Question of the Month - Best Practices

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Rich Pernai

Rich Pernai

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    • Oct 4, 2021
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    #1
    Happy Friday Instructors!

    We know you are in full swing of your programs for this year, and this week we want to hear from you!

    What tips, tools, or techniques are you using in either your classrooms or within your training programs to make sure your learners are set up for success? What are some of the things you wish you had known when you first began instructing towards a certification?

    Every day, new instructors join CIN, and many people come to seek advice and learn from everyone who is willing to share. Thank you for taking part, and keep in mind that there are no wrong answers!

    Have a great weekend everyone!
     
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    #3
    Here's one from my own experience...

    I know a lot of folks still like to do internally developed labs. Some will use labs bundled with training material. Either way - make sure you play-test your labs FIRST before subjecting your students to them. There is nothing more screw-ball than sitting down as an instructor to see why a lab went awry, and it was your first time seeing the lab procedure.

    If someone develops your labs, even if you use CM-Labs, they can go janky. If you have to spend time troubleshooting a lab, of which you're unfamiliar, that will burn through the time spent actually trying to teach.

    /r
     
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    #4
    Rich Pernai said:
    Happy Friday Instructors!

    We know you are in full swing of your programs for this year, and this week we want to hear from you!

    What tips, tools, or techniques are you using in either your classrooms or within your training programs to make sure your learners are set up for success? What are some of the things you wish you had known when you first began instructing towards a certification?

    Every day, new instructors join CIN, and many people come to seek advice and learn from everyone who is willing to share. Thank you for taking part, and keep in mind that there are no wrong answers!

    Have a great weekend everyone!
    Click to expand...
    and remember to attend the train-the-trainer sessions. (y)
     
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    #6
    Fanuel said:
    Participation in Train-the-Trainer webinars has helped me improve my teaching skills and Knowledge, I wish I could have joined this forum five years ago.
    Click to expand...
    Yeah, I wasn't a part of it at its inception - there were some good sessions in those earlier years. I remember Dr. Mark Ciampa did a series for Security+. Luckily we still keep the old ones for posterity. :)
     
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    #8
    Rick Butler said:
    Here's one from my own experience...

    I know a lot of folks still like to do internally developed labs. Some will use labs bundled with training material. Either way - make sure you play-test your labs FIRST before subjecting your students to them. There is nothing more screw-ball than sitting down as an instructor to see why a lab went awry, and it was your first time seeing the lab procedure.

    If someone develops your labs, even if you use CM-Labs, they can go janky. If you have to spend time troubleshooting a lab, of which you're unfamiliar, that will burn through the time spent actually trying to teach.

    /r
    Click to expand...
    Great points Rick! I know with our Labs specifically we have TONS of resources available whether it be on-demand or LIVE webinars for Instructors, Partner Webinars, FREE samples and the ability to schedule LIVE 1-1 sessions with our team. We are ready to help make the transition such as the one you mentioned above, and make it a smooth and seamless one. I know you have spent a lot of time in a lot of different Labs products as well, thanks for the input!
     
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    #9
    Fanuel said:
    Participation in Train-the-Trainer webinars has helped me improve my teaching skills and Knowledge, I wish I could have joined this forum five years ago.
    Click to expand...
    Great to hear Fanuel! These sessions (and many others) are definitely designed to give you that knowledge and prepare you well ahead of time. If you ever have any questions (or know anyone else that does) please don't hesitate to come in here!
     
    #10
    Yes, great points, Rick!
    FYI! We have a webinar coming up on Oct 19th - Best Practices for CertMaster Lab Integration - we will discuss tips & tricks for Instructors using CertMaster Labs . . . . but we also REALLY want to hear from all instructors on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly:
    - Issues, frustrations and positives on CertMaster Labs or any labs that you use in class.
    - What do you like or dislike about labs?
    - How can we help make your experience and your students a good one?
    https://surveys.comptia.org/s3/CIN-Webinar-Survey-September-2022
     
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    #11
    Jwehrle said:
    Great points Rick! I know with our Labs specifically we have TONS of resources available whether it be on-demand or LIVE webinars for Instructors, Partner Webinars, FREE samples and the ability to schedule LIVE 1-1 sessions with our team. We are ready to help make the transition such as the one you mentioned above, and make it a smooth and seamless one. I know you have spent a lot of time in a lot of different Labs products as well, thanks for the input!
    Click to expand...

    Thanks Jordan - and even while CompTIA Labs are well developed, I still believe that instructors should play-test them, themselves. To me, that's just good horse-sense. /r
     
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    #12
    Jarrel said:
    and remember to attend the train-the-trainer sessions. (y)
    Click to expand...
    Labs are great but I've taught many adults who demonstrated anxiety that they couldn't or wouldn't be able to succeed in completing labs. They 'can't do hands on'. I believe it's important as instructors that we demo the lab system to students. I know using CertMaster for Sec+ the lab build time is 2-5 minutes. I incorporate that into my class and I record a video going through that first lab (and a couple of others) that I supply students who are having problems. Biggest problem my students report is the lab or connection timing out.

    And I completely agree with Rick's excellent point about Instructors running through all the labs in advance. Adds to prep time but eliminates surprises and builds students image / trust in the instructor.
     
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    #13
    Brian Ford said:
    And I completely agree with Rick's excellent point about Instructors running through all the labs in advance. Adds to prep time but eliminates surprises and builds students image / trust in the instructor.
    Click to expand...
    Appreciate the props on that. I've been burned by that particular bug more than once, so it's not just some soapbox, academic point for me. I've been made a laughingstock a time or two for not knowing how a lab was supposed to work. Ounce of prevention...
     
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    #14
    I often make it a point to tell students that the instructions that come with the lab are important, and they definitely should do those, but not to forget that the labs are also VMs that they can experiment with in almost any way. As instructors we can think outside the box and demonstrate things differently than the labs do or demonstrate different material. This can start the show the students the versatility of having a lab.
     
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    #16
    Jeremiah Minner said:
    I often make it a point to tell students that the instructions that come with the lab are important, and they definitely should do those, but not to forget that the labs are also VMs that they can experiment with in almost any way. As instructors we can think outside the box and demonstrate things differently than the labs do or demonstrate different material. This can start the show the students the versatility of having a lab.
    Click to expand...
    Excellent points Jeremiah, and you are right about the VM piece, that is really cool to be able to do that!
     
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