don't think if you're in there 9-4 or whatever, if you are going to be successful with the course, you should have much need for working outside of it.

There might be the odd person who doesn't have access to one outside of the course, but if you applied for it, computers should really be a hobby of yours at least. Maybe I'm wrong but that's my take on it.

Redditor · 08-06-2015 01:24AM

Deleted User wrote: »

I think I've got a permanent Google account with unlimited storage out of it so anything else is a bonus!!

They'll hardly let you use the firstname.lastname@webactivate.ie address that is tied to it indefinitely? They're not free IIRC.

doc11 · 08-06-2015 02:21AM

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

tatranska,
You say 'sounds like nothing in the course has changed in 5 years' Like the course is a complete waste of time. But weren't you the person who said 'I did the first webactivate and it led me onto other IT qualifications.'

WebActivate is a stepping stone course. For me, it led on to doing WebInnovate (bachelor honours degree) which I finish in a couple of months.
So why the bashing? It put you on the path, it put me on the path, it put witchie on the path... so many others surely

Witchie wrote: »

Well for activate I built 3 websites for companies, rang them, met with one of the companies and got all the info and built the websites.

In Elevate I worked for a start up company developing their digital marketing plan and also arranging a launch party for their product using online PR so all real world practical stuff.

In Innovate we are currently developing our own digital product from scratch.

So essentially the only people these course create jobs for is the tutor/lectures(learners going from course to course to internship without proper employment). Unemployed people can't afford to be waiting years for a job and if they did it would be better to start a proper course then fool about with more then likely web templates for a year. Pointless PR plans. and WTF is a digital product?

Witchie · 08-06-2015 09:31AM

doc11 wrote: »

So essentially the only people these course create jobs for is the tutor/lectures(learners going from course to course to internship without proper employment). Unemployed people can't afford to be waiting years for a job and if they did it would be better to start a proper course then fool about with more then likely web templates for a year. Pointless PR plans. and WTF is a digital product?

Not true. I have a real job now as a direct result of the course, in fact the person who hired me contacted the college directly looking to hire from our course. The web templates were only used in activate as a tie in with eircom but we were also taught html & css as well as using other cms.

Others from my first course webactivate got jobs directly from it and a lot of the ones I was in class with for webelevate got jobs from it too, some are continuing their studies.

A digital product is an app, a website etc. We just call them a digital product as people are working on a variety of things.

08-06-2015 12:57PM

You seem to be super positive about the whole thing Witchie. May I ask if they have used you to give talks on how the course helped you? Have you any ties with DSA in a non-student role?

Witchie · 08-06-2015 01:22PM

Deleted User wrote: »

You seem to be super positive about the whole thing Witchie. May I ask if they have used you to give talks on how the course helped you? Have you any ties with DSA in a non-student role?

No I have no non-student ties, I have just, for the most part enjoyed my experience there. I have learned loads, made great friends and am much more employable and that has shown in the job I have gotten, all while gaining a free honours degree. Sure there have been moments and issues but I am always one for looking at the bigger picture and for me it is a sunny adventurous landscape that I have painted myself into.

I did, probably because of my positive attitude to it all, just recently recorded a bit on camera about my experiences there.

08-06-2015 02:49PM

I'd be more interested to know how/where you learned to stay so positive about things Witchie! Seems to me like the course could have been complete hell and you would have still come out smiling.

Is there a course I can take to stay so positive?

Witchie · 08-06-2015 03:12PM

Deleted User wrote: »

I'd be more interested to know how/where you learned to stay so positive about things Witchie! Seems to me like the course could have been complete hell and you would have still come out smiling.

Is there a course I can take to stay so positive?

The way to stay positive is to look at the end goal and keep focused on that no matter what. That is what I have done, plus enjoyed the fun with my fellow students and enjoyed the lectures, the content and the people delivering them, anything outside of that is unimportant really.

12-06-2015 07:35PM

Witchie wrote: »

I did, probably because of my positive attitude to it all, just recently recorded a bit on camera about my experiences there.

Did they not reward you for your time? Bit mean of them.

07-08-2015 10:42PM

So I've got a long standing Google account in my name with loads of Android apps and all sorts of goodies associated with it. However it only has 17GB of permanent Google Drive storage.

I've got a crappy @techelevate.net Google account that I absolutely hate and only serves to remind me of the misery that is Digital Skills Academy BUT it has unlimited Google Drive storage.

What do I do? Obviously you abandon the techelevate one but that unlimited storage!!! What a waste!! I'm so torn!! If only I could pick and mix.

ILIKEFOOD · 09-08-2015 09:59PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

So I've got a long standing Google account in my name with loads of Android apps and all sorts of goodies associated with it. However it only has 17GB of permanent Google Drive storage.

I've got a crappy @techelevate.net Google account that I absolutely hate and only serves to remind me of the misery that is Digital Skills Academy BUT it has unlimited Google Drive storage.

What do I do? Obviously you abandon the techelevate one but that unlimited storage!!! What a waste!! I'm so torn!! If only I could pick and mix.

Prob not anything you can do... Pointless post and a mere obvious excuse to come here and slate a course lots of people worked hard to get. Sick of people like you rubbishing it. I worked hard for both courses i did in
tje dsa, the content was great and i learned enough to start me off in the industry. You should think twice about coming on here and basically devaluing these qualifications for both yourself and others.

Witchie · 09-08-2015 11:05PM

ILIKEFOOD wrote: »

Prob not anything you can do... Pointless post and a mere obvious excuse to come here and slate a course lots of people worked hard to get. Sick of people like you rubbishing it. I worked hard for both courses i did in
tje dsa, the content was great and i learned enough to start me off in the industry. You should think twice about coming on here and basically devaluing these qualifications for both yourself and others.

Thank you ILIKEFOOD. I am so fed up of the moaning some do about a free course that has changed my life.

Just in the final few weeks of WebInnovate which got me my job and will hopefully help me to further my career.

10-08-2015 07:05AM

ILIKEFOOD wrote: »

Prob not anything you can do... Pointless post and a mere obvious excuse to come here and slate a course lots of people worked hard to get. Sick of people like you rubbishing it. I worked hard for both courses i did in
tje dsa, the content was great and i learned enough to start me off in the industry. You should think twice about coming on here and basically devaluing these qualifications for both yourself and others.

OK the regular Google account it is then...cheers!

ScottStorm · 10-08-2015 08:19AM

I completed the tech elevate course, and this thread mirrors the conversations on it, my main gripe was the lack of feedback on our workshops.
There was a period of doom and gloom around but once you completed the course you realised that you had actually learnt something!
It's definitely a case of you get out what you put in. We had some free mta exams (ok not highly sought after) but many people didn't sit them at all!

Someone asked about the work experience aspect and that is very hiy and miss, if YOU are proactive about getting a good placement and prepare for and attend relevant interviews, even sourcing your own then you can get a great placement, but some were left with irrelevant placements purely to meet the course criteria.

Witchie · 10-08-2015 10:45AM

ScottStorm wrote: »

I completed the tech elevate course, and this thread mirrors the conversations on it, my main gripe was the lack of feedback on our workshops.
There was a period of doom and gloom around but once you completed the course you realised that you had actually learnt something!
It's definitely a case of you get out what you put in. We had some free mta exams (ok not highly sought after) but many people didn't sit them at all!

Someone asked about the work experience aspect and that is very hiy and miss, if YOU are proactive about getting a good placement and prepare for and attend relevant interviews, even sourcing your own then you can get a great placement, but some were left with irrelevant placements purely to meet the course criteria.

They changed the work placement section of the courses recently though by giving you industry partners to work with or if you have a product idea you want to develop they support you to do so as your work placement.

ScottStorm · 10-08-2015 09:47PM

Witchie wrote: »

They changed the work placement section of the courses recently though by giving you industry partners to work with or if you have a product idea you want to develop they support you to do so as your work placement.

Nope, tech elevate still has external work experience.

Witchie · 10-08-2015 11:49PM

Sorry was thinking of webelevate.

poster2525 · 12-08-2015 10:51PM

Hey Witchie - we're just coming up upon the Major Project. Can I ask did you go industry or entrepreneur?

Witchie · 12-08-2015 11:19PM

We went entrepreneur and kinda regretting it coz it's kinda hard being your own bosses. At least with an ip we had requirements to fulfil instead of making our own up.

poster2525 · 12-08-2015 11:22PM

Yes, I'm a bit worried about pitching - having ownership of an idea carries a lot of responsibility - we'll see!! Thanks for the response.

Witchie · 12-08-2015 11:23PM

If you have a strong team around you it will be grand. Best of luck.

13-11-2015 07:16PM

What are these career support workshop thingies about? Are they mandatory?

WebActivate programme

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