November's Topic and GIVEAWAY!!

Brian Callahan said:

I'll start.

When I was hired for my current position, my primary task was to revitalize an information security subprogram within a larger undergraduate and graduate degree program (it's an IT degree in which students choose a specialty focus area, of which information security is one of many options). The degree program had a few years back wound down a graduate-level initiative teaching a Masters-level information security degree to Naval officers in conjunction with the US Navy. The number of students enrolled in the infosec specialty had declined since then and there just were not faculty available to teach infosec courses.

One of the things I noticed right away was that undergrad students enrolled in the infosec specialty were generally not taking any security courses until their Senior year. With that kind of lag time before starting their infosec coursework, I noticed that some students were coming in overprepared for the infosec courses, as they had received most of the course knowledge from internships, and others were coming in with absolutely no experience whatsoever. And yet others were somewhere in between. Which made it very difficult to create courses that could engage everyone at their individual level.

That's where CompTIA, and specifically the Security+, was a huge help. While we did not go with any official CompTIA solutions (for no reason other than I didn't have the time to examine them), just the fact that CompTIA makes available a standard curriculum through the Sec+ allowed me to integrate a Sec+ bootcamp course over our 2.5 week winter break term. It has allowed me to begin teaching fundamental infosec knowledge much earlier, for some students as early as their Freshman year, allows me to know I have a standard baseline of knowledge for all my infosec students when they enter their upper-level courses, has allowed me to drum up interest for the infosec specialty, and has provided an opportunity for students who don't want to do infosec careers but understand the value of security to gain that fundamental knowledge in a way that still fits with their schedules.

While I'm sure it wasn't CompTIA alone, I am happy to say that the Sec+ has been a real part of returning the infosec specialty to healthy enrollment numbers and just making security education more accessible and available on campus.

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Rick Butler said:

So, we've been running CompTIA classes for over a decade+ now and it was always a chore every time CompTIA would flip the versions of a cert, particularly to keep up with the CE program. We would have to go to through Cengage, Pearson, MGH, Sybex, all the usual suspects every time to find out which set of books would be a solid standard.

The thing is, and while all these publishers write their books well enough, you always have the question of whether what you're reading was *that* person's interpretations of the objectives. I've commented on this before - that it's always wise to read more than one source to really get a handle on studying for tests. I still hold to that.

However, what I like about CM is that I stand a better chance of covering all the objectives because it's all in house from CompTIA. Now I know that the SME's and developers have to maintain a distance from taking and teaching the material, so there's always that assumed gap in there - the one that everyone is trying to bridge in one form or another.

I think what I'd like to see in CM is a tighter integration between Learn, Labs, and Practice. So far, they still seem to be very different products. Something else that would help would be some kind of function that forwardly tells the learner, "this is where you're deficient". So far, it's still kinda passive. Students look at the percentages and are looking for that sense that if they are 82%, that they only need to "buff up these areas" to get to where they are "ready". Granted, you can't guarantee that for certain, but that's always been the challenge in cert test platforms.

Anyway, CertMaster has come a long way in the 4-5 years I've had to observe it. And I know it will continue to improve.

/r

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Michael Schmitz said:

Since i am not teaching on a College, i have a different view. But i do not use the Classroom / Student Progressview.
And think Certmaster is a good way. I like the PBQ.
What i would like to see in the Download Section, if there is an Updated Version of the Book / Slides, and an Error Guide.

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Jon W said:

I am trying to convince the university where I teach to integrate CompTIA materials. Having worked with CertMaster in another capacity, I can provide informed responses about what content is available from CompTIA. While I haven't been able to get the university fully on board, I think we have moved closer, and I am hopeful that final action will come by the end of this academic year.

Cheers!

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MaguireM said:

I think the easy response to this would be my goal was to simply pass the exam and become certified!
What I found with CompTIA content, Labs, videos, PQBs, I not only achieved my goals of passing the certification, but I fully understood the content which allowed me to apply that knowledge to teaching others.

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