As many of you know, 2 years ago I bought a big Adv bike and have truly enjoyed riding it the past 2 seasons. Well I have just ordered some 50/50 tires and need to find out where around here I might find an off-road class or adv intro course. Also where are good places to go off road when you are a beginner?
As far as classes, I don't know. Forest service roads are a good start to get used to the bike moving under you. Watch for dual sport rides that are posted on here. That way you're not alone when you drop your motorcycle. Since my pace is slower than most, I will try to do better at posting rides in advance.
MSF offers offroad/dirtbike courses. I don't know when/where the next one is in AL, but you can probably find it on their web site.
https://www.msf-usa.org/students.aspx#special-dbscre
For the big ADV bikes, that's probably a bit more specialized training (and a big ADV is not the best bike to learn offroad riding on).
BMW has their training center in Spartanburg, SC that groups from Pandora's (in Chattanooga) regularly visit. Also, there's Rawhyde (another BMW centric outfit) based out West. These schools focus specifically on the skills required for handling ADV bikes offroad.
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/how-to/bmw-road-riding-school
Where do you love, what bike do you ride, and what are your goals?
Jimmy Lewis has a good school that sometimes is big bike oriented, I've done one and loved it. Many skills from little bikes are similar but many are different.
I ride a big bike mostly these days (KTM 950, sold my 450 I just wasn't riding it much), and would be glad to keep you posted on rides but I'm in Atlanta. We ride in north ga but sometimes highland park. That's a good place to practice as the trails are marked with difficulty so you usually don't get in over your head. The biggest thing is tires. If you plan to ride off road, you need to have GOOD tires on the bike unless it's very dry. Oh yeah and be willing to toss your bike down the trail. Lol.