CCNA online material

kamay44

Hey guys, i just started the Network Academy in my college as part of my Network Administration program, but i dont know, i dont like what i have seen right now. There is so much material and no time, each CCNA module is gonna be 3 weeks(5 hours/day), i just finish the first week and i already feel overwhelmed. I think that one of the main problem is the online material, is kind of hard to follow and sooo bored, not mentioning that is really long. I was thinking about getting the lammle book to use it as my primary source, so i could skip the online material, do you think this is possible??

The problem i find are those freaking quizzes every morning, for example, on tuesday we see chapter 5 and the next day, we have the quiz. The first day i tried reading from a different source on internet, but the questions were tricky and based on the online material, i got a 60%, thats why i dont know if the lammle book could be enough to cover what i need for the actual CCNA of course and for the quizzes

Thanks

bigmantenor

To start with, this would be better posted in the CCNA section, and not the A+ sections (I'm sure it was just an accident).

OK, so here is my story: I did the first two classes of the Networking Academy (Network foundations and Routing). I personally found them helpful, if for no other reason than I had access to a nice big lab to play around on. Having said that, I chose to skip the last 2 classes and fill in the rest of the knowledge needed through self study. I just passed the CCENT, which covered several things I did not learn through the Network Academy classes I took (such as wireless, switch configurations, etc.), and I passed with ease. Also, my studying for ICND2 has been made easier from taking those first two classes, because we studied/configured EIGRP and OSPF, did some VLSM, etc.

My advice to you would be to either:

1. Stick with it and get in all the quality lab time you want, while also studying on the side.

2. Decide that the classroom setting is not helping you greatly, elect to not do the remaining classes, and put the money saved towards a small home lab.

I personally would elect for option 2. You should already have a copy of Packet Tracer, and you've gained some knowledge, so self-study should be made somewhat easier. I will also suggest, however, that you look into the Odom books for study as well; they are more dry, but personally I liked having both writing styles available to me. Good luck to you!

kamay44

Thank you bigmantenor, i'm gonna use your experience.

Is it possible to move this topic to the propper section?? Any moderator around??

Thank you

mikej412

kamay44 wrote: »

I was thinking about getting the lammle book to use it as my primary source, so i could skip the online material, do you think this is possible??

If you want to go self-study, then the Cisco Press CCNA Certification Library by Wendell Odom should be your primary source -- with Todd's book your 2nd resource.

If you want to supplement your Cisco CCNA Network Academy courseware with Todd's book, that would be fine. But it will NOT replace the Academy courseware since that's what your quizzes, module exams, and finals are based on.

Eildor

kamay44 wrote: »

Hey guys, i just started the Network Academy in my college as part of my Network Administration program, but i dont know, i dont like what i have seen right now. There is so much material and no time, each CCNA module is gonna be 3 weeks(5 hours/day), i just finish the first week and i already feel overwhelmed. I think that one of the main problem is the online material, is kind of hard to follow and sooo bored, not mentioning that is really long. I was thinking about getting the lammle book to use it as my primary source, so i could skip the online material, do you think this is possible??

The problem i find are those freaking quizzes every morning, for example, on tuesday we see chapter 5 and the next day, we have the quiz. The first day i tried reading from a different source on internet, but the questions were tricky and based on the online material, i got a 60%, thats why i dont know if the lammle book could be enough to cover what i need for the actual CCNA of course and for the quizzes

Thanks

It's not too difficult, just depends how much time you put into it. Depending on how much time you have, you could do one module a week -- 2 weeks max if you really take your time. After each chapter make sure you go through all of the Packet Tracer exercises.

And take the chapter exams straight after each chapter (that's what I did).