Post Quality and CIN (long-read - get some coffee)

@Rick Butler I agree with you 100%. I joined this community to learn from others and to get advice on how to teach Comptia materials in my classroom. I have not been on CIN in awhile and I am playing catch up. I read about what was going on at Comptia. I enjoy the TTT series. I will be missing the one coming up unfortunately.

Thanks for your post. While I have been playing catch up I have noticed the “low quality” posts.

how to redeem Comptia online lab as a comptia instructor ?

Urgently need lab access to Network+. Is my understanding, as an CompTIA Instructor and having passed Network+ exam, I am entitled to Courseware and lab access.
Hello @DAVID PAPKIN , you need to have a conversation with your CompTIA rep. They we set you up in the learning platform as an instructor. Once you are added as an instructor in the learning platform under your organization you will have access to all of the Instructor Teaching Aids.
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how to redeem Comptia online lab as a comptia instructor ?

how to redeem Comptia online lab as a comptia instructor ?
Hello @Peter Cheong, you need to have a conversation with your CompTIA rep. They we set you up in the learning platform as an instructor. Once you are added as an instructor in the learning platform under your organization you will have access to all of the Instructor Teaching Aids.
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Post Quality and CIN (long-read - get some coffee)

Hello CIN Community:

Lately, we have had a stream of comments regarding post quality, resulting from hundreds of posts that have been, I'm going to say, low quality. I've spoken to a number of folks over the last couple weeks on this and I felt like I should weigh in. Just to note, I don't work for CompTIA; I'm just one of 10,000 or so accounts now on CIN. I'm not even the lowest - I'm #144. @Stephen Schneiter is #4, @Lee McWhorter is #10, and @Steve Linthicum is #11, all of which I count among my friends. I'm just a guy with a hat and an opinion, much like many of you.

I believe in CIN and what we do for each other. But I've been wanting to write this for a while, not to put a stop to activity on the Community, but to make it better.

First, as a member myself, I always want to see some great activity, but it needs to be content that we, as instructors, content producers, curriculum creators, and such are going to find interesting and valuable. In other words, it has to contribute to this community. I would rather see one post from ten different people than ten posts from the same person. We should be encouraging others to engage in meaningful discourse, not just post for the sake of posting (or running up the post count for the leaderboard)

Second, it's not about the number of posts a person writes or to which he/she responds, but rather, the quality of posts. If you have something to contribute to the conversation, feel free to toss in your two cents. But posts akin to "that was a great post" don't mean much when we have a "like" function. If you like a post, click the 'like' button. If you have something meaningful to add, by all means, add it. If you want people to engage with your posts, give them something to engage with - not just burp posts that don't offer anything.

Anecdotally, if we would critique our students on the various academic discussion boards that require the token 'two responses for credit' that we see in many online colleges, doing the same thing here on the CIN, to me, seems silly. We can do better and should. Because I know there is a LOT of great wisdom out here - far more than I have under my hat. I'd rather read that!

Easy for you to say, Rick, you're the current board leader
Yes, I am the board all-time leader and a two-time CIN MVP. But as I have said many times, that's not why I'm a part of CIN - I am here because I want to be a part and see all my fellow instructors have truly awesome classrooms. And I want to learn what you do to make your classrooms better - what do you teach, how do you teach it, and what works with what demographic. And I have come to make some great friendships out here in CIN, folks from all over the US and points beyond - it means a lot to me and from all of you that I've met in person, I know it does to you.

And that's what I'd like to see from everyone here. Many of you do that already and that's amazing. That's why I always love going to Summit - so I can rub shoulders and learn from all of you.

Fortunately, with the latest shakeups at CompTIA and with Stephen still at the helm here at CIN (that itself is a blessing!), it would seem that CompTIA thinks that CIN is a valuable asset to what will be the new CompTIA. Personally, I would be very disappointed if that changed - but it does take all of us to make that happen.

Certification Content/Objective Posts
We've seen posts about whether 'something-or-rather' is on a certification exam. It really doesn't take much for a person to ask Google. or one of the fancy AI's out there whether or not Is or is not on the objective list. And asking a question, only to provide five or six answers in your own post doesn't do much.

Instead of this, perhaps delve into a technique exchange on how to teach something in the classroom. For example, subnetting is one of those classic subjects that, I'm sure, there are 100 different approaches to teaching. With the varied kinds of students and instructors that pass through, exchanging techniques for teaching particular things in the classroom is a far better way to engage conversation.

Sharing new trends, news, or the sort is also good, so long as we're not just posting stuff, just because it's there. For example, this morning, an interesting discourse opened up about TikTok - not from a political standpoint, but how such a think affects the industry. That, to me, is rich conversation. More stuff like that.

But you'll notice that, most times, if I am going to reply to multiple posts in a thread, I'll put all the quotes and replies in one post, usually after waiting for folks to reply - so I have something more to say.

Respect
I probably shouldn't need to say this, because it's already covered in, arguably, the least read page of the CIN Community - the Terms of Use. We all should be aware and professional here on the Community. Sure, having a sense of humor or a sharp opinion (and I've had both) is okay, but we shouldn't be getting to the point where we're crossing the line.

Where is my Voucher Posts
I know that, for many folks, the vouchers offered on TTT are of a great benefit, perhaps the one thing that keeps folks a part of CIN. And I know that folks would love to get their vouchers quickly. CompTIA (and generally, Stephen) has to do a lot of work, in order to process vouchers for distribution. All of the attendees have to be checked to make sure that they have attended all the sessions. Email addresses all have to be validated to ensure that they are CIN members (and weed out all the fraudsters), and generally, that leads to a large order of hundreds of vouchers have to be ordered through Pearson. This takes time, upwards to eight weeks, which Stephen does on his own. So, let's be patient with the process.

Usually, Stephen will publish a post to let folks know that vouchers have been distributed. It's at that point that folks should verify if they've gotten theirs or not, after a couple days. If they haven't, and they feel they should, they should probably reach out to Stephen directly rather than posting all over the board.

And since we have a TTT coming up tomorrow, let me remind everyone:
  • Attendees must be a member of CIN and in some way, affiliated as a Partner with CompTIA
  • Attendees should use the SAME email address for On24, CompTIA, and CIN. That way, it's easier to identify real folks from the fraudsters.
  • Attendees must attend all sessions, either live, or using on-demand. Usually, it's a two week window after the last session to make up any that are missed. (get the certificate too, for CEUs and proof, in case there is an issue)
Okay, I've ranted long enough and I'm sure this will elicit some feedback, public and private. If you have a differing view, then please, share it. I think with 2025 underway, we need to make CIN better by building our network of teaching professionals, in and out of the classroom. I look forward to what 2025 has in store with the new CompTIA (and even GTIA - although we don't talk to/about them much).

And if you made it this far, I owe you a coffee.

Hope to see the lot of you in the TTT tomorrow! And if you still haven't signed up - well...

Click Here to Sign Up!


Rick

How would you filter TikTok?

It's ridiculous that this has become a political issue. The app, along with several other online services, has legitimate cybersecurity concerns.
And further - what's to stop a user in the US from, say, getting a nifty little VPN app (I rather like Surfshark, actually) and accessing TikTok with that, from another non-US point? Perhaps most of the US users aren't able or willing to get a VPN on their personal devices, but that's the glaring work-around from what I can guess.

(although I don't use TikTok at all, so I can't REALLY say for sure. Perhaps someone already tried this? I've had friends who've traveled to China and quite easily used a VPN to get services through the Great Firewall.)
Legitimate cybersecurity concerns are pervasive with all social media platforms. To call out one and not the others is pandering. The entire system should be viewed as Legitimate cybersecurity concerns, rather than whom owns the platform.
While I'm not trying to spark a political debate here on CIN, I do find something that Elon Musk said that was poignant - that the folks in China that are crying that TikTok is being banned and Americans are being denied the Freedom of Speech (TikTok's legal position), but platforms like Twitter/X are outright banned in China.

But to answer Mr. Ford's question, I really don't think you can in the US. The infrastructure, unlike closed societies like China, North Korea, or Iran use governmental power to demand their national telecoms to maintain very strict controls on routing.

And since I've been quoting Ye Olde Rules of the Internet, let me cite this one:
  • Rule 62: It has been cracked and pirated. You can find anything if you look long enough.
In short, if people get desperate for something long enough, they will find workarounds, even in closed societies. The issue is for those who may not be able to find or attain those work-arounds, and the effect that has to the overall effort.

And this just in, President Trump is looking to put a 90d stay on the ban, in order to work out a deal in order to divest TikTok from ByteDance. Things is, China, most likely, would not honor turning over all the intel they've collected from the 170 million people that have used the service - that is, if ByteDance even goes along with it, which up to now, they've shown no interest in doing.

The biggest challenge - getting students to put their phones up and stop binge-watching videos when we're trying to teach a class.... *grumble grumble*

/r

PenTest+ PT0-003

Hello CINers

It's another beautiful and lovely new year as we kick off our first session of the Train-the-Trainer (TTT) series for PenTest+ PT0-003!
Let's all show up in great numbers and enjoy this exciting first session as always.


Thank you all
Waiting for you in the TTT session.
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how to redeem Comptia online lab as a comptia instructor ?

. Log into the CompTIA Instructor Network (CIN) Portal

  • Go to CompTIA Instructor Network (CIN).
  • Use your registered email and password to log in.
  • If you're not already a CIN member, join the network by applying via the same website.

2. Access the Resource Center

  • Once logged in, navigate to the Resource Center.
  • Look for the section specific to Instructor Resources or Online Labs.

3. Locate Redemption Instructions

  • CompTIA often provides specific instructions for redeeming online labs. Look for a voucher code or redeem link in the resources provided.

4. Redeem the Lab

  • If you’ve been given a voucher code, follow these steps:
    1. Go to the CompTIA CertMaster Labs platform: https://certmaster.comptia.org.
    2. Create or log in to your CertMaster account.
    3. Select Redeem a Code (usually in your account dashboard).
    4. Enter your code and follow the prompts to activate your lab access.
  • If the lab is tied to your CIN account, it might already be pre-activated. Check your CIN dashboard or email for confirmation.

How would you filter TikTok?

1. Domain Name Blocking: filtering TikTok-related domains like *.tiktok.com, *.musical.ly, and other associated domains
2. App Behavior Analysis: inspecting specific application-layer behaviors, such as requests to TikTok’s APIs
3. Identify the IP ranges associated with TikTok's servers and block those at the firewall level

Its challenging to fully block TikTok due to several factors like use of VPNs, proxy servers and Frequent IP changes and use of CDNs.... At least not every US citizen is a tech guy
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How would you filter TikTok?

Instructors,
One of my students asked me yesterday via chat to explain how TikTok could be filtered out of US Internet traffic. As we all know, TikTok is an application that runs on devices and different operating systems. That application communicates with some server or servers to retrieve and display content in the application. Given yesterday's events, I explained that the folks at TikTok had shut down the service on their own. Then, after reading various messages on other forums this morning, the folks at TikTok decided to restore service. The chat with my student continued, and we discussed the what-if situation in which you were a network operator and asked to block TikTok traffic to devices attached to your network. What would you do?

where is v9 module 0 PPT slides?

CompTIA is thinning out the content. The Cloud+ instructor guide PDF doesn't include a cover page, table of contents, or labs. They only publish the contents in the lessons and nothing else.
The pacing guide doesbt inckyde timing for labs either asbfar as i can see Network+ (N10-009) Pacing Guide.xlsx
Hello CIN,

I have not been around for a while. I have been busy teaching the future of IT. I have been busy with the new Network+ certmaster. I plan to use it as a guide to pass my Network+ this year.

how to redeem Comptia online lab as a comptia instructor ?

how to redeem Comptia online lab as a comptia instructor ?
The TTT for the latest version of Network+ was in August of 2024. Please note that CIN TTT access to that learning content and exam vouchers is no longer valid. If you would like to receive access to the learning content used in this series, please contact your CompTIA Customer Success representative to request access.

If you are a CompTIA employee, contact your manager.

how to redeem Comptia online lab as a comptia instructor ?

Urgently need lab access to Network+. Is my understanding, as an CompTIA Instructor and having passed Network+ exam, I am entitled to Courseware and lab access.
The TTT for the latest version of Network+ was in August of 2024. Please note that CIN TTT access to that learning content and exam vouchers is no longer valid. If you would like to receive access to the learning content used in this series, please contact your CompTIA Customer Success representative to request access.

Filter