It's general knowledge that contact hours can be acquired through various channels like classroom trainings, workshops, webcasts, podcasts, videos etc.. A bit of cursory research also reveals that usually the classroom/workshop type of contact programs are manifold times costlier than the other self-learning ones(webcasts, podcasts etc.). Additionally, one also has to take a few days off from one's (usually busy) work schedule to attend the classroom stuff.

My question is: are the classroom/workshops programs really worth the extra time/money one spends on them(from the quality of learning perspective)? If YES, can someone please provide me the names of some good quality R.E.P.s in Bangalore who provide classroom contact hours.

I was also wondering whether all self paced learning modules(webcasts/podcasts/videos) qualify as valid contact hours. Someone told me that for such a module to be officially accepted it needs to a) have an assessment test at the end of the module and then b) provide a certificate stating the same. Are these 'qualifiers' only true for non-R.E.Ps?

And finally, are there any other pre-reqs for these courses to be considered as valid contact hours?

Thanks in advance for replies.

DM