Instructor Needs Some Content Feedback

Stephen Schneiter

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  • Nov 26, 2018
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    Hi Everyone, one of our Customer Success Managers, @Jayne Gubler had a question posted to her and she is looking for CIN to provide some feedback. Here is what Jayne past along.

    An instructor asked me: "What positive and negative feedback are students saying regarding either CertMaster Learn & Labs or the former LabSim learning platform?"

    We're dedicated to the ongoing enhancement of our platforms and value your insights on what aspects are proving effective and where there might be room for improvement. Could you share the feedback you've gathered from your learners regarding their experiences with these platforms?
     
    You can visit Reddit, if you dare. For full disclosure, most people who post there are looking for free or inexpensive resources to memorize enough information to pass the exams. The most common feedback is that they don't like the price of the CertMaster resources.

     
    You can visit Reddit, if you dare. For full disclosure, most people who post there are looking for free or inexpensive resources to memorize enough information to pass the exams. The most common feedback is that they don't like the price of the CertMaster resources.

    +1 to this. And if you tell people to get some experience, most of them will just dis your post. There is a huge market for those that want into IT or IT skills, but don't want to invest the time and money into it. They chase the money and give sob stories about how broke they are, etc etc.

    I've had people reach out to me, asking for free stuff (in violation of the agreements I made with CompTIA).

    Reddit isn't really a great resource for certification, overall.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: MOHAMMAD SOAEB
    +1 to this. And if you tell people to get some experience, most of them will just dis your post. There is a huge market for those that want into IT or IT skills, but don't want to invest the time and money into it. They chase the money and give sob stories about how broke they are, etc etc.

    I've had people reach out to me, asking for free stuff (in violation of the agreements I made with CompTIA).

    Reddit isn't really a great resource for certification, overall.
    Reddit is an abysmal resource for certification. They all want to watch a few videos at 1.5X speed, use flashcards, take 1000s of practice exams, and memorize their way to certification without putting in the required work to learn, absorb, and apply the information. They want to do it for free, or as inexpensively as possible. I've seen people asking for discounted vouchers, free copies of copywritten resources, and brain dumps. The moderators will usually shut down the brain dump discussions, but they promote cheap and easy resources so that people can memorize enough to barely pass, with little to no understanding of the materials. I routinely get downvoted for suggesting CertMaster resources, taking instructor-led training, or buying a reputable exam prep book.

    Maybe I'm just being too idealistic, but I strongly believe nothing good comes easy. There are no shortcuts. You have to do the work and pay your dues.
     
    Reddit is an abysmal resource for certification. They all want to watch a few videos at 1.5X speed, use flashcards, take 1000s of practice exams, and memorize their way to certification without putting in the required work to learn, absorb, and apply the information. They want to do it for free, or as inexpensively as possible. I've seen people asking for discounted vouchers, free copies of copywritten resources, and brain dumps. The moderators will usually shut down the brain dump discussions, but they promote cheap and easy resources so that people can memorize enough to barely pass, with little to no understanding of the materials. I routinely get downvoted for suggesting CertMaster resources, taking instructor-led training, or buying a reputable exam prep book.

    Maybe I'm just being too idealistic, but I strongly believe nothing good comes easy. There are no shortcuts. You have to do the work and pay your dues.
    My thoughts exactly.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Gregory Childers
    To me that sounds like bots/trolls used to market those study resources.
    Oh, I've seen those types out there too. There's a big business out there for that sort of thing. There are legit providers and instructors and there are peddlers who want you to buy their product.

    Always do your research and never limit yourself to just one training provider or style.

    The best training comes from when the student takes charge of their destiny.

    /r
     
    Here's some general feedback from both myself and several of my students:

    Certmaster
    Excellent product overall. Students appreciate the videos alongside text explanations. This helps students go through information at their own pace.
    The price is on the steeper side. I feel adoption would be much higher if prices were more moderate.
    The PBQ's are perhaps the greatest benefit of Certmaster.
    The practice questions are great, but not enough. Students would appreciate at least 5 full length practice exams (including explanations) for each product. It would be great to see full length practice exams separated from the courses. So, students could pay $X for the questions rather than for the entire course.

    TestOut
    Students think the content is ok, but extremely repetitive. It constantly loops back over topics already covered. As an instructor, I agree, and feel material overall could go in greater depth.
    As an instructor, I feel the TestOut practice questions are not great. The wording and feel is too different compared to the actual exams. The general question content is good, though, as it hits the main points appropriately.
    PBQ's are lacking, but I suspect this is already changing as TestOut and Certmaster merge. As an instructor, I encourage students to forget the PBQ's (they tend to stress out about preparing for them too much) and focus on the general content.