We know that CompTIA is no longer producing printed courseware, but what about the PDF Instructor Guides? I know they exist for some certs, but not for others. E-books are available when PDFs are not.

I can speak for myself and my students. E-books suck. They require network access. There is no way to access them offline. This is a HUGE mistake. People love having offline access. PDFs are easily searchable. E-books are not.

The content has also changed. I was teaching Cloud+ last week, and the PDF was missing the cover page, the legalese/publication information pages, and references to all the labs. There were no activities or labs listed in the PDF courseware at all. There is also no mapping document for which labs align with which lessons. Basically, the instructor is stuck telling students "Hey, there are labs. They don't really align with our lessons, but you should probably do them at some point." I have to assume that this is a cost-cutting decision, because it makes no valid sense to eliminate PDF courseware as an educational offering.

CompTIA Learn had Instructor guides, quizzes, assessments, PBQs, and videos. It looks like they're trying to do the bare minimum with the E-books and (loosely) associated labs. There are already a lot of other content providers in the marketplace. If CompTIA doesn't reverse the trend of lowering the bar and start raising the bar, competitors will start taking over the training space. CompTIA will still have the certifications, but students will go elsewhere for the training offerings.

Hi,

I noticed v9 PPT slides doesnt have Module 0, unlike v8

Module 0 has the Course outline, Instructor and Student Into, class policies etc

This is from v8



David Papkin

Hey there it is nice to meet everyone, I was recently accepted into CIN and I don't really know where to go from here. Does anyone have any tips or guidance to getting started? I do apologize if this is vague, But I do hope I can get some guidance.

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

YES! It is time for our first TTT series of 2025! Join us for the PenTest+ series beginning Tuesday, January 21st! @Nicholas Pierce will lead this series, which consists of eight sessions covering the PenTest+ exam domains. Nick will teach the key cybersecurity concepts covered on the exam and conduct hands-on activities with key technology tools used by cybersecurity professionals. We will also discuss instructional strategies for presenting the concepts to students and best practices for implementing a PenTest+ course.

What: CIN TTT Series PenTest+ PT0-003 8 sessions
When: Jan 21, 2024, 6:00 - 8:00 PM Central Daylight Time, Tuesday and Thursday
Who: Nicholas Pierce
Where: ON24

REGISTER HERE

Hi,
We are a nonprofit that will host an online, virtual Network+ cert course. This will occur over several months and we have the lessons already to go using a popular online platform. We would like an instructor to host a 1 hr. monthly session each month for 4 months to help the students navigate and summarize what they should be focusing on as they progress, or they may have questions about the content as they navigate thru the online course. This is a REMOTE learning format. Zoom/Google Meet links will be provided.
If interested please email: [email protected]
M-

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

Is a date for TTT series on the horizon for AI Essentials?

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?

Hello CIN:

So, given that we have taken on some new CIN members this week for Partner Summit as well as over the last month, this post is ONLY for posters that have less than 20 posts total. Anyone can like, but for this thread, I'm asking only new members to post. Let's see who comes up!

Suggested Reply Ideas

1) Who are you, for whom do you teach/work?

2) What is your current certification that you're working?

3) What kind of success stories do you have from where you're working?

In short, this is a "getting to know you" post. But as I said, it's only for the newbies in CIN - to get them posting.

Let's hear it!

/r

Hello,
I've attended all the Tech+ that was kept in September, however, I still haven't received any certification voucher. Can anyone provide an update as what am I to do.

how to redeem Comptia online lab as a comptia instructor ?

Your company, Tech Innovators Inc., is planning to migrate its IT infrastructure to the cloud. The company requires a solution that offers high scalability and does not want to invest in managing physical hardware. However, the company also needs to ensure that its cloud resources are isolated from other companies for security reasons.

What’s one thing you always include on your slides to keep learners engaged?

I am eager to attend

I am independent Trainer.

How can I get a license to practice the network+ v9 labs?

My training partners let us use a shared account but sometimes it is in use.

As a Comptia trainer, would be helpful to have a lab license

Initially got a license durign the v9 TTT, but it expired.

David Papkin

Dear Colleagues,

I’m excited to announce that I have prepared a complete training course for CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) in Urdu/Hindi, and it is entirely free!

This course covers all domains of the Security+ certification, along with hands-on exercises, designed to equip learners with essential cybersecurity skills. My aim is to support individuals who face challenges in affording expensive training programs or struggle with language barriers, giving them access to high-quality education that can help them succeed in the cybersecurity industry.

I truly believe that this initiative will make a significant impact, especially for students and young professionals who have the potential but lack the financial resources or language support to pursue their goals. This free training is an opportunity for them to gain the knowledge and tools required to excel in the field and advance their careers.

I encourage you to share this with your students and community members who could benefit from it. Together, we can empower the next generation of cybersecurity professionals and help them overcome the barriers they face.

Link to the course:
Login to view embedded media

Sorry, I have a problems
Where can I find the slides for teaching this course?
If I purchase the Instructor book for the course, will the slides be included? (on the Comptia store description it's not clear)
Furthermore, on the comptia store, reading the description for Instructor book N10-009 it seems that the PDF manual it's not included and cannot be downloaded, is it true?
Thanks in advance
Aldo

Hello...

Any one help me to find latest Laptop repair modules free

Hello CINners,

Anyone ever heard of a JavaScript blocker?
If so, have you ever used it?

Is JavaScript blocker mentioned/covered in any of the CompTIA
courses? If so, which one(s)?

Thanks CINners

Is anyone having issues with the labs in CertMaster Perform for the new Cloud+. I have several tickets open already. I'm sure the Test Out folks are rolling their eyes and saying "Oh no, not him again" . However, I have already got 2 tickets escalated to the development team. At least I was able to use this is a real-world example of escalation when I was teaching troubleshooting to my class. It also seems like the servers a awfully busy during the morning hours. I took 7 minutes to load a lab that I was trying to teach about this morning.

Does anyone have any questions, comments, or similar experiences? Please reply to this thread.

Hello, fellow CINers,

TL;DR Sign up for my newsletter at https://fordsnotes.substack.com

A long time ago, I created a website and posted content that I developed while preparing and delivering classes. When I remembered, I would tell my students about that site. Sometimes, it helped, as the writings were long and had more detailed or better-thought-out answers to questions that came up in class.

In 2023, I started using Convertkit and attempting to publish newsletters. If my students asked to download any of my handouts or notes when they found them on my website, they were added to a mailing list and later received a newsletter. The newsletter featured an 'unsubscribe' statement and button at the bottom of the message, and if they didn't want any more emails, they would unsubscribe. I actually had almost 200 subscribers using that tool.

Last year, I started hearing from the ConvertKit team that the rate they charged me would increase because I had 200 or more subscribers. I was in a dilemma: should I return to my website or explore other options? I consulted many fellow instructors and marketing professionals for their opinions, and the responses were evenly split between Medium and Substack. Ultimately, I decided to sign up for both platforms.

Last year, I finally decided to write regularly and publish at least every other week. If you publish on Medium, you are not supposed to post that content anywhere else or violate their terms. I sometimes publish there, but I post all my writings at Substack. If you take a look and decide to subscribe, you'll receive an email at most once a week. Sometimes, you'll notice that what I publish there relates to a question or answer I contributed here on CIN. My About message on Substack reads like this:

I'm Brian Ford, a cybersecurity, networking, and cloud technical instructor and coach. My newsletter is designed to help readers decide which certification to pursue, achieve that certification, and maintain it through helpful tips.

Regards,

Brian

See https://gtia.org/

Thoughts?

Hello CINners,

Are Large Language Models (LLMs) covered in any CompTIA
course(s)? If so, which one(s)?


Thanks CINners

Hello CINners,

Anyone have any suggestions on the mechanics that can be used to
identify compromised SSH keys?

Thanks CINners