I feel your pain - that's where I was about a month ago. I don't know about the classes because I didn't take them. Do you know another user (a son or daughter is particularly helpful 
) who can guide you through some of the learning curve?
If you want an overview of the phone using a simulator, this RAZR simulator is helpful.
Obviously the forums like this one will also be helpful but only when you kinda know what to ask or how to phrase it. The things I needed to keep reminding myself of were to 1) use the menu key if I didn't see what I was looking for. And also just to poke around and find options I wasn't used to with my iDevice and 2) Use the back key when I found myself "stuck" someplace. Seems basic to me now, but that Menu key was something totally foreign to my paradigms.
Battery managment is a biggee and I would advise you to avoid running your battery down as the old batteries had different charge cycles than the new ones. These don't have a memory so pop them on the charger whenever you can and don't let them get too low (~20-25%). Play around with Smart Actions (in your Apps) to turn off data when you have wifi access or when your screen is off. JuiceDefender is also a easy way to manage battery consumption and I would highly recommend it. The free version is very good and the paid versions give you more options.
Now that I've had my phone for about a month, I can't imagine going back to an iDevice. I picked one up yesterday and was trying to configure something on it and kept hitting the non-existent Menu button, lol! So once you get used to the options and configurability of your Android device, I think you will be very happy.
Patience and don't be afraid to ask questions.
I too have trouble managing the battery and getting adequate power for any length of time. I have a Samsung Droid Charge but I know they all suffer from the same difficulty in this area.
Could you recommend any tutorials that would explain how to really use juice defender. I tried it, but was so confused by the various configurations, that it was always doing what I didn't want it to do instead of the other way round 
Thanks.
Louise
A good book even if it's of PDF form helps in Tight Situations of learning new features an the one on the Verizon sight for the X an incredible helped.. But what helped as well is the research on here an the Contributors that helped out on many things. Lets all give thanks to them. B33
@Demmo:
when you get some Free time send me a Pm on your thoughts an opion of your new Rezound the Dirt sort of speak 
... that's the phone i've had my eye on since it came out an i like the way it's shaped.
