Printed courseware is gone, but what about the PDFs?

[Gregory Childers]

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.

 

[jsgoodrich_wmu]

There is also a problem with e-books and the use of screen readers and other alternative text for students with disabilities.

 

[Rick Butler]

So, I spoke to a few folks in CompTIA during Summit about this. In fact, @Becky Mann even asked me directly as to what was the principal reason for keeping printed materials. I mentioned a lot of these things to her.

1) Offline access - As you stated *and* as someone pointed out on the TTT last night, without some kind of offline access to training materials, training within closed network environments like military facilities would be limited or not possible. Additionally, folks who are in low connectivity areas also would not have viable access to CM Perform.

But, as Gregory points out, it does open up opportunities (I would think) for book authors to continue to produce material. I'm quite certain that traditional publishers like Cengage, Pearson, Sybex, and others will be providing printed materials. It will be interesting to see if academic institutions go that route.

2) Profitability - As CompTIA has shifted to a for-profit model now, I suspect this will also drive those changes. The incorporation of LabSim really was the change catalyst for CertMaster. Personally, a way into my pocketbook would be adapting training material to mobile and making it more audibly accessible, as @jsgoodrich_wmu pointed out. I used to be able to use screen readers and PDFs, but that's gone now.

Maybe at the end of the day, the only folks who are complaining about the more traditional training material types are us older ones who've been in the field and started their careers out with that hard printed book from Barnes and Noble. I know that CompTIA has put a lot of time and money to try and build CertMaster, but I also wonder if they are painting themselves into a corner.

 

[jasoneckert]

As a Cengage author for Linux+, I know that most colleges purchase the printed copies of my titles instead of just using the eBooks (which are part of the Cengage MindTap platform). The printed version is costlier than the MindTap version, but better because readers benefit from the composition/layout features (i.e., it's easier to learn from). That being said, I think it's important to always have both options available.

 

[Tess Sluijter]

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.

To be honest, even when I started with CompTIA five years back I already thought their training materials were over-priced and offered too low ROI, when compared to other offerings. If the new org starts dropping quality even further, you're right: ain't nobody picking the "official" options anymore.

Heck, many students already refer to the Sybex books as "the official study guide".

Mind you: I was very surprised to hear that McGraw-Hill has actually pulled out of creating content for IT exams, or in the very least CompTIA materials. What a loss! I wonder what played into that!

 

[Gregory Childers]

To be honest, even when I started with CompTIA five years back I already thought their training materials were over-priced and offered too low ROI, when compared to other offerings. If the new org starts dropping quality even further, you're right: ain't nobody picking the "official" options anymore.

Heck, many students already refer to the Sybex books as "the official study guide".

Mind you: I was very surprised to hear that McGraw-Hill has actually pulled out of creating content for IT exams, or in the very least CompTIA materials. What a loss! I wonder what played into that!

I have long agreed that CompTIA courseware is priced well beyond the rest of the market. Their books and PDFs were over $100 USD, while the average comparable exam prep book can be found online for $40-$60 USD. The labs are useful for providing hands-on experiences to illustrate the technical concepts, but they were unnecessary for passing the exams. The practice quizzes and assessments were no better than other low-cost or free options. The ROI is just not there.

It's not just CompTIA. ISACA publishes expensive "official" courseware while there are many cost-effective solutions available online.

Self-paced e-learning seems to be the overall trend. E-courseware, online labs, practice exams, and generative AI. Content providers are moving away from classroom instruction. There are fewer opportunites for live or virtual trainers. I'm disheartened by this trend because students are given fewer options for human-based training. They can't ask questions from experienced professionals. Our roles are being reduced to a ChatGPT prompt. I find myself doing more instructional design and content development than actual training these days. I'm already exploring possible future career paths outside of training and education.

I hope that the new CompTIA makes positive changes. All we can do now is wait and see.

 

[Tess Sluijter]

Heck, here in the Netherlands @jasoneckert 's book is incredibly expensive (probably because Cengage doesn't target the EU)... but I was willing to pay for that book! Browsing through that book, compared to the CompTIA Linux+ book, made me go "this is quality!".

https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/Jason-Eckert/dp/1337569798