Schools - Who is better ?

Does anybody have any input about classes to attend? I am looking to attend and there are a number of groups that travel and teach dispatchers. I am a newly hired employee of an agency that is very big on going to class. It's like the cub scouts over here, the more merit badges you have the better they like you. I know that there are several out there and I am interested in hearing who you think is better and which I should attend. Any information both good and bad would be great. I don't want to go to a class and be bored to death. I want to walk in and walk out feeling like I learned something that could help me in my job. I have gotten ideas from the people that I work with but I would like to hear from more on who is best out their and if you attended classes, which ones, did they benefit you? Who taught it ? Was it worth it to travel for or shall I wait till they come close to my agency. The 3 names that everybody keeps telling me are Power Phone, Public Safety Group, and Public Safety Training Consultants. Any information you can give me will be of great assistance. Thanks

Any class in the world = boredom.

Any dispatching class = learn nothing.

Suffer through it and get the merit badges.

You have nothing to offer about any class that I could take that would help me other then just get the merit badges ? Are you that jaded with the job, and if so maybe you should think about getting into the drop. That is if you have one.

I don't know about the other poster, but I've attended some classes where yes, they were boring - haven't we all? I've attended some classes that were interesting. I guess it's a matter of opinion. Best class I ever went to was Supervisory Techniques that OPD (Orlando) taught. (No I'm not a Supervisor - someone has to leave before that would ever happen and those in the positions have it easy and like the power trip they're on, so they're in those spots until retirement!)

I had a Deputy Chief tell me that he'd send me to a class only if I could bring something back to the agency. Well, just about every class you attend, you learn how another agency does something and how well it works. Going along with what my D.C. told me, I used to return from a class at another agency and practically write a Master's Thesis on what I learned and how it could help our center. I'm beginning to believe that the 'powers-that-be' no longer advise us on what classes are being offered elsewhere because they're tired of hearing about what other agencies are doing. Hardly anyone in my department goes to training classes any more. Infact, I asked the last time a class was even posted and no one could remember.

My advise? Sign up and take as many as they let you. You'll get a break from the center, you'll meet other dispatchers and if you learn nothing else,you'll hear stories from other dispatchers at other agencies and find out that all centers have the same problems and issues and that only the names are different. Anything else you come away with is a bonus!

I have been sent to a few classess. One was with PTSC and the guy that taught the class sounded like he single handedly brought Saddam down from his chair and stopped WWIII. Did alot of talking about what he had done, and how many people have thanked him. Did not really get much out of his class except a hand written piece of paper saying yeah I was there. Power Phone class was well worth it. I have taken two of them. Have not run across the Publicsafety group should I be on the look out if they are in my neck of the woods ? As long as the teacher does not put me to sleep I will be more then pleased, and you are right about one thing, any day out out the dispatch center is a good day