Faculty Resources
Tip 1
Build, troubleshoot and/or repair twisted-pair and coaxial cabling
CompTIA Network+ Certification exams test you on a large amount of hardware and cabling knowledge. A Cable Certifier provides “Pass” or “Fail” information in accordance with industry standards but can also show detailed information when a “Fail” occurs. This includes shorts, the wire pairs involved and the distance to the short. When a short is identified, at the full length of the cable it means the cable has not been crimped correctly. It is a great way to feel confident on exam day, knowing that the hardware and test equipment portion of the CompTIA exam is not just theory but real world practice.
Tip 2
Set up a CompTIA Network+ test lab
Experience matters. While a significant amount of time can be spent on CompTIA Network+ certification preparation, the best study guide is experience. Nothing prepares you more for a test then when you are tasked with evaluating the situation and resolving the issues to improve both performance and connectivity of a wireless and wired infrastructure. A test lab is easy to set-up and requires very little in terms of money. Use Device Manager to discover what properties and configurable settings your network adapter has. Configure the IP settings for an adapter in both Windows and Linux. Investigate ARP and the use of the Wireshark protocol analyzer to capture and inspect network traffic. Configure Routing and Switching interfaces. For CompTIA Network+, the test is a general knowledge test, vast in span but not very deep. Using a test lab will help solidify concepts in the student’s mind.
Tip 3
Use and share alternate sources of studying
The internet is full of beautiful videos that help illuminate aspects of computers. In this Get Certified website, you will find MP4s on each domain. These are Professor Messer videos and have been proven to be an extremely effective learning tool. Feel free to use these in your classroom. While you can’t always interact in a way that leads to real-life practice and solidifies concepts, the visual aspect is a great way to understand something before diving in deep.
Tip 4
CANVAS Practice Tests
Nothing builds confidence like a practice exam. Learning to ace the CompTIA course with REAL questions that can be found on REAL exams is a huge boost to morale. Practice exams for the CompTIA N10-006 Network+ are available through this GetCertified website. Registration is found under the Exam Prep menu tab. Once registration is submitted through the GetCertified website, a link will be sent to the student (within 24 hours of their registration receipt) via email for access to the practice exams on the Canvas website. Holding a 85% competency level on the simulation exams will help your students feel cheerful and bold on Exam day, instead of fearful and stressed.
Tip 5
Be a Mentor
This is an undervalued step in being successful in the IT world. Often a question is beyond the scope of a student until they learn foundational knowledge. Yet without that foundational knowledge, they may not know what you need to study in order to answer the question. This creates a terrible cycle of feeling confused and leads to being unable to achieve success. This is where the Mentor is invaluable. Having someone to talk through hard to understand problems and discuss IT is one of the most powerful tools you can have for passing the exam. You need to take the time to be that mentor from the University and information technology field.
Tip 6
Read the CompTIA Network+ Certification Exam Objectives
It is astounding how many people attempt the CompTIA Network+ Exam without taking the time to simply read through the test objectives. The Computing Technology Industry Association has laid out a pretty explicit and easy to read list of necessary objectives and steps required to pass the exams. Not only do these give a glimpse into what can be found on the test, they are great windows into the world of CompTIA Network+ exams. The tests are updated roughly every three years and continually drop old legacy items from the needed knowledge as well as look forward toward new Tech. A good sign that your students can pass the exam, is when you feel confident they can do all the objectives laid out by CompTIA.