Teaching Access

[Dick7Access]

In Access around you guys and gals I don’t compare, but in my circle, I am the expert. I have built some people DB’s. However, I have never been asks to teach someone Access. I have just been asked.

These are my thoughts on where to start, for a beginners course. Your thoughts appreciated.

• What is a database.
• What is a MS Access database?
• Determining what to achieve.
• Tables, backbone of Access
• Normalization, explained
• Parts of a table.
• Forms
• Queries
• Reports

 

[The_Doc_Man]

In a beginner's course, it would be appropriate to mention - but perhaps not in great detail - the existence of modules and events. Perhaps as a "teaser" to let folks know they can customize appearance AND behavior through appropriate code sequences. It would be OK for an introductory course to gloss over VBA, events, and code as something for a more advanced course. BUT... it might reveal to you whether you have interest in that kind of thing.

Otherwise, your list of topics isn't terrible. However, I might present queries BEFORE I presented forms and reports. Queries are more closely related to table interactions and can form a nice segue to forms and reports, which require recordsets that can be provided by queries.

 

[neuroman9999]

• What is a database.
• What is a MS Access database?
• Determining what to achieve.
• Tables, backbone of Access
• Normalization, explained
• Parts of a table.
• Forms
• Queries
• Reports

How is your wife doing, Dick? I don't remember everything about the past conversation, only some. So forgive me if the chord struck is a bad one. Regarding your subjects of mention, I would make these changes if the learner is a total beginner.....

• purpose of a table
• purpose of a query
• creating forms for user experience standards
• purpose of the menu items in the interface
• purpose of different data types
• naming conventions used by professionals ("tbl" as a prefix for a table name)

but if the learner already has some skill.....

• different types of queries and their purposes
• hierarchial standards of database structuring
• security

so....just my 2 cents. from a young man that, apparently, not too many people around here like.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Hi Dick,
Why does your new student want to learn Access? That will give you some idea how you need to structure the lessons. I taught a group of analysts Access a few years ago. They were using Excel as their tool but the files they were working with were huge. Typicallon over a million rows. They would come in in the morning, download yesterday's data from our third-party host, turn on the sheet to do their vlookup()s etc and go have breakfast. My job was to teach them how to use Access to reduce their startup time from 2 hours to less than 5 minutes. They were never going to create apps for other people or even have to worry about normalizing tables. Their data was what it was and they never updated it. They just analyzed it. Some of them went further and I was able to actually teach them how to use forms and more complicated queries to do some of the analysis they were doing in Excel. Others just liked excel and were never going to make full use of Access but I did greatly improve their efficiency.

 

[Dick7Access]

In a beginner's course, it would be appropriate to mention - but perhaps not in great detail - the existence of modules and events. Perhaps as a "teaser" to let folks know they can customize appearance AND behavior through appropriate code sequences. It would be OK for an introductory course to gloss over VBA, events, and code as something for a more advanced course. BUT... it might reveal to you whether you have interest in that kind of thing.

Otherwise, your list of topics isn't terrible. However, I might present queries BEFORE I presented forms and reports. Queries are more closely related to table interactions and can form a nice segue to forms and reports, which require recordsets that can be provided by queries.

You could be right. My thoughts however there are lots that go into queries.
In Access around you guys and gals I don’t compare, but in my circle, I am the expert. I have built some people DB’s. However, I have never been asks to teach someone Access. I have just been asked.

These are my thoughts on where to start, for a beginners course. Your thoughts appreciated.

• What is a database.
• What is a MS Access database?
• Determining what to achieve.
• Tables, backbone of Access
• Normalization, explained
• Parts of a table.
• Forms
• Queries
• Reportsthin

are, Ok student. You made your first DB. You have successful recorded Grandma and Grandad's , all your five Uncle and aunts name address and phone numbers. You can now scroll through all 12 names anytime you want. What if your database grows to 100 names, or 10000 names.

Hi Dick,
Why does your new student want to learn Access? That will give you some idea how you need to structure the lessons. I taught a group of analysts Access a few years ago. They were using Excel as their tool but the files they were working with were huge. Typicallon over a million rows. They would come in in the morning, download yesterday's data from our third-party host, turn on the sheet to do their vlookup()s etc and go have breakfast. My job was to teach them how to use Access to reduce their startup time from 2 hours to less than 5 minutes. They were never going to create apps for other people or even have to worry about normalizing tables. Their data was what it was and they never updated it. They just analyzed it. Some of them went further and I was able to actually teach them how to use forms and more complicated queries to do some of the analysis they were doing in Excel. Others just liked excel and were never going to make full use of Access but I did greatly improve their efficiency.

Thanks for answering. She wants to keep tract of a small on line ordering business she has. I am not sure but I think she is using excel now. I will ask her.

 

[neuroman9999]

I have just been asked.

oh, and Dick, if the person you are teaching is running a business, you might want to tell them, according to the nonsense pop-culture trends of the world, and it's mind-changing attitude every day, the current database that is ""all the rage"" among buyers (and possibly developers), is MongoDB. In the past 3 months, I've had a countless number of people ask me about it. So apparently, it is in the discussions of many people throughout the world. The reason of course is unknown though.

 

[Dick7Access]

oh, and Dick, if the person you are teaching is running a business, you might want to tell them, according to the nonsense pop-culture trends of the world, and it's mind-changing attitude every day, the current database that is ""all the rage"" among buyers (and possibly developers), is MongoDB. In the past 3 months, I've had a countless number of people ask me about it. So apparently, it is in the discussions of many people throughout the world. The reason of course is unknown though.

Thanks, I will look into it.

 

[neuroman9999]

Thanks, I will look into it.

hey, no problem Dick. I think you and both know that this world is completely ridiculous. =) On a side note, because corporations have lost their ability to be innovative, the javascript frameworks called React and Angular have been taking the world by storm for the last 3 years as well. And there's also no reason for that. The only reason people are obsessed with them is because they came from Google and Facebook. (go figure).

 

[Dick7Access]

hey, no problem Dick. I think you and both know that this world is completely ridiculous. =) On a side note, because corporations have lost their ability to be innovative, the javascript frameworks called React and Angular have been taking the world by storm for the last 3 years as well. And there's also no reason for that. The only reason people are obsessed with them is because they came from Google and Facebook. (go figure).

Got ya!

 

[neuroman9999]

enjoy your day my friend. =)

 

[Dick7Access]

enjoy your day my friend. =)

yeh, easy for you to say, you don't live in Florida. I just bought a new toy (hilti gun) and I can't go out an play, it's raining so hard. It has rained every day for two weeks.

 

[neuroman9999]

yeh, easy for you to say, you don't live in Florida. I just bought a new toy (hilti gun) and I can't go out an play, it's raining so hard. It has rained every day for two weeks.

I thought that only happened in Washington and Oregon? and maybe in Colorado during monsoon season? It's raining at the moment here to. Oh no, the ocean is going to flood! =)

 

[Dick7Access]

I thought that only happened in Washington and Oregon? and maybe in Colorado during monsoon season? It's raining at the moment here to. Oh no, the ocean is going to flood! =)

Ocean going to flood! =) Love it. (Ocean flooding), Of Course that's Trumps fault.

 

[neuroman9999]

Ocean going to flood! =) Love it. (Ocean flooding), Of Course that's Trumps fault.

and why is that? He has nothing to do with a rising sea level. Nor does any democrat, or any other human that's ever lived on Earth.

 

[Dick7Access]

and why is that? He has nothing to do with a rising sea level. Nor does any democrat, or any other human that's ever lived on Earth.

Hey, have a little compassion. Poor sleepy Joe is locked in his cellar. He is the first one who is going to drown.

 

[Dick7Access]

See what happens when I have too much time on my hands

 

[neuroman9999]

Hey, have a little compassion. Poor sleepy Joe is locked in his cellar. He is the first one who is going to drown.

I technically do not have a lot of time on my hands. I'm just extremely fast in my duties and responses. And by the way, wasn't Biden the one to forget his own mother's name when asked by a new anchor on live television!? someone told me that occurred.

 

[Dick7Access]

I technically do not have a lot of time on my hands. I'm just extremely fast in my duties and responses. And by the way, wasn't Biden the one to forget his own mother's name when asked by a new anchor on live television!? someone told me that occurred.

well I have to go. It had stopped raining so I am going out to play with my new toy. I miss traveling, but I should have some meetings open up in Oct. My coffee pot is not helping me loose weight

 

[strive4peace]

Hi Dick,

wonderful that you're going to share Access joy! and teach others how to be more productive with this amazing tool!

I put what I consider to be a good foundation for Access into a little book that you can download, and distribute to your class too.

Access Basics
http://www.accessmvp.com/strive4peace
Free 100-page book that covers essentials in Access

To demonstrate concepts, it is good to get some data from one or more students who will be in the class. If data is sensitive, or people in the class aren't in the same department, then replace it with sample data. Often they have stuff in Excel. They pick up more when data with meaning for them is being used.

Take screen shots during the training. Afterward, put them into a Word document or PowerPoint presentation, and send it to the students (or make it available for them to get) so they remember more.

Good luck with your class!

 

[strive4peace]

Dick, I like to start training by introducing myself and then asking everyone to quickly introduce themselves and say why they are in the class. Make notes with their name amd what's important to them. This breaks the ice so they're more comfortable asking questions, and helps you later when they ask one. If they ask an off-topic question that can be answered quickly, tell them. Otherwise, write it down and cover those questions at a more appropriate time, or at the end of the training. At the end of your outline, give them a break, and tell them they can leave or come back. I stay to answer any questions that anyone has. Often someone will buy me lunch and/or dinner, just to keep talking about Access!

In your "what is a database" topic, it would be good to open a database that has everything in it -- show them tables, a query or 2 for getting quick information, a simple form and then one with subforms for adding and editing, report, macro, and module. Talk about the difference between Access and other applications. This puts things into perspective and will probably take your first hour -- if it doesn't, break after that anyway, before you start the rest of the topics on your outline. I teach for about 50 minutes and then break for about 10. To break, look at the clock. Tell them what time to be back to class -- and then start whether everyone is back or not. If they aren't all there, cover something that isn't that essential.