How fast or slow of a reader are you?

Jon1992

One of the things i hate most about studying for exams/certifications is the books are like 1000+ pages and when your on a tight schedule to get them done like my. (15 or so certs in 12 months, but got extended to 18 months or so) its sucks to have ADD when it comes to readying and be a slow reader it takes my about 3mins to read a single page 3 * 1000 = 3000 / 60 = 50 hours maybe little more to read a book. Maybe some people can do it but for me to read 3hours would take like 6 hours because i can not focus then theres the don't cram your head with info because i have to go back and re-read. But anyway am i a slow reader or is my ADD my worse enemy. it took me 2 mins to read 4 paragraphs https://i.imgur.com/r9wBRTU.png

yoba222

Yeah, that's about how long it takes me to digest a dry, technical page that may be unfamiliar or just too damn dry to get into. That sounds also about how long it would take me to slug through a book that long. My attention span has become terrible in recent years, though I attribute it to the fingertip convenience of Internet access personally. It got way worse once I ditched the TV, which was surprising.

Not dismissing your legitimate medical condition! I personally haven't bothered getting diagnosed and don't intend to, because screw that self-fulfilling prophecy mentality; I'm going to succeed.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/work-of-fiction/

L0rdN1k0n

OP this did wonders for my learning. I'm applying this rightnow for my eCPPT studying (buffer overflow/system security section)....

Explaining The Cone Of Learning by Edgar Dale 1946: As a Professor of educations at Ohio State University, Edgar Dale founded most well-known design, the Cone Of Learning in 1946. Ever since it has been estimated often, far and wide as the definitive proof for how we retain details when delivered in different styles and mediums and has actually notified ways to create training courses in particular methods. The cone of learning likewise underscores the premise that if you reveal somebody how to do something, they will most likely bear in mind. But if you include them in a meaningful means, they'll likely understand it better. Simply puts, the most long lasting form of knowing is when you include the learner directly in a significant method and ideally through the accessibility of hands-on experience. Hope this can help you for your future learning!!!!!!

MitM

I read really slow, which makes it difficult to study for certifications that way. For all my cisco exams, I watched numerous video trainings, labbed the concepts up and relied on cisco documenation instead of certification books. I found this approach very useful. YMMV

clarson

I can read for entertainment very fast. But the things I want to learn, retain, and be knowledgeable, takes a lot longer, like 10 pages/hour. but, I re read the material and take notes to get to the meat of what I'm reading. but im not reading to increase my pages read counter, but to increase my knowledge.

I don't know how people say they studied two weeks and passed the exam. It takes me a month just to read the material.

15 certs in 18 months would be terrific for me. I have a job. and can't read manuals for hours on end. I need to think about what I read to understand it. So, I read some, lab some, watch some videos, take some notes, repeat. it does take me a while to understand some topics.
But I don't worry about passing when I take a cert exam, because I'm confident I understand what I'm being asked about.

Jon_Cisco

I see a lot of people trying to avoid reading the books for certifications. It can be done but it just puts more pressure on you to learn in other ways. Videos are great for showing you a concept and a few quick steps to do a task. If you want to get much deeper then that you will usually need to read something.

I prefer to first watch videos on a topic to get the general idea and then read the book to actually let the information sink in.

If you really struggle reading I suggest over emphasizing labbing. There is no substitute for actually doing something.

Jon

JDMurray

When reading to learn and retain facts and concepts, I always highlight the important points as I read the material the first time. I then re-read the material and copy the highlights to a document. This boils-down the facts to a manageable size to study from. I repeat this for multiple information sources, creating multiple sets of study note documents, and then use those docs to create a single document to study from. The final study document also become an excellent resource for creating blog and presentation materials.

Audio/video materials are basically treated the same. Read the transcript while listening the first time, and highlight the transcript while listening a second time. If there is no transcript for the audio, you will have to dictate it while you listen the first time.

ally_uk

Thank you JDmurray some good points that have helped me alot organize myself more.

JDMurray

One other thing to consider is how well you retain information that you write longhand versus type on a keyboard. It's easier and faster to dictate notes into a computer file through a keyboard, but your brain may retain more of what you write if you do it longhand on paper. Back in school, I occasionally rewrote my notes several times by hand to memorize the material for exams. Overtime I somehow forgot about that study technique--probably because of the eventual ubiquity computers and their keyboards.

NetworkNewb

clarson wrote: »

I can read for entertainment very fast. But the things I want to learn, retain, and be knowledgeable, takes a lot longer, like 10 pages/hour. but, I re read the material and take notes to get to the meat of what I'm reading. but im not reading to increase my pages read counter, but to increase my knowledge.

I don't know how people say they studied two weeks and passed the exam. It takes me a month just to read the material.

Pretty much agree to all of this.

I did study and passed the Sec+ exam in 2 weeks... But I only read the first 2 chapters of the book

Shinjusn0w

I agree with you all.
I am noticing that I too read slowly when trying to learn something new.

These are some helpful tips to help me study more efficiently

Thank you

Info_Sec_Wannabe

Another slow reader here!

Took me roughly 4 months to read a 200 page book (11th Hour)... In my case, I need to re-read some of the concepts more than once to really understand it and sometimes have to refer to Google for additional clarification.