[hilux]

(1) Instructor credibility - could be "fame," but could also be youtube videos where s/he appears to be a very good teacher.

(2) Opportunity for good in-person networking with industry professionals. This is what sets an in-person event apart from online learning.

(3) The opportunity to "finish a project" using the new tech, perhaps earn a cert, perhaps through free one-month membership into some expensive platform.

I attended a recent half-day tech course on a FAANG campus recently. Much of our time was spent creating various online accounts and doing other setup and configuration, which could easily have been done as "pre-work" at home. Other than the pizza, it was a sub-optimal day.

[digitalWestie]

Ugh that's a bit frustrating. Indeed a little bit a prep could've gone a long way to making that a better experience.

[solardev]

Re: 1, I'd be WAY more interested if the instructor were provably good, i.e., they have videos of either online lessons or past workshops showing their teaching style and level of knowledge.