Today's Twitter contained an important CompTIA post. As we consider the employment opportunities, particularly as it relates to cybersecurity, many people who have recently separated from military service have a "leg up" with security clearance availability. An area that I think we can help all are students gain another "leg up" is by convincing them to join available organizations (see Article I wrote for Certification Magazine), and obtain certificates for the completion of online FEMA Courses that will enable students to gain knowledge relative to incident command operations.

Steve

Some 'fun facts' about the Joined: dates for members

If you look at a CIN member profile you will see the "Joined:" entry denoting the date a member joined the CIN Forums.

There are a few 'fun' or historical facts about these dates.

1) If you see a date before July 31, 2019 then you are looking at someone like @Stephen Schneiter from CompTIA who was in the system first, built it, and was an Alpha tester.

2) Anyone with a Joined: date of July 31, 2019 was a Beta tester of the forums, including all CIN Board members and some CompTIA staff.

3) Then you will see a lot of people with early August 2019 dates like @Stephen P and @Rick Butler who signed up at launch, either at the Partner Summit in Vegas or online.

Another unrelated fun fact: If you mouse over a member's name and look closely you can see their id in effect. I'm number 10. (I am not a number, I am a free man...)

It's amazing to me to see that in just over a year we have grown to over 1600 members! (A fact I know from using the above trick. ) Let's bring even more in and keep this party going.

Lee

So, I promised the CIN I would provide some storytelling and pics from my new acquisition (again, thank you CompTIA for it, it will be fun - when I get there)

To all you aspiring drone pilots out there, that have ever thought of going online, buying yourself a drone, and buzzing your friends, neighbors, and pets - well, it's easy to confuse a drone as a toy. It's light. Entry levels are relatively inexpensive. You can get 'em at Walmart or Amazon. And I always had aspirations of flying model aircraft. I fly PC based flight simulators. In fact, I'm just getting into Star Wars Squadrons, as of this weekend. I've flown hang gliders. And I have aspirations of getting a Private Pilot ticket as part of my bucket list.

But make no mistake. Drones are not toys. They are aircraft. And as such, when you say the word "aircraft" in the US, you better contact the tower, because the FAA will be watching. Of course, there are a few new things now I have to do before my new toy aircraft will see sky - a testament to the joys of government regulation and Murphy's Law. I remember a lot of this because of my time working with the US Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association - and how deep the FAA was into rule making for anyone who wanted to fly anything. A few years back, I heard that drones weren't going to be that regulated, but this year, FAA has decided more rules were needed. Gotta love bureaucracies.

Seems that the FAA, in the last year, put some additional rules and restrictions on Unmanned Aircraft (UA) - drone aircraft. They want all drone pilots to now take a basic pilot exam before they fly. Probably the same level of exam as maybe the ITF+ or A+. 78pg study guide going over basic aeronautics, weather, tower communications, and airspace rules. So - add that one to my pile of things for which I'm studying. The cat is safe, for now.... ?

This drone is an entry level Holy Stone HS120D - got great ratings for those of us who are venturing out for the first time, flying under recreational exemption. I unboxed it - it's a nice piece of equipment - well built for what it does. 18 minute battery life and a 1080p camera. Uses your cell phone (which my Note 9 was a bit of a challenge getting into the controller...lol).

Additionally, the drone itself has to be certifcated - which is basically a $5 fee and about 10 minutes of registering with the FAA. Okay, check, got that done.

And THEN - they tell you to get an app B4UFLY and find out if you have airspace restrictions. I do. My house is right near Peterson AFB and the Colorado Springs airport. Yep. Contact the tower before I fly - I think there is an automated app that will allow me to do that. Meanwhile, my house is in an area where the max ceiling is 50', with 400' available by special permission.

So, this has become something of an adventure. One I'm totally cool about - but it's one, none the less.

Pictures soon - after I pass my cert. (seems like a theme around here!)

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting this thing off the ground...just might take a little longer.

/r

In today's "Microsoft Certified Trainer Newsletter" I found the following information interesting:
We’re excited to announce an upcoming update to our certification program and upcoming feature release on Microsoft Learn, enabling individuals to renew role-based and specialty certifications by passing an online assessment for free. Plus, new certifications earned by passing required proctored exam(s) will transition from a two-year validity to a one-year validity, and renewing certifications can be done annually within six months of expiry. Stay connected on MCT Central for more information.

Frankly I don't understand why I'm getting this newsletter. Suffice it to say I have not held that "certified trainer" designation for somewhere around 10 years. While I've been away from Microsoft Certification activities for a while, a while back did pass a couple of the Azure certifications. What I don't get is the announced reduction from a two-year validity to a one-year validity. Perhaps one of you could enlighten me as to what this means.

Steve

Hey guys, thanks for the kind comments relating to the SY0-601 content I posted. BTW, in my recently "retired from" job with the California Community College Chancellor's Office, I helped fund and create learning content that is aligned with CompTIA's ITF+ certification. My content development team included two full-time community college faculty and one high school teacher. Content is aligned with the exam objectives and is public domain (meaning it is free for public use) as an open education resource (OER). You can take a look at it by clicking on the link below and registering as a student. It is structured to use Canvas as the LMS and Canvas provides a free teacher account so you can set up the course for your use by importing the learning content via a Canvas importable file. I've also provided a link to the file for downloading. This is a great course for middle school and high school students who are involved in CyberPartiot or NCL cybersecurity competitions.
Link to Student Course Registration:

Enroll in IT Fundamentals+ - Public Review

canvas.instructure.com

Link to Importable Canvas Learning Content File:

https://bit.ly/3680tZ5

(file needs to be unzipped after downloading)

Enjoy.....

Steve

Quick Observation/Comment/Suggestion on TTT videos.
I only watched a couple of TTT videos and wanted to share my thoughts on the process.
Since we're trying to follow the ILT-CertMaster eLearning system to teach the students, it may be helpful to make the TTT videos to be consistent with the same system. (ie going through the PPT slides/eBook pages/CertMaster pages in sequence, page 1 - ~1200. It'll probably make it easier for the students to follow along as well. I'd appreciate anyone sharing their thought on this. Thank you. Best.

Is there a way to download the TTT videos to local drive? It'll be very helpful. (no voucher, got it!? ? just looking for content!) Thank you. Best.

We are looking for a certified trainer to deliver virtual or onsite in London CompTIA Pentest+ on the following dates:
•07.12-11.12
•08.03-12.03.21
•07.06-11.06.21(might be in London)
•13.09-17.09.21
•29.11-03.12.21 (might be in London)


Let me know if anyone can do this - clearly during any lockdown all delivery will be virtual....

Thanks, Matt.

As in any trade, instructors need to have the right tools to get the job done. An instructor’s toolbox needs to have precision tools to deliver engaging content to students. This is even more important today as instructors find themselves needing to have skills for in-person and virtual course delivery.

Join us as we welcome Lee McWhorter, Chief Technical Officer at Covered 6 LLC, as he introduces us to incorporating GNS3 into a training program. Lee will show basic set up, uses, and some examples of how GNS3 can be used for teaching A+, Network+, Security+ and beyond. If you are teaching networking virtually, this is a session you do not want to miss.

What: two-hour webinar investigating virtual environments
When: Tuesday November 17th 10:00 a.m. CST
Where: ON24
Who: Lee McWhorter
Register: http://bit.ly/CINIT-GNS3

Hi
I just started watching the video on "A+ Core 1 TTT Session 1: Introduction". It goes well until ~ 1 hr, but then the video freezes...no audio either. Is it me or the video?
If it's a video issues, can it please be reuploaded? Thank you.

RE: Video playback speed of the TTT videos.
Is it possible to change the speed? It'll be very useful.
Thank you.

Students may take an extra 10% off the student pricing on the Academic store for CertMaster Practice. Please share this promotion flyer with your students.

Coupon Code: CMPCyberMonday2020

Does anyone have any documentation on what the process is to set up a class where i can import the students into a certmaster learn course that allows me functionality as the instructor?

Also what the process would be for the students

I appreciate the help.

Here in the U.S. it is Halloween week! Saturday, October 31st is Halloween also known as All Hallows Eve. This week many people will watch scary movies and reminisce about days gone by (pre 2020) when they attended parties to dress up in scary outfits to celebrate and tell ghost stories.

As instructors, we know scary things DO exist and lurk within the networks of training facilities! Now, it is your time to share your scary stories with the rest of the community. What is your scariest experience? Is it students loose on the network accessing the student information management system? Or have you seen smoke coming from the server closet? Experienced network outage during testing, or during a restore process you find out the backup media was corrupted? Has your awesome, student engaging demonstration blown up during your instructor evaluation? Do you have administrators who click everything making the security threat a reality?

Your scariest story from your instructor experience could win you a “Spootacular” $25.00 Amazon gift card. Community members will vote on the stories. The story that receives the most “likes” by Monday November 2nd at 12:00 pm EST will be the winner!

Do you see a scary story that makes you smile or relate to? Click the “like” button and show your support!

Well, since the Server+ Sneak Peek, I've been wondering on who's got plans to take the Server+. I'm also interested in drilling down into 1) if you genuinely think Server+ has industry value and 2) what kinds of preparations you're taking for your classrooms if you decide you might teach it. Hopefully, I'll get the opportunity to do the Train the Trainer as well - looking forward to that. In the meantime, I'd like to hear more about what your all's perspectives are.

/r

The National Cyber League (NCL) Competition consists of nine skill categories

Tried several times to watch session 2.
Keep getting the following error on the video stream
"Content not available or is still being processed"

This is not really a webinar but close enough to promote in this forum.

Ever since the CompTIA Partner Summit, we have been asked to have a meetup similar to what we had in the Exhibitor Showcase. Well, here we go! The first ever official CIN meetup is happening on Thursday October 29 at 4:00 pm CST. ?

We will connect via Zoom! Come and catch up with other CIN members. Time to put a face to that name you are group chatting with in the other CIN webinars! We will even have a mixologist one hand to show us a special concoction just for CIN!! ? ? We are close to Halloween, so costumes are optional! ?

No need to register for the event! We will post a Zoom link here in this discussion on Thursday before the meetup. Then simply come join us at 4:00 pm CST! Looking forward to seeing everyone! ?

CompTIA is continuously committed to developing high-quality, innovative eLearning resources to support Instructor-led Training and help students learn more effectively and achieve success. During this webinar, Katie Hoenicke, Senior Director of Learning Product Management, will take an in-depth look into the CompTIA eLearning solutions available for Security+ SY0-601, provide live product demos, and present an opportunity to ask questions.

What's new with learning content for Security+ SY0-601

• CertMaster Learn for Instructor-led Training
• CertMaster Labs

Join us as we look at the full suite of intelligent solutions tailored to meet your individual needs and those of your students for the new Security+ SY0-601.

Title: Create Hands-On Classroom Experiences with NEW CertMaster eLearning and Labs for Security+ 601
Date: Thursday, October 29, 2020
Time: 10:00 AM Central Daylight Time
Duration: 1 hour
Register

Have any of you wondered the difference between traditional on-premises server management that we've done for years on end and the definition of "Private Cloud", which in numerous texts, seemed to appear to be the same thing, just with a new fancy name.

But then I thought about it some and thought, "yeah, there is a real difference between the two". It becomes a private cloud when it acts like what the cloud would be, in my data center.

1) Customers can provision their own servers, resources, and create IaaS, SaaS, or PaaS type platforms on their own, or with minimum IT involvement. IT keeps the stuff below the Service going.
2) Resources are elastic and can be expanded or contracted based on need. They can be pooled and allocated based on changing requirements in the organization.
3) Resources can be metered based on user, group, department, or project. Costs can be distributed and budgeted in that manner and charged back appropriately.

So you just can't have a data center and say, "yeah, I have a private cloud environment". It has to behave like a cloud for it to be one.

Just a random thing, hopefully it's helpful in the classroom.

Anyone have any other thoughts on this?

/r

Hello. One of my students asked if there is still a trial version of Win 7 out there to download to Virtual Box for practice. I know support has been discontinued by Microsoft and would not want to refer him to a website that may be bogus. Does anyone know if the trial ISO is still available from a reliable source? Since it is on the current A+ test he wants to practice. I told hm I thought he would be ok with just the Certmaster Labs since Win 7 is going away. What do you think?

American Cyber Careers, a New Jersey based training company is seeking an instructor for PenTest Plus. Monday and Thursdays from 7pm to 10pm for ten weeks starting the week of October 26. Please contact email [email protected] or call 862.500.2622.

My understanding is the new Security+ exam is due out next month. Having taken this certification exam for each of the 5 prior exam versions, I'm starting to "ramp up" my study efforts. I did a comparison of the exam objectives for the old and new exam, aligning them up with Professor Messer's video series and thought you all might find it useful. You can access it by clicking HERE.

Hello

I am teaching the A+ online class and a student had a question I am not positive about. Is there partial credit for the PBQ questions on the actual exam?
Thanks!

Diane

Scary...