About Ursatile

Frequently Asked Questions

How does online software training work?
Workshops are run using a combination of Slack, a video chat system such as Zoom or Cisco Webex, and various specialist online collaboration tools. When you purchase a ticket for one of my workshops, you'll be invited to join a dedicated channel on the Ursatile Slack workspace. I'll use this channel to share links and answer any questions you have about the workshop format.
During the actual workshop module, I ask that everybody be prepared to switch on their camera and microphone, and engage in discussion with the rest of the group. Workshops are broken into short modules of classroom-style teaching, interspersed with group exercises, live coding sections and frequent breaks.
How does online training compare to in-person workshops?
It's not the same - but there are definitely some advantages to the online format. For starters, there's minimal overheads - no venue hire, no catering costs, no travel costs - so it's financially viable to run workshops even if only a few people sign up. And for workshops with a lot of hands-on coding, it often works much better when everybody's at their own desk, with their keyboard, mouse, maybe even multiple screens.
It's also much easier to study things like latency when you're sending API calls and messages across a continent rather than just across a conference room!
What video chat systems do you work with?
I've taught remote workshops using Zoom, Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams, Skype and Jitsi. If it's up to me, we'll use Zoom, but I can adapt my content and delivery to work with whatever system you'd prefer.
Can I book a workshop for my team?
Sure. Drop me an email - hello@ursatile.com - and we can chat. This works three different ways
  1. Group Discounts: If you're sending 3+ people on a workshop that's already scheduled? Get in touch and I'll send you a discount code for a group booking.
  2. Customized Workshops: If you want to send 6+ people on the same workshop, I can arrange a workshop to suit your availability, and then sell any remaining tickets. You'll only pay for the attendees you send.
  3. Private Workshops: I run private workshops for up to 25 people - and adapt the schedule, structure and content to suit your team and requirements.
What if I need to cancel a workshop?
If you cancel at least 7 days before the workshop date, you'll get a full refund (minus any booking fees).
If you cancel with less than 7 days notice, you'll need to pay in full. For late cancellations, you might be able to transfer your ticket to a different date - get in touch and I'm sure we can figure something out.
Do you produce videos of your workshops?
No. At least, not yet. Every workshop and every group is different, and being able to tailor the material to work with specific scenarios is a big part of the value of running live workshops.
Who's behind Ursatile?
The founder and director of Ursatile is Dylan Beattie (that's me!).