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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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 :
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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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Stephen Schneiter said:

Join us for the CIN TTT series covering the next release of the CompTIA CySA+ certification. Our guest instructor, @Nick Pierce , will lead us through the eight-session series covering the exam objectives and provide hands on examples as you strengthen your cybersecurity analysis skills. We will discuss how to cover the content with students and suggest various labs to let students gain hands-on experience as they prepare for certification.

CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) is the premier certification for cyber professionals tasked with incident detection, prevention, and response through continuous security monitoring. It validates a tech professional's expertise in incident response and vulnerability management processes, emphasizing the critical communication skills necessary for effective security analysis and compliance.

Skills covered in this series:

• Enhance security operations processes, differentiate threat intelligence and threat hunting, and identify malicious activity using appropriate tools.
• Conduct vulnerability assessments, prioritize vulnerabilities, and recommend effective mitigation strategies for vulnerability management.
• Apply attack methodology frameworks, perform incident response, and understand the incident management lifecycle to handle security incidents effectively.
• Utilize communication best practices to report on vulnerability management and incident response, providing stakeholders with actionable plans and meaningful metrics.

What: CIN TTT Series CySA+ V4
When: June 8 through July 1, 2026, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm CT
Who: Nick Pierce
Where: ON24
Register Here
(Please note, registering will automatically register you for all 8 sessions. You will be able to add each session to your calendar on from the confirmation email.)

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mosesmakobidi said:

I’m proud to share that I’ve just passed SecAI. This achievement would not have been possible without the incredible support of Stephen. Thank you so much, Stephen, for guiding me through this journey. It was a tough exam, I was close to being taken down but I pushed through and made it.

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Dan.Morrill said:

Yah, but we don't get much of a choice on who we teach, we just have to teach them to the best of our ability. And focus is a thing, do you have any ideas on how to improve focus for students? Could they put on some lo-fi concentration music, maybe from YouTube?

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Rick Butler said:

Not sure how many of you saw this come in through Credly, but it appears that CompTIA is moving these two certifications to the CE model, along with all the others.

I know Server+ was on the fence for a while - whether it was going to remain or go away. Seems like it's here to stay for a while.

Project+, I can kind of see, since the PM world changes a fair bit - perhaps CompTIA thinks this would be a good move to put it in better position for industry recognition - although sadly, PMI will probably always remain the front runner for Project Management certifications within the general industry.

What does the CIN community think about this?

(yeah, I know I've been light on posts lately, but I'll try to do better at that - that is, if y'all missed the Black Fedora)

Rick

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Edmond Fotso said:

Hi @Stephen Schneiter - I enrolled in and watched the session on-demand within the required timeframe, but I haven't received my SecAI+ voucher yet. Could you let me know who the best point of contact is to look into this? Thanks for your help!

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Stephen Schneiter said:

Are you ready for the first TTT series of 2026? Join the CompTIA Instructor Network and special guest @Dwayne Natwick as he leads the SecAI+ TTT series. Dwayne will cover the exam objectives and provide hands-on examples as you strengthen your cybersecurity skills. We will discuss how to cover the content with students and suggest various labs to let students gain hands-on experience as they prepare for certification.

CompTIA SecAI+ is the first certification in CompTIA's new expansion series, designed to help you secure, govern, and responsibly integrate artificial intelligence into cybersecurity operations. Gain the skills to defend AI systems, meet global compliance standards, and use AI to enhance threat detection, automation, and innovation while strengthening organizational resilience.

What: CIN TTT Series: SecAI+ V1
When: February 18 - March 9, 2026 (Six sessions), 1:30 - 3:30 PM CDT
Who: Dwayne Natwick
Where: ON24
Register Now

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