One of the best ways to learn something is not by reading or sitting in a classroom. The best way to learn is to get your hands dirty and doing something yourself. This Java Boot Camp by Sang Shin, who is working at Sun Microsystems as a Java Technology Architect as well as a Java Technology Evangelist, combines some reading for background information and then a number of hands-on assignments.

I've been away for a while and almost didn't cover this story. The reason is that the course already started. However, the author of the course says he will be offering it three to four times a year so it will soon be time to sign-up for the next course.

Sang Shin says that these courses are what are offered at Brandeis University and Boston University. The difference to someone taking them online will be the inability to interact with the professor teaching it face-to-face. However, it looks as though there is the ability to ask questions via email. Mr. Shin offers those that finish the course, by completing all assignments, a certificate from him alone stating you have successfully completed it. This is a nice touch but in my opinion the act of taking the course and learning Java will be reward enough.