Study Notes

5no-yt

OK, I've finally started to study full on.

The way I have been studying is reading through a chapter - I take notes of important parts.. photocopy tables and glue them in my book to create a smaller straight forward book to revise material. I got to the end of chapter 1 only to realise that 80% of my notes were in the chapter summary.

Is it worth taking notes? Or is most of the important stuff you need to remeber in the summary? (Apart from tables such as command-line parameters etc)

Also, How do you guys study? Just looking for ideas to make this a shorter/easier process as it took quite a while to get through chapter 1, and its so basic!

-Chapt3r

royal

I would highly suggest to keep taking notes. Although it does not work for everyone, it definitely helps for many.

The method I use to study:
1. Get my feet wet with CBT Nuggets even if I don't know the topic.
2. Begin reading my main book
3. While reading, I will use sticky notes and use them as a bookmark when I want to review information that spans >1 page. If the information is a paragraph or so, I will summarize it into my own words and write it into a notebook.
4. Every so often, even while I'm reading, I will go back to my notebook and read what is in there.
5. I will always do the chapter questions. If I get something wrong, I make sure I understand why, and if needed, I will go back and review that information. I also try to understand why the wrong answers were incorrect.
6. I then finish the book and then use either an e-book or use a hardcover to review information.
7. I then review any CBT Nuggets when I want some extra clarification.
8. I then use a practice exam package such as Transcenders which tests me on my readiness. I'll warn you though, do not use this unless you feel you are completely ready. After the 1st usage, you have many of the questions/answers in your head which won't properly test your readiness your second time around.


Note: I put port numbers on the first page of my notebook so I am always seeing them. This helps me remember port numbers which I have trouble remember. I am bad with port numbers

I also use Technet and websites such as this one, msexchange,org, petri.col.il, and many more for training.

Also, don't forget to lab practice everything you can. This will help you commit information to your brain in a more efficient manner. You can use VMware Server and/or Virtual Server; both of which are free.

Good luck!

kujayhawk93

Chapt3r:4 wrote:

Also, How do you guys study? Just looking for ideas to make this a shorter/easier process as it took quite a while to get through chapter 1, and its so basic!

My methods are pretty close to yours, and though it is a long process, I find that it makes the material "stick" better. First off, I always have two books. I'll read a complete chapter in one book all the way through, then go back and skim it again, typing up detailed notes in Word. Then I read the corresponding chapter or chapters out of my second book and add anything new to my notes that wasn't covered in the first book. Then I'll do the practice exercises and end-of-chapter quizzes. After I've read and outlined every chapter, I put the books away and just study from my condensed notes, then start on practice tests. For 70-270 and 70-290 I was able to cover about 2 chapters a week with this method, but for 70-291 I'm going to take it down to one chapter a week, as I am not as familiar with the material.

5no-yt

Great replys, just what I needed
Thanks heaps icroyal , kujayhawk93

Now I have to convince my boss that she should by me the CBT Nuggets

5no-yt

Saweeeeet, the IT manager is going to buy me the MCSE 2003: Security CBT Nugget Package.. WOOOOOOT!

royal

Chapt3r:4 wrote:

Saweeeeet, the IT manager is going to buy me the MCSE 2003: Security CBT Nugget Package.. WOOOOOOT!

That is excellent news, congrats! That's definitely a great package to have for your certification studies. CBT Nuggets is an excellent study resource and has served me and many others very well.

5no-yt

It's monday here today,
Sent an e-mail to the CBT nuggets sales team today about purchasing the package...
Only ive just realized its sunday there today.. My IT Manager is away tomorrow for a good week and a half so I hope they get back to me before then

5no-yt

For all you out there who have ordered CBT nuggets before - Do they normally take ages to reply?

malcybood

Mine came in about 3 weeks, but I live in the UK!

Breadfan

to write out study notes from multiple sources and compile them into Word study guides. My problem is always how to begin initially (or after long lay off from studying like now).

Books always start out with different objectives and progress differently, so I have tried to just go straight from the objectives and domains and learn material domain by domain. It's ok except that it's painstakingly S-L-O-W.

How do you guys do it? You said you go chapter by chapter, but each book covers different subject material. This method works well for me, I just want to see if I can tweak it to be as efficient as possible.

kujayhawk93

Breadfan wrote:

How do you guys do it? You said you go chapter by chapter, but each book covers different subject material. This method works well for me, I just want to see if I can tweak it to be as efficient as possible.

Even though there will be differences in the material in the two books you use, if you're using good books, 90% of it should be the same. The first think I do is sit down with both books, look at the Table of Contents, and map out the chapters. I tend to like how Sybex organizes their chapters, so I use it as my main book and then I match up the corresponding chapters and lessons from the MS Press book. There's rarely ever a 1:1 relationship (i.e. Chapter 3 in one book exactly matches Chapter 3 in the other), but by matching everything up before I even start reading, my studying is much more efficient.

5no-yt

CBT Nuggets ordered and paid for.. Let the waiting game begin...

Does anyone know of a site with study notes - not an actuall guide - but a set of notes with the need to know stuff like acronyms/port numbers/command line switches etc.. or somthing along the lines of this?
I've found loads of guides.. but these generally have too much info (I Have a MS Press book for this sort of detail)

-Chapt3r