Studying with multiple sources

Jonk

Hello,

I currently am studying for the route exam. I have been using cbt videos to go through, which keeps my interest going strong as he works on the labs in the videos while I duplicate the labs in GNS3.

I also have the full Cisco foundation book series. I was planning on every time I finished a chapter with cbt (example EIGRP) I would hit the book and go through the same chapter to get a firm understanding before moving on.

Has others tired this before and if so your thoughts? I thought this might get confusing with different authors during the series... figured I would ask here.

Thanks!

ande0255

I tried this with Chris Bryant's route videos while read OCG chapters relating to the topic, and for me it was just information overload. I've since backed off that for voice due to job requirements, so my new approach is take heavy notes while only watching videos, then read through the OCG jotting notes on any concepts not covered in videos.

I feel this is a lot better method to reinforce the knowledge by reviewing all topics twice, and the read through the OCG is pretty easy if you make sure you understand the topics in videos before moving on, I'm starting on the Voice OCG as I'm finishing INE videos and reading through it is a breeze.

Also notes, notes, and more note taking. I decided to skip NA security and dive into NP R&S after voice, so I'll be joining the pursuit soon here

PCHoldmann

I think that using multiple sources is very valuable. Reading the different takes that individual authors have can often clear things up. Also, certain topics may be covered in more depth in one source than another.

In the end, it will come down to how you learn best. If you are finding yourself overloaded, try a different method, such as completing one course/book/whatever before starting the other, rather than bouncing between them. Not that either way is better, just that one may be better for you.

In any case, get as much lab time in as you can, and spend a lot of time with show and debug commands, as they can really help you gain depth of understanding in the technology. Wireshark can also be invaluable for this.

Jonk

Got it - I am really looking at this in two ways:1. If I go through one chapter and then hit the books - I won't move on to the next chapter until I really have a good understanding of the concept. 2. It might be better to go through all the videos and then hit the books to stay with one author and one method of teaching.What I am finding, for example - is that there is a lot of stuff that CBT does not include - for example the granular information for such protocols like EIGRP.What I am getting stuck at really I believe with option one is that when I open the book, I jump in but I am the type that needs to write everything down to commit to memory. I do that with the videos, and take a lot of notes. Problem is there is so much detail in the book - I am wondering if I should go over everything that I feel I need to read into, that was not covered, etc. and go from there. After I am done with both, I can review what I write. Just don't want to go off on a tangent and forget other chapters, I guess.

ande0255

I am exactly that same way, and that was exactly my experience with videos and books in conjunction, it was more work trying to sort out what extra notes I should take and how to organize them (as I am OCD about my notes having a flow to them). That really slowed my progress with studying, as I was spending way too much time trying to figure out how best to organize the information from two different sources.

So for me taking heavy notes over the video series and understanding the topics, then using a seperate notebook for the OCG has worked out great thus far, and starting over from the beginning and getting that extra info is a good reinforcement of the knowledge and fills in the cracks.

Best part is, it doesn't make your brain feel like it's being torn apart in two different directions I felt like watching videos while reading the OCG was like trying to listen to two teachers talk at the same time about the same subject, it was just more hassle than beneficial.

Jon_Cisco

ande0255 wrote: »

I felt like watching videos while reading the OCG was like trying to listen to two teachers talk at the same time about the same subject, it was just more hassle than beneficial.

I completely understand this. I started my path towards certs last summer and at first I overloaded myself with to many resources. Learning from my mistakes I am moving towards reading or watching something completely for an overview. Then when I pick up the next book I go much slower but it's a lot easier. Tather then putting new ideas on paper this time I am making the connections about how they work.