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Dolls N DreamsI am into day 3 on my bear class and I am really lovin it! I'm doing the open mouth bear class, I don't have a ton of experience designing bears but everything so far has been very easy to understand and pics are great, I'm more of a pic person if ya know what I mean. And I have already learned a few easy steps I didnt know about so I'm sure I will be taking more clasess with E-BearZ University! 
Hi Tami,
I took Judi's 'fabulous felted faces' course at E-Bearz a little while ago and thought it was excellent. Lovely clear instructions, super photos to assist and of course a wonderful instructress to guide. The chapters opened up a bit at a time, which worked really well. I printed everything off and put it in a ringbinder because I was tight for time to work on the course and wanted to be able to return to it when I had more free time.
ontario, canadaYUP, they'll open each chapter as the weeks go by.
have fun!!
Apple Dumpling DesignsI've taken a couple of classes from Ebear U. They are great...I learned alot. Nancy only opens the classes a week at a time...that way people like me can't just do them in one sitting. HA HA
Chowlea BearsI agree - highly recommend them. Easy to follow, good illustrations and written in a style to suit novice and experienced student alike. (Comments from a retired teacher coming through here?).
Hope you enjoy it.
Sandra :redface:
I found it very useful...and well put together....but I confess I only read the instructions after printed them off...and didn't make the bear. I did the open mouth one,Tami, but at the time was working on bears for a fair and just couldn't do the practical stuff.
I did like it though and in fact I booked another one.....I still haven't done an open mouth though!!!!
I took Nancy's real fur class and it was really helpful when I was doing my mink bear; filled in all the gaps that needed filling in. Also, Nancy is very available to assist and her forum provides many answers as well. I think it's a great place to go for instruction. Recommend!
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)I couldn't swing the fee out of the budget this spring and took one on Joggles. What a waste of pinched pennies...
I'll follow my heart not my head next time...
Most classes open in weekly sessions. I put password-protection on my classes and sent them out weekly for about 6 weeks, with a window of at least 60 days. Most of us are too, too busy or Life pops up its unexpected head. Printing out the materials for later perusal is best.
Kran-Beary'sHi Everyone,
First...thankyou to everyone who's given me a positive reference on the EbearZ classes. I'm glad that you've enjoyed them.
Bobbie.... which class did you take on Joggles? I've done a few myself, as well as some on Lisa's Class Heaven, and Crafty College.
For the most part, I've found the actual 'lessons' quite informative. Lots of new things to learn (at least for me) in every class. However, I also make a study out of each online class that I take, including my College and University computer classes. What do I like about the class? What new online techniques are used to help teach? What is the 'atmosphere' of the class? Does it really feel like a 'class' or is it just an expensive book?
With each study, I take what I like, and note what I hate. Then I try very hard to incorporate the best elements into the EbearZ classes.
Here's what I dislike about many of the online classes that I've taken:
1. They use YAHOO to present files and discussions. Yahoo is a FREE service. I don't think that when I pay someone $50.00 - $100.00 I should be taught using a 3rd party freebee that fills my mailbox up with every message under sun. I expect to get some effort and a quality site. Crafty College gets my highest marks here as they use a real web site that looks the most like a classroom.
2. I also really dislike how hard it is to follow the Yahoo messages. There seem to be new threads all over the place. Complicated.
3. The look and feel of Yahoo is so blah it blows my mind.
4. Many of the classes area really dependent on the expertise of the teachers and there doesn't seem to be anyone overseeing the calibre of instruction. Sometimes the information is presented in an extremely organized, excellent fashion. Sometimes it's all over the map. Judi Ward gets my Gold Star for the best online class I've taken as does Nancy Gawron. But I've also had a couple of real duds.
Here's what I Like about the classes I've taken:
1. Some really good, complex information has been presented, although you need two printer cartridges to print it all out. Press Mold Class with Jeff Goshen is a good example. Excellent course, but the photos on the pages are so big, it printed out into 300 sheets.
2. You can do them when you like...late at night, early morning. And you can save the information for later cause life often gets in the way of a project.
So....knowing what I know now, I'm going to try to keep the EbearZ classes full of interesting information and new techniques in each class...with a fun forum that makes people feel like they're in a classroom, with excellent, organized teachers who really know their stuff, and on a web site that has some visual appeal and is technically advanced.
Online courses are an ENORMOUS amount of work to put together. I believe that a really good class also costs a substantial buck to put together. So I have to give all the places that I've taken courses, credit for undertaking the task, of making the classes available online, regardless of whether I've liked the class or Loved it! Additionally, no matter how hard you try, you'll never make everyone happy!
I'm also open to ideas for new classes at EbearZ and am willing to listen to ideas from interested teachers, keeping in mind that from start to finish the average class takes 60 -100 hours to produce.
Hugs.
nt
Jane Perala Designs Ltd.I also took Judi's class on felting faces at EbearzU and it was great - didn't finish the bear, but that was my fault not the class. I really enjoyed learning a new technique. I would definately recommend the classes.
Jane P.
Kim-Bee BearsI'm saving my pennies to take extreme sculpting myself!
Posts: 8,574I have taken classes from E-Bearz and from Doll net
I prefer the chapter method. The instructors at Nancy's have a more hands on approach-they stick around, they answer questions, you feel like you get a chance to get to know the teachers.
And I am not just saying this because I count 2 of the instructors at E-Bearz as good friends. I say it because that's the way it is set up. When you take a class at doll net you get the whole class at once- which could be 500 pages. Then you have the problem with pictures....sometimes there aren't enough piccys and sometimes they aren't sized for quick viewing or even for resonable downloading and printing.
Also sometimes I only want to save 1 chapter the rest I have down pat? Well when the class is broken up you can only save the class you want.
The last thing:
Many classes and groups are Yahoo based. I dont like the way Yahoo takes over your computer and messes up your files. So as a matter of principle since I got the new computer, I refuse to join any groups Yahoo based.
E-Bearz isn't Yahoo based. it is stand alone. No endless commercials that get printed up when you print up your course. No messing with your files, no sudden appearances of toolbar icons etc. You truly get what you pay for at E-Bearz.
Now, one of my closest friends, a wonderful lady in New Zealand, I met through a class at E-Bearz. Because we get to interact with each other as students we get to make friends from all over the world, just like here.
Hang in there, give it a real go and truly enjoy your class!
hugs
dilu
LuxembearsIf I may chime in here: I love teaching at E Bearz University. I have met so many wonderful people from around the globe and am so very pleased that I can share what I know and have learned from past experiences. I love seeing the final outcome of the projects and am amazed at the talent and hard working artists out there.
Nancy is very professional with her websites and always strives to be on the cutting edge. She is one hard worker! If anyone has any problems logging in, posting photos, or any computer glitches, she is right there to help.
Thank you to those who have posted positive comments :hug: :hug: 
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)Thx for your excellent explanation, Nancy! I'd like to work for/with you sometime! I'll PM..
Ditto to most of what you said. I purchase a lot of kits, online classes and retail NFed work, in an effort to see the content, presentation and expertise of the person who wrote or worked the kit or piece.
That's sort of like 'checking out the competition'; I want to make sure that my work gives the absolute most information that I can stuff into it, giving much more than was expected. In the half dozen online classes I've led, I do use yahoo - I set up a separate private list for each class so access is given to only registered students, and is further password-protected so that everyone takes their time and doesn't rush through the material in a day or 2. That creates a lot of extra work for the teacher, as the student's mistake has rarely happened when they've absorbed what they should have done first - Read!
As well as the continuing dialog I have with those participating (which benefits all students), pictures of the weekly progress is posted into the individual Albums. I put them through Photoshop and Word so that I can draw on them to show what needs to be done. After posting the changed images back into the Albums, everyone can see the suggestions I've made. These and the dialogs are helpful to those that aren't quite at that point, as they can avoid or correct things in their own work. I found this system to be very efficient.
I upload several dozen informative posts on NFing before the actual Lessons begin, There are usually 6 - 7 'chapters' or 'lessons', one per week. And the classroom stays open for several weeks afterwards, giving everyone time to print off what they'd like and extended time to complete the project.
My only problem is that I have never been able to create my own PDFs..... On another thread I posted last night: a query to anyone that can walk me through it. I signed up for the 'Free' Create-5-Documents (HA! surprise surprise - No customer support!!!) then the Cheapie version, then a year's membership. Adobe has a site either directed to the pros, or I'm too thick to learn, but I've never gotten it to work, I'd really like to pay some savvy person to walk me through it, instead of forever paying others to convert my kit documents into PDFs...... Can anyone out there fill the bill?
The many classes I've taken (mostly Crafty College & the recent one through Joggles site) have all been on Needle Felting. Barbara @ Joggles performed her job in a timely fashion for the most part; it was the class materials & interaction (& lack thereof) during and afterwards.
I never did find the 'Forum' to post questions photos during the last class I took. I also found the print material/information quite simplistic (I don't want to read 'instructions' like "That's a great start. Keep on needling.) " How can the teacher see/know what I've done? This isn't 'instruction' to me; it's cheerleading. That has it's place but it's not in the initial stages of print materials - it's for Feedback after the teacher has seen my progress and answered my questions.
Kran-Beary'sHi Bobbie..
Here's what you're looking for: www.primopdf.com It's a freeware .pdf creator. You just open your file, (like a word doc or whatever) then hit print, and select Primo PDF as your printer. Click enter and Poof... pdf created and saved in your selected file. Then you can just upload it to the web or whatever. I use it extensively, it's totally FREE (unlike some programs!) And there's a full user manual you can print out. (But I doubt if you'll need it cause it's so easy to use.)
hugs,
nt
