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Chris S · Sep 5, 2025

And CompTIA is silent on this...shame.

Rick Butler · Sep 5, 2025

Joeel said:
The CySA+ TTT series may help you,
Here you go : https://cin.comptia.org/resources/cysa-cs0-003-on-demand-ttt-series.183/
Follow the instructions.

The videos are linked there, but the learning content is only available during the TTT, not after. OP can check if he'd like, under the blue paperclip icon, but the content is generally only available during the seminar.

Stephen Schneiter · Sep 5, 2025

Hello CINners! I am super stoked, this is going to be a great one, so mark your calendars now!
Join with us as we talk with @James Stanger and Renee Wynn, former CIO of NASA. Renee will share stories about the steps she took to instill a cybersecurity culture in NASA. We'll discuss concepts such as the different mindsets that Operational Technology and Information Technology workers have, as well as implementing secure by design principles.

Ever wonder how cybersecurity is managed in satellite and GPS systems? Do you know why NASA technicians especially worry about lateral movement during a cybersecurity incidents involving satellites? Ever think about the ramifications of successful cybersecurity attacks on critical space infrastructure? Then join in on the discussion to learn more.

Discussion points will include:

The technologies, services, and platforms that Renee's teams protected at NASA.
Renee's efforts to instill cybersecurity into engineer, Operational Technology, and scientific mindsets.
The ramifications of cybersecurity failures in critical systems, from satellites to GPS.
Managing differing priorities, including availability and innovation versus cybersecurity when working with both legacy and cutting-edge space technologies.
How "failure of imagination" remains the cybersecurity industry's biggest problem.

What: CIN The Pulse: Managing critical space cybersecurity: Guarding against the failure of imagination
When: Wednesday, October 1, 2025, 11:00 AM CDT (1 hour webinar)
Who: Dr. James Stanger, and Renee Wynn
Where: ON24
Register Here

Rick Butler · Sep 5, 2025

I've told this story a few times regarding 'braindump chumps'.

We had an instructor who was teaching for us once who was teaching connectorizing RJ-45/Cat5e cables. A relatively simple task for someone with A+ and Net+ training and certs - which, this person had (which we found later, he was a 'chump'). When a student came to him and asked about how to do it, the instructor's response was "I don't know - go look it up on YouTube."

Yeah, he was summarily terminated.

So +1 to Jason's comment - because while the braindump helped him get the job, the braindump also prevented him from keeping it.

Rick Butler · Sep 5, 2025

jarrelrivera said:
I personally find it challenging to teach A+ Core 1 online, due to the constraints of not being able to do actual / hands-on demonstrations. Like, how can you teach "how to install a RAM or a CPU?" True, there's simulated lab now, but it is still different when you do it in actual.

The one thing that comes to mind is installing RAM onto a motherboard. How do you simulate the gentle yet firm downward pressure you need to place on the DIMM so you don't damage it or the motherboard, not to mention the ever-satisfying 'click' when DIMM seats and the retaining clips lock into place?

Possible to teach, sure. But not nearly as satisfying.

There's also that interaction between students that does not rightfully occur in an online class. That opens up a completely different dynamic, but I'm going to keep saying it anyway, because I think it's this interaction that a key to real learning engagement.

Sadly, everyone wants online delivery now for courses, out of convenience and cost.

/r

Michael Schmitz · Sep 5, 2025

Jeff Strain said:
I think some questions are there for reasons other than to test if you know the best answer. They may be there for the following reasons.

Time Waster - To make you spend too much time on one of the questions that is not even graded. May not have any correct answers or may no make any sense at all
Distractor - Kind of like a time waster, but may be a grammar issue or a typo for us who just can't let it go.
Cheat Catcher - Part of an anti-cheating plan, I would explain more here, but... got to catch them cheaters.
Question Testing - Testing new questions. This one needs no explanation.
All Others - Because I have to complete the percentage pie chart with the ones I don't know about. I sure hope it is key lime, as I am hungry.

Doesn`t explain, why the Official Exam has no feedback button to questions (mostly all others have that in their Exam).

Michael Schmitz · Sep 5, 2025

imsrj.cse said:
Thanks @Michael Schmitz , can you please share how to get access to eBook, the link

You did see the Discussion about the TTT for Linux+ in 2025?

TTT for Linux+

It will be announced, when scheduled to launch.

jdmurray · Sep 4, 2025

I am also interested in a new CompTIA Cybersecurity OT cert. I work for an ICS software vendor (inductiveautomation.com) and would be glad to lend my time and expertise in helping to forge SecOT+.

Joeel · Sep 4, 2025

The CySA+ TTT series may help you,
Here you go : https://cin.comptia.org/resources/cysa-cs0-003-on-demand-ttt-series.183/
Follow the instructions.

Bruce Weaver · Sep 4, 2025

We teach Tech+ at my College. It is a good course overall, especially for those with little technical background. Students sometimes underestimate it a bit when it comes to the database section.
Also it looks like it may become a 3 year CE certification (vs. lifetime) but that hasn't been officially announced to my knowledge.

jasoneckert · Sep 4, 2025

Braindumps have existed since the early days of IT certification, dating back to when vendors like SCO and Novell first introduced exams.

While the widespread use of braindumps is disheartening - undermining the credibility of certifications and devaluing the efforts of those who earn them honestly - it ultimately harms the individuals who rely on them the most. Candidates who use braindumps often fail to develop the skills necessary to perform well in interviews or succeed in technical roles, even if they manage to obtain a certification or land a job.

This issue is well recognized in the hiring community. Interviewers who are familiar with certifications can often detect when a candidate has relied on shortcuts. When certified individuals underperform during technical screenings, the blame typically falls on the use of braindumps rather than the certification itself.

Bruce Weaver · Sep 4, 2025

jarrelrivera said:
Yeah, same here.
I feel that since CompTIA and TestOut merged, someone had been failing in proofreading the questions.
Either that the options are incorrect, or that the answers are just wrong.

It is not limited to A+. This goes across many courses. It is also seen on end-of-lab questions and quizzes.
We used to have a way to report these issues directly on the platform.
Unfortunately, the reporting mechanism seem to have been lost since we moved to the new platform.comptia.org

It appears to me that it is somehow pulling questions from sources it shouldn't like some of the ones OP shown were used inside of labs.

I agree, CompTIA seems to have made it more difficult to report errors but it is still there.

jarrelrivera · Sep 4, 2025

J.Porter said:
Would love to hear some recommendations on different learning platforms that can be used in classroom environments. Traditionally have used the TestOut platform but this has transitioned to CertMaster. I'm just wondering what else is out there for instructors to consider to get the best resources for our students? My institution teaches, Tech+, A+, Network+ and Security+.

Labs and curriculum (book and video) would be great to have.

Thanks,

J. Porter

On my end, we only use the official CompTIA learning content.
It has the text, videos, labs, quizzes, and PBQs.

jarrelrivera · Sep 4, 2025

Yeah, same here.
I feel that since CompTIA and TestOut merged, someone had been failing in proofreading the questions.
Either that the options are incorrect, or that the answers are just wrong.

It is not limited to A+. This goes across many courses. It is also seen on end-of-lab questions and quizzes.
We used to have a way to report these issues directly on the platform.
Unfortunately, the reporting mechanism seem to have been lost since we moved to the new platform.comptia.org

jarrelrivera · Sep 4, 2025

I personally find it challenging to teach A+ Core 1 online, due to the constraints of not being able to do actual / hands-on demonstrations. Like, how can you teach "how to install a RAM or a CPU?" True, there's simulated lab now, but it is still different when you do it in actual.

A+ Core2 is okay for an online course. Run virtual machines using virtualbox or hyper-V, then demonstrate how to install Windows 10, Windows 11 and Linux, how to connect them, then teach how to configure. The key challenge is demonstrating Apple-based OS if you don't own an Apple-machine, like myself; there's no way to virtualize it.

Security+ is okay for an online course. The labs are good, then couple it with real-world scenarios.

Jeff Strain · Sep 4, 2025

Michael Schmitz said:
During the Exam CloudNetX today, i saw some Questions that have Typos or are with really stupid answers: i wonder why CompTIA has no Question Feedback button?
How to report these Errors?

What are you thinking about this missing feedback?

I think some questions are there for reasons other than to test if you know the best answer. They may be there for the following reasons.

Time Waster - To make you spend too much time on one of the questions that is not even graded. May not have any correct answers or may no make any sense at all
Distractor - Kind of like a time waster, but may be a grammar issue or a typo for us who just can't let it go.
Cheat Catcher - Part of an anti-cheating plan, I would explain more here, but... got to catch them cheaters.
Question Testing - Testing new questions. This one needs no explanation.
All Others - Because I have to complete the percentage pie chart with the ones I don't know about. I sure hope it is key lime, as I am hungry.

Jeff Strain · Sep 4, 2025

I advise anyone preparing for the exam to be extremely cautious, as cheating can result in a lifetime ban. That makes them ineligible for some jobs that require certifications. I try to scare them into not cheating. In the past government employees who cheat could lose their job if the certification gets pulled.

David Staples · Sep 4, 2025

Mark Anthony Germanos said:
I am suspicious of the “hard evidence” claim. I sat SecurityX two weeks ago. My audio and video were recorded. I sincerely hope CompTIA is not too lazy or overworked to request audio and video from that testing environment.

See my response to jarrelrivera. This company is a testing center and also has a couple of "mobile sites" where there is not a camera with audio and video. It's basically a hotel ballroom or conference room where they set up laptops as the Pearson Vue server and testing stations and allow the students to test in the classroom where they had the course on the last day of the course.

David Staples · Sep 4, 2025

jarrelrivera said:
As for the student and their proctor, this could've been captured in the camera. To my understanding, all proctored exams in a Pearson test centre is equipped with a camera. Unless, if the exam is taken on a secured site where Pearson simply relies on trust and integrity of the people.

That's part of the problem here. The training company is also the testing center and has a couple of "mobile sites" that allows them to offer proctoring of exams onsite. My understanding is that they are supposed to send a proctor, but that they have been letting the instructor input another proctor's information and credentials and just proctoring the exam themselves, so the instructor ends up being the proctor. And being a mobile site, that they can set up in a hotel conference room / ball room / etc.... there's no cameras. They're relying on the trust and integrity of the people, which in this case... well... you be the judge.

M. Shehata · Sep 4, 2025

Hi all,

Does anyone have suggestions, activities, or techniques to further enhance engagement for remote learners (Online course) for the A+ and Security+ courses?

Thank you in advance.

M. Shehata · Sep 4, 2025

David Staples said:
Hi David

Thank you so much for sharing. I am also use videos to illustrate key topics or provide some examples but the course time is alwys not enough to illustrate all what you want. I like the idea for adding dry humor.

I appreciate it,

M,shehata

M. Shehata · Sep 4, 2025

Rick Butler said:
Well, it looks like this has been very well covered. For my contribution to this discussion, I'm going to focus on lecture didactic. Hands on is ALWAYS going to be better for learning, but it's nigh impossible to avoid lecture.

One of my favorite things to do when teaching any class, not just Sec+, is something that @BrianFord alluded to - where have I seen this before. For me, what I like to do is randomly toss a question from "the last module", as I move through a day's worth of material. So, for example, let's say I spent an hour or so talking about basic cryptography and now I'm, say, going into PKI. About midway into the PKI conversation, I'll toss out a question from basic crypto - just to see if they are short-term retaining things.

The human brain requires about seven exposures to the same information, and in different methods, such as visual, auditory, or kinesthetic, in order to process it into long term storage. Further, it has to connect to something that the student already knows, which creates that neurological connection.

I've also been known, in classroom situations, to toss candy for correct answers. It's amazing how much an incentive a tiny treat like that can have.

At the end of the day (although hardly the end of the conversation), it's all about engaging the student in a two-way fashion, not just the ol' sage-on-the-stage, when lecturing. Feedback and questioning, engaging the learners directly will do a lot to engage them.

/r

Hey Rick,

This is awesome, thanks for sharing! I really like the idea of revisiting earlier topics during the lesson to reinforce retention. Yes, for the toss candy, I use that sometimes.

My question is: when you're diving into the heavier stuff in Security+, how do you make sure it doesn’t feel like a lecture marathon, especially with concepts that can be pretty dense?

Thank you!

M.Shehata

imsrj.cse · Sep 4, 2025

Michael Schmitz said:
There is no CompTIA Book yet available for Linux+ V8. The TTT is not run yet. but then you will get Access to the E-Book.
Hope that helps..

Thanks @Michael Schmitz , can you please share how to get access to eBook, the link

Bruce Weaver · Sep 4, 2025

Our schools have been facing this problem as well. NET+ seems to be the only unaffected course that I have seen.
No ETA on a fix from our Rep yet.

M. Shehata · Sep 4, 2025

jarrelrivera said:
As with any other courses, don't kill the students with powerpoint slides.

Security+ has lots of interesting topics, and the world has lots of news related to cybersecurity. Merge the two - theory and practical. In that way, the students will get to see the value of what is being discussed - and they get to remember the details more, in my experience.

You also don't need to do the talking for the entire time. There are good PBQs and quizzes in the CompTIA material. Let the students talk between themselves either in pair or in groups - depending on the amount of training time, that is.

The labs are good, only if the instructions are clear enough for the students to follow. So, I do recommend you running the labs yourself, then find the possible pain points for the students, so that in class, you can give an intro spiel about the lab, how it connects to the lesson, and what the students may learn or need to know in doing the lab, i.e. how to use Wazuh for the first time, or how to learn the various options for nmap.

There are heaps of tools and websites for Security+. Too many to identify. I suggest that you create threads for each question or topic that you'd need help with.

In any case, I hope this helps

Hi Jarrel,
Sure that it helps a lot. Thank you so much! Your advice is incredibly helpful. I completely agree that combining theory with real-world examples and engaging students in discussions is essential. That's exactly why I'm here—to seek suggestions based on your experiences.

I appreciate it.
M.Shehata

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Recommendations for an enhanced learning environment in the online A+ and Security+ courses