The retiring of Arduino SbS Your Complete Guide, and introduction of Arduino SbS Getting Serious has given rise to a few questions among our students. In this post, I will try to answer those questions. Always, feel free to get in touch.
If you are a student of Arduino Step by Step Your Complete Guide, I would like to explain the reasons behind my decision to retire this course and replace it with the new Arduino Step by Step Getting Serious.
Why did I decide to retire Arduino Step by Step Your Complete Guide?
Arduino Step by Step Your Complete Guide was my first online course, which I published in 2014. I admit that I started its production with little planning. I had some broad targets as far as content is concerned, but over the span of several months, the course grew far beyond what I had initially anticipated.
The tools I used (cameras, microphones, software, etc.) were first generation, at best. Not only that, but I learned how to use them “on the fly” to produce an acceptable result. The result was not always something I can be proud of. Many lectures still feature the orchestra of cicada outside my lab (I produced many of the lectures during the cicada’s peak 13-year cycle).
My example sketches and schematics and other resources, while acceptable, could be much much better.
The Arduino as a platform (both the technology and the educational methods used to teach it) has also evolved in leaps. While the basics remain the same, many new components are now available.
Although over the years I did a lot of maintenance work, I decided it was no longer feasible trying to update this course. Its core structure and material just weren’t up to it.
About one year ago I decided that it was time to create a complete replacement for Arduino Step by Step Your Complete Guide.
I decided that it was not appropriate to address the needs of beginner and intermediate Arduino makers in a single course, as I tried to do with the original Arduino Step by Step.
Instead, I opted to create separate courses for each.
The first step was to publish Arduino Step by Step Getting Started in December 2016.
And the second step was to publish Arduino Step by Step Getting Serious in November 2017 (I did publish a few other courses in between).
In Arduino Step by Step Getting Started I address many of the questions of beginner Arduino makers, especially their first steps in programming, breadboarding, tools, simple circuits, and basic concepts without which you can’t go far.
ASBS Getting Started opened the road for ASBS Getting Serious to look into more elaborate circuits, components, and concepts. And the road is still open for much more.
In Arduino Step by Step Getting Serious, I provide a cookbook for a considerable number of components and parts that most people need to build their own gadgets. It is expandable and updateable in a way that Arduino Step by Step Your Complete Guide never was.
At publication time, Arduino Step by Step Getting Serious is already at 32 hours of content, totally reorganized to make it easy to use, with a centralized resource repository (and a priority Help Desk and Knowledge Base for Tech Explorations students). Everything is new, and much of this content is in an update queue. Already I have new and original content that I plan to add, including state of the art Internet of Things technologies.
In short, I decided that I had to update Arduino Step by Step Your Complete Guide because students needed a modern, future-proof educational resource for the Arduino. The only way I had to provide it was to create one from scratch.
What does this mean for you (the student)?
You have a choice.
You can continue using Arduino Step by Step Your Complete Guide, as you are already enrolled in it. I will continue to provide support through answering your QA questions until the end of November 2017. After that, I will divert all my efforts to Arduino Step by Step Getting Serious.
Or, you can enroll to Arduino Step by Step Getting Serious and access all current an future content. You can take advantage of my promotional offer and enroll for just US$10. Please look for a separate promotional announcement email about this.
Why do I have to pay for the new course?
I have already received this question from several students: “Since I am already a student of Arduino Step by Step Your Complete Guide, why can’t a get Arduino Step by Step Getting Serious for free?”
This is a question I struggled for a long time with. Should this be a free upgrade or a paid upgrade?
Apart from the huge amount of effort I put into this project, I decided that the value that you will get from this upgrade (present and future, content and support) far exceeds the US$10 upgrade price. And let’s face it, the only way I can do what I do and that I can continue doing it is by charging a modest price for my work. I am not funded by Udemy, Microsoft, Arduino, or anyone else other than my students.
I hope that you will understand!
Will I still be able to access Arduino Step by Step Your Complete Guide?
Yes! Arduino Step by Step Your Complete Guide, is not going anywhere.
You will maintain access FOREVER. Retiring or Private does not mean delete.
What about refunds?
If you purchased Arduino Step by Step Your Complete Guide within the last 30 days, you can ask for a refund.
If you purchased the course on Udemy, you will need to contact Udemy student support.
If you purchased it on Tech Explorations, please read this.
In buying Arduino Step by Step Your Complete Guide, did I buy an obsolete product?
Arduino Step by Step Your Complete Guide, is definitely not trash. It contains the same valuable content it did when you purchased it. All the code work, all the wirings and demonstrations are as valid and correct as ever.
Do I have to buy Arduino Step by Step Getting Serious?
You don’t have to buy the new course if you don’t want it. The old course still works and you have permanent access to it.
Where can I buy Arduino Step by Step Getting Serious from?
At this time, November 11 2017, Arduino Step by Step Getting Serious is only available on Udemy and my own school at txplore.tv
I hope that this helps clarify a few things.
I sincerely thank everyone for your encouragement and words of support.
Re-launching Arduino Step by Step was a milestone for me, but also a very stressful experience. Apart from the positive messages, I did receive a few negative ones accusing me for all sorts of nasty things.
Regardless, I have a passion for producing quality education that can reach thousands of people from around the world. I want to be able to do this for a very long time, and to constantly produce bigger and better things. Part of this vision includes making hard occasional decisions.
–Peter