Last Day of School - Summer 2013

Today is a bittersweet day, as the last day of school always is.  It is the end of the all too short summer term.  In just two short weeks, we will be starting our Fall 2013 semester. 

I'll admit that we are pretty laid back in the summer.  Enrollment is still small as the school builds our summer offerings.  But that does not mean we are not working just as hard.  I told you last week about a few of students who have earned certifications.  On this, our last day, I am proud to add another to that list:

Peniel Adolphe has spent most of the summer learning about Windows Server 2008. This work culminated in him and Eva building a server including configuring hardware RAID, installing the Server 2008 operating system and working with Active Directory.  Today he took and passed the 68-365 Windows Server Administration Fundamentals.  He earned an MTA (Microsoft Technology Associate) certification in that technology.  Peniel is well on his way to his final step of earning his MCSA and MSCE this Fall.


You have heard me talk about the new certifications offered by TestOut.  Because they are new, they are not well known yet.  However, I find that they are a nice alternative to the Comptia certifications because they are simulation based as opposed to multiple choice.  I find my students know the material quite well,  but sometimes over think a multiple choice question.  Now, Comptia is including simulation based question in future tests and those kind of questions are starting to appear.  The biggest complaint I have gotten from my students, though is that they are given no instructions on how the simulation software works and they are having trouble navigating the question.  That is another reason the TestOut certification is nice.  The students are familiar with the interface, so it is a genuine gauge of their knowledge, not an assessment of Comptia's (or maybe PearsonVue's simulation software.)

The reason I brought this up is that TestOut recently released the official version of the Security Pro certification.  I had taken and passed the beta exam and found the material covered to be quite comprehensive and indicative of what a technician might encounter in the "real-world".  I look forward to letting you know about my students and their successes when they pass the exam.

Have a great (rest of the) summer!

Field Trip

We had the opportunity to visit Moorings Park this week for a field trip.  This was a wonderful opportunity to showoff a diverse and complicated network to the students courtesy of an old colleague of mine.  Moorings Park is now supported by the company that I belonged to before I started this little adventure with the school system.  Aaron Gruber is the Staff Consultant in charge of the network along with three and a half other full time employees.

My students got to see the Network Operations Center as well as the server and cabling rooms.  They got to see the blade servers in use and well as CAT7  (yes, that is right CAT7!) cabling.  We discussed the fiber infrastructure as well as the need for future planning.

Aaron even let us watch him change a port on a switch from one VLan to another.  While that may have put my mother to sleep, my students thought it was better than Showtime after Dark.

But as Aaron so precisely put it, IT is so much more than just switches and servers.  Aaron exposed my students to much more than just servers, racks, switches and phones.  We discussed other technologies that the department is responsible for including security cameras, nurse call equipment and a personnel locational tracking system.  Pretty cool, huh?

But I think what elevated Aaron in the eyes of my students from awesome guy to near demi-god was when he showed us the theater that was recently built for the use of the residents.  This place boasted the most advanced technology available today to create a facility that is unrivaled for playing movies, hosting lectures, and even producing video.

 After playing around with the automated lights and shades, Aaron let the students play around on the stage while we recorded them on the blue screen for editing with the TriCaster equipment:
 


 Finally, Moorings Park was very generous to donate a rack to my program here at iTech.  I look forward to using this in the classroom for my networking activities.

Thank you Aaron for a wonderful and educational day.  I'm glad you like your job. You have an excellent way with the students and I wouldn't want to compete with you for my job.  :)

Summer Smarties!

  While most students are relaxing on summer break, my students are hard at work putting their studying into action by taking their certification tests.  Please join me in recognizing three individuals who are demonstrating a commitment to themselves and their education:

First, Peniel Adolphe took and passed his Network+ certification!  I will have to check my sources, but Peniel just might be the first student from iTech to earn this certification.  Watch out Peniel, don't get complacent.  Eva, Richard and Josemon are fast on your heels.

Second, Lucien Denis took a day from his awesome internship to take and pass his A+ Practical exam making him an A+ certified computer technician.  While Lu was visiting, he mentioned that he wanted to continue his education while working to expand his skill set.  Way to go!  Lu shows the commitment and persistence that has and will continue to serve him well in his career.

 Finally, Richard has been diligently studying at home to prepare for HIS A+ practical exam.  Richard brought his family and patiently waited out a few technical issues to take the test and pass!  Richard is my newest A+ certified student and it was wonderful to share the moment with him and his children.  Congratulations, Dad!

Sharing a special moment with Dad.

The summer is not over yet.  Stay tuned and watch what we can do.