Study methods

Discussion in 'Training & Development' started by P3-450, Nov 20, 2005.

  1. P3-450

    P3-450 Bit Poster

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    Hi all

    I am currently signed up for the N+ and MCSA route with Scheidegger.

    I am finding the N+ a bit tough to start of with, but I am thinking it's down to the way I am studying.

    Like a lot of you probably are doing, I am trying to balance work and study.

    Does anyone have any tips on the best way to study for this?

    I am currently reading through the materials I was given but not sure how best to make it stick in my head.

    Any help would be great :biggrin
     
    Certifications: A+ DCSE
    WIP: N+ and MCSA
  2. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    It won't stick in your head unless you combine theoretical study with hands on practice. If you haven't already, you should build a home lab to try things out on.

    Good luck

    Pete
     
    Certifications: C&G Electronics - MCSA (W2K) MCSE (W2K)
  3. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    I agree with Bluerinse. I could try to read a book all day long and never learn the material, but if I can actually apply the information and practice it, I'll learn much better and retain the info longer. That's one of my gripes against most IT texts...not enough practical labs...especially those that build on knowledge learned earlier in the book.
     
    Certifications: A+ and Network+
  4. Jakamoko
    Honorary Member

    Jakamoko On the move again ...

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    As well as the above, a quiet place and pre-alotted study time. Make yourself study within a certain and determined timeframe, including breaks. Be flexible - if your head's not in it, then just refresh some basics. If you're up for it, then study "deeper" than normal (investigate the "why's" and "how's" ).

    Make your study time work for you rather than against you. If you persist when it's not going your way, then you may put yourself off your pattern altogether.

    Just a few things tha have worked for me in the past - HTH :)
     
    Certifications: MCP, A+, Network+
    WIP: Clarity
  5. P3-450

    P3-450 Bit Poster

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    Thanks for your advise

    I very much agree with putting theory into practice, but when it comes to the OSI model I don't think you can, or can you :D

    Anyway, currently I have my main desktop and also a laptop. I also have VMware and I like to play around with different stuff. I'm sure all this will come in handy with I do the later parts of N+ and the MCSA.

    Thanks Jakamoko, I will try and set some time and then try and stick to it. I'll see how that goes.

    :rocks
     
    Certifications: A+ DCSE
    WIP: N+ and MCSA
  6. simongrahamuk
    Honorary Member

    simongrahamuk Hmmmmmmm?

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    When I was self studying I would do one Chapters reading per day. Some day's it would take me ages as the material just wouldn't sink in, other days less than an hour.

    The key thing is not to overload yourself with facts and information, but to attempt to apply what you have learnt. It is extremely important to be able to convert the text into the reality.

    If during my reading I came across a topic that I was uncomfortable with then when I had finished the chapter I would go looking for more information on that topic to try to clarify my understanding.

    8)
     
  7. ffreeloader

    ffreeloader Terabyte Poster

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    This is a very important point. A book written to give enough information to pass an exam is usually a very poor source for learning the concepts involved in whatever subject is being studied because it was never designed to teach them. It was designed to tell you what is on the test it was written to cover.

    In my three years of study I've accumulated a lot of books for that very reason. Only a small percentage of my books are exam specific books. The vast majority of them cover the theories, concepts, and details of operation used in networking, specific OS's, servers such as SQL Server, and computing in general.

    So, if you're having problems grasping subjects from an exam specific book you're not alone. It's simply time time to be buying more books on the subject and/or spending a lot of time on Google looking for material that teaches the concepts involved instead of telling you how to pass a test.
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCDBA, CCNA, A+
    WIP: LPIC 1
  8. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    Actually you can (sort of) study the OSI model from a practical point of view. You have to do a little "mental slight-of-hand" to make it work, tho.

    You just have to imagine sending an e-mail message (for example). Trace the e-mail from the user down through the OSI stack and explain what is happening to the message at each layer. While you're at it, once the message hits the wire, you can teach yourself how packet switched routing works. Then imagine the email hitting the destination server, all the packets being reassembled and what happens to the message as it travels back up the OSI stack at the destination computer.
     
    Certifications: A+ and Network+
  9. Baba O'Riley

    Baba O'Riley Gigabyte Poster

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    All good stuff. I would also say make notes. It may take you twice as long to get through the book but it will sink in twice as fast and concise notes are easier to revise from than a big book.

    Good luck.
     
    Certifications: A+, Network+
    WIP: 70-270
  10. moominboy

    moominboy Gigabyte Poster

    definitely notes,not only because things are easier to read when in your own "speak" but i am a scan reader so don't take things in as well as i could, (learned from being impatient while reading novels!) but i find that if i take in a page, then write it concisely it goes in a lot better. hth! good luck!
     
    Certifications: ECDL
    WIP: A+
  11. Boycie
    Honorary Member

    Boycie Senior Beer Tester

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    Practice and i also find video training is good too.
    If I can actually see someone explaining and showing you something it seems to sink in better. I also like audio. Even when you think it isnt going in you will be supprised what has :)

    Keep up the good work :thumbleft
     
    Certifications: MCSA 2003, MCDST, A+, N+, CTT+, MCT
  12. P3-450

    P3-450 Bit Poster

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    Thanks again for the helpful advice

    I might buy the Mike Meyers N+ book, it seems quite popular.

    8)
     
    Certifications: A+ DCSE
    WIP: N+ and MCSA
  13. awadhinho

    awadhinho Bit Poster

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    Hi there, :D

    I agree with you BOYCE video and audio is one of the best ways to store information on your hard drive(brain),:iagree

    Im also registered with scheideger :blink and going through the same problem. I work and study at the same, my current occupation is not based in an IT environment. At times i find it had to register some of the information that i have learnt in my assignments.

    This might shock some of you! :ohmy The other day i bought a pair of big headphones with a microphone. Then downloaded a voice recording program, and started to record myself while revising through my notes. When finished i saved the files, and downloaded them into my MP3 player. So instead of listening to other things ill listen to my self revising. I might be over doing it, but it has helped to store more information in my hard drive (head). Remember in order to win you have to use all your weapons.

    "To succeed you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you."
    Tony Dorsett
     
    Certifications: ECDL,NVQ 1,2 & 3
    WIP: A+, N+,CCNA,CCNP..
  14. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    That's a really novel idea, I like it 8)
     
    Certifications: C&G Electronics - MCSA (W2K) MCSE (W2K)
  15. Boycie
    Honorary Member

    Boycie Senior Beer Tester

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    Yes, i would if i were you. I have bought it and find it one of the best N+ books
     
    Certifications: MCSA 2003, MCDST, A+, N+, CTT+, MCT
  16. P3-450

    P3-450 Bit Poster

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    awadhinho, that is a neat idea. 8)

    My job isn't IT related either, but after I get through the N+ they say that they will put me forward as network engineer, so then I will get some on the job experience whilst I study the MCSA. I'm not gonna hold my though :rolleyes:


    Boyce, I have a seen that book for around £25, so if it is as good as people say it will be money well spent. 8)
     
    Certifications: A+ DCSE
    WIP: N+ and MCSA
  17. P3-450

    P3-450 Bit Poster

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    I got my All in one N+ book through today, and from having a quick flick through it looks helpful.

    I'll be diving into it in the next few days 8)
     
    Certifications: A+ DCSE
    WIP: N+ and MCSA
  18. ffreeloader

    ffreeloader Terabyte Poster

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    I'm always amazed at how differently the human brain works in different people. I could use the same audio or video tape from now until doomsday and I would absorb only a very tiny amount of it no matter how many times I listened to it.

    Give me a book to read once and I'll absorb a lot of it. Let me read that same material a few times and it's memorized. I'll even know right where it is in the book.

    The same thing with tests. Give me a written exam and I'll have no test anxiety and do very well. Make me take an oral exam and I get so nervous it isn't funny, and my brain will blank out stuff I know very well so completely it's as if I have never learned anything about the subject.

    It's the same with books and movies. I've never seen a movie that could tell the story as well the book it was based on.
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCDBA, CCNA, A+
    WIP: LPIC 1
  19. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    Do you have the same problem with instructor led training Freddy?

    I found instructor lead training not to be as good as I thought it would be. Although the instructors were good and knew their stuff, the time constraints and their work ethic prevented them from covering anything that wasn't in the MOC book. I might as well have been watching a video. There was very little in the way of classroom interaction, as most students didn't know what to ask and preferred to keep quite so that the necessary topics could be covered before the end of the day. Doing the labs also became an exercise in speed, more of a race than a learning experience.

    Hence I could learn more reading the MOC at my own place, at my own pace, which is what I ended up doing.
     
    Certifications: C&G Electronics - MCSA (W2K) MCSE (W2K)
  20. Clyde

    Clyde Megabyte Poster

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    If a trainer is teaching the MOC they cannot deviate from it without risking their MCT status. Thats one advantage of training from material other than MOC
     
    Certifications: A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA, MCSE
    WIP: MCITP

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