Dan.Morrill said:

Hello Everyone,
So I do teach at a couple of colleges, one full-time and one part-time, and both are heavily CompTIA A+, N+, and Sec+. Like all colleges I've seen lately, it's all Cengage and Jill West all the time.
If this forum is still alive and anyone is interested, do you want to compare notes?

The biggest challenges I'm seeing right now are having students do the labs, which can take 20 minutes to an hour (ACI Labs), depending, and in a world of TikTok-induced ability to focus, that might be an issue.

If not, just saying Hi!
Dan

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For A+ and N+ content, we are currently using Cisco Network Academy content. It is okay and free. We augment it with some of our own materials. The A+ class is really packed, and they don't have much time to be bored. It is a 3-credit class. I have seen people use this content and do it in 4 or 5 10-hour days for a boot camp, so there should be room for it in a 3-credit, 120-hour-expected course. We tack on AWS Academy Cloud Practitioner content to the A+ course as Cisco Net Academy lacks good cloud content.

We are building the Security+ Course now. We have a CYSA+ and CEH/Pentest+ aligned courses (Using Ucertify for those, then augment with custom content). For Security+, we are going to use

CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) Certification Companion​

Hands-on Preparation and Practice Guide -
Authors:

• Kodi A. Cochran ,
• Kyle Reis
  

We chose this for a few reasons. The main ones are that it is current, good enough, and our library has purchased it, so students can download the ebook for free.
I am currently working on the in-class custom engagements.
Since alot of us like videos... Here are videos about some of the content providers I have listed above.

RedHat Academy - Login to view embedded media Ucertify - Login to view embedded media AWS Academy - Login to view embedded media

Shea Bennett said:

Exactly! Someone with focus will eat their TikTok loving lunch while they watch their videos and complain how long the Food Bank line is...smh

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I want to jump in here and say that we, as instructors, are part of the problem. We need to not be boring and know our stuff. Death by PowerPoint or excessive rambling is not helpful.

As much as possible, have the learners doing. If they are doing, then it is hard for them to focus on other things. Learning about firewalls, set them up, and test them (I like to redirect outgoing connections to a different place or block them). Learning about Linux, let's log in and run some commands.

Oh, viruses... Let's write one, get you to download it from the internet, look at your internet downloads from my command-and-control system in front of the class, and then reboot your system, partially to clear off my virus. (I warn the student beforehand what I want to do and let them object if they do no want me to)

At the end of every semester I ask myself a bunch of questions. Two of them are: who did not get an A that I thought they should have, and why was that. Also, who passed the class who shouldn't have, and why? Then I adjust my classes to try and fix those.

If we are relying on labs only in the ebooks, then we are failing our students. Most of those labs do not have them properly log in.

So, we as instructors should be doing more. I have much of my Linux course on YouTube for my students and anyone else. We start day one doing SSH keys and logging in so that they can play. Then we log into a Linux system remotely 95% of the days in class, and all the assessments are hands-on. I use Red Hat Academy for ebooks and labs that they can do outside of class. We do very little with Red Hat Academy in class. The ebook is there to augment the in-class learning and let them do more.

Here is my custom Linux content - Login to view embedded media
I would like to get more of my classes to this level, but the number of courses and my other load make it hard. But I stand by the fact that we, as instructors, are part of the reason our students are bored and disengaged. We, as instructors, can do better.

Dan.Morrill said:

Hello Everyone,
So I do teach at a couple of colleges, one full-time and one part-time, and both are heavily CompTIA A+, N+, and Sec+. Like all colleges I've seen lately, it's all Cengage and Jill West all the time.
If this forum is still alive and anyone is interested, do you want to compare notes?

The biggest challenges I'm seeing right now are having students do the labs, which can take 20 minutes to an hour (ACI Labs), depending, and in a world of TikTok-induced ability to focus, that might be an issue.

If not, just saying Hi!
Dan

Click to expand...

Still here and able to share Security+ notes. Funny, I thought Twitter was responsible for the short attention spans

My company it self is ATC since 3 years but still I can't see any option/path to find instrucor data

I know I am late to the party, but I am registered

BrianFord said:

While certification cards and kits are a thing of the past, people who have earned a CompTIA certification will want to know how to prove that to a prospective employer. An exam score report is not proof that someone earned a certification. Candidates can download and provide an official, secure PDF copy of any individual certification (or all active certifications) directly from their CompTIA (Certmetrics) account. Candidates can also share verifiable digital badges (often through platforms like Acclaim/Credly) that display active status, issue dates, and skills verified.

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You can also create a Transcript Link which you can share.

If you are working for an accredited Training center, they will generally give you access to the resources. (at least that's how I get my access),
You have to be certified in the class you are teaching first of all.
The training centers that you are representing usually do well with providing you with the resources.

Varun Pathak said:

How do we access instrucor resources now (ppt and book), before it was easy to purchase from comptia store ?

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My understanding is that in order to purchase the instructor material you must be affiliated with a CompTIA partner. If you are having issues you can then go through them. Good luck!

Registered

Registered

BrianFord said:

You need to complete the final assessment. It's that button over on the right side that says 'Start Assessment'. If you pass that assessment, your status will change.

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I have completed the CIN TTT Series courseware, but I am unable to start the "AI Essentials" assessment. The status shows as "Unavailable" on my assessments page, even though I have finished the course.

Registered Looking forward

Great time of learning this would be. Registered..

You need to complete the final assessment. It's that button over on the right side that says 'Start Assessment'. If you pass that assessment, your status will change.

Great discussion and helps me stay grounded and happily retired.....

Dan.Morrill said:

Interesting,
What I'm getting from this is failure is still a pass, you don't have to apply yourself to get the pass in an educational setting. Interesting idea, any ideas on how to bring that back to the real world where work is tied to KPIs is tied to performance and failure is a thing that gets you written up depending on company culture?
Dan

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This is why we've shifted nearly all of our assessments to practical ones in our IT programs years ago (and are moving closer to 100% each year). There are several reasons we decided to do this:
1. It aligns to the program outcomes (job-ready skills).
2. It prevents students who don't spend the time to build the practical skills a course teaches from passing it.
3. It encourages students who wouldn't otherwise spend the effort to do the lab exercises to actually do them (building confidence and motivation in the process that eventually grows throughout the program).

Of course, there are always a small cohort that won't ever do the labs. But this is the group that terminate their program for whatever reason (failure, attendance, etc.) and I think that we'll always see a certain number of them in the college.

Brandon G said:

Excellent remark. You have the play the cards you are dealt. I've taught traditional and non-traditional students in higher education and proprietary schools. From a focus standpoint, you have to meet them where they're at. For me, it asking about their majors or interest in the IT field. During lectures and labs, I've used their interests to zero in on specific areas. Their attention is drawn in and maintained because it ties into current goals, and aspirations.

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Right now I'm trying something different
I have a course starting June 9th that is A+ and based on Jill West, and the biggest issue is the labs, we use ACI labs for the class and those can take about an hour to do. I did a demo video of me doing the lab, my best practices, and why the labs are important for building skills in a safe way. It's a quick 5 week course just skimming the surface of the IT industry. I'll let you know how it goes, generally students skip the labs, and take the points.
Dan

jasoneckert said:

I've also noticed that students nowadays want to magically become proficient in a skill without putting in any effort. This could be partly generational (the lost COVID generation from high school), and partly due to societal and technological (AI) changes. But I find there are only 2 types of motivation, and the one that works best today is the one on the right :
View attachment 2631

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Interesting,
What I'm getting from this is failure is still a pass, you don't have to apply yourself to get the pass in an educational setting. Interesting idea, any ideas on how to bring that back to the real world where work is tied to KPIs is tied to performance and failure is a thing that gets you written up depending on company culture?
Dan

Laurie Seeder said:

Hi Dan,

I teach college as well and yes, they have trouble focusing. Many of my students are on the spectrum and many have ADD or ADHD, so I feel your frustration. I've some on the spectrum that once they 'get into it' their focus is good; others get so frustrated they quit (mostly because of the theory courses like SAD). In my face-to-face classes when they are doing the labs, I do play concentration music from YouTube. Some I let listen to their own music (as long as they are continuing to work) with headphones or earbuds, but it has to be so that I can't hear it. I've usually learned their habits and abilities by the end of their first semester and know who can listen to their own and who can handle the YouTube music. I play the classics (Mozart, Beethoven, etc); by the third semester they might request music (no lyrics of course) and as long as it's not heavy metal or hard rock, I'll play it. I've also found 'programming' music and other tech concentration music. When there's a challenging lab, we do it as a class (or whoever needs to do it with help).
Hope this helps.

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Laurie,
I do that, I do that myself when I need to focus and recommend it to students who have a hard time focusing. I usually start off with Lo-Fi Girl to introduce them to the idea. Who do you use to break the ice on the idea and show it is ok?

You can find the slides in CIN Seak Peek Data + DAO-002 recorded sessions.