Colette, sounds like you need a sandbox to play in. You might consider using a shared hosting service that supports MySQL and PHP. That is how I learned a lot. One such service I use has a fantastic deal right now $9.95 for a full YEAR which includes domain name registration. So can't get a more reasonable price for education. Check them out here:
https://www.siteground.com/christmas.h...
(expires Jan. 10)

Colette, thanks for joining the group! What would you like to see? Could you suggest an idea or topic that you would like to know more about? I am presently attempting to see if we can't find someone with a topic on BI / Data Warehousing for January if possible, however, not sure how likely it is as of yet.