MS:ISA begins June 1

I recently applied to WGU for the MS:ISA program, and barring an issue with the last bit of paperwork, I am all set up to begin the courses on June 1.

I know the program has its goods and bads, but I needed something to take up some of my time while I look for a job. Every time I finish studying for a cert and take the test, I'm bored out of my mind the next week so I start anew. I graduated last December, and since then I've gotten a new cert every month (except for May as I prepare for WGU).

I've also applied to the Georgia Tech OMSCS program, and my goal is to eventually complete both programs.

I know it is still a ways away from June, but I'm looking forward to the journey.

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novovictus

Well I think I'll give my mentor a shot, and work through the first few courses. Thanks for the PM nelson! And the clarification xeruan. I just am anxious for monday to get started.

xeruan

A question to other WGU students: Do you find yourself completing all tasks for a class consecutively, or do you finish a task or two for a course, and jump to another course before finishing the initial course?
Example: I completed Tasks 1 and 3 for Cyberlaw, worked partly on Task 2 before deciding to skip ahead and complete Task 1 of Hacking Countermeasures for a change of pace. I'm now going back to complete Tasks 2 and 4 of Cyberlaw to finish the course.

At least for me, I find that by changing course tasks momentarily allows me to better focus on the remaining tasks that I skipped - more or less a preventative measure so I don't burn myself out.

nelson8403

I usually tried to do them in order, they usually kind of tied together somehow from the course of study. I didn't skip around too much outside of my first two classes, I completed all of jit2 before I did my current and emerging technology, usually I only had 1 class active at a time and just focused on that one

xeruan

I can understand that, I'm trying to keep them in groups that feel like they go together to make it easier, but I still feel myself skipping around.

Groups like Hacking Countermeasures, Vulnerability Assessment, the CEH exam, and the CHFI exam all back to back since I would presume they all follow a lot of the same type material. Later I'll work on Security Policies, Risk Management, and Disaster Recovery, which I feel follow more of a managerial aspect, and will try to complete those together.

I refreshed my WGU portal and freaked out a little bit, as the looks drastically changed now that it is June 1, but I'm opening up to it a bit - at least I don't have to look at the unattempted Admission Exams anymore.

I'm now 1 task away (Hacking Countermeasures and Techniques Task 3) from completing the first 3 courses, though I will still have to wait until Thursday for my Group Degree Plan call, and then I will speak with my mentor on Friday. I hope to complete Task 3 by the end of tonight (before midnight Monday). I've already completed Vulnerability Assessment (4th course) Task 1 just from skipping around, but I think I can be on pace to complete Tasks 2 and 3 before my mentor call on Friday.

Even though I've already been working, I have to admit that I'm looking forward to this first term.

asmills85

I did one class at a time, I also went in order it was on my COS. I figured if I started picking and choosing I would save all the longer and harder classes for the end which would kill my motivation.

xeruan

asmills85 wrote: »

I did one class at a time, I also went in order it was on my COS. I figured if I started picking and choosing I would save all the longer and harder classes for the end which would kill my motivation.

That thought crossed my mind. The only courses that are being moved around are the middle 4 courses of the program (Cryptography through the CHFI exam), which I feel are interchangeable as it is. Well, Cryptography is a bit of an outlier, but that's why I plan on pushing it to the back of the group. Terms 1, most of Term 3, and Term 4 will remain the same as the standard path.

novovictus

I completed the first task yesterday, and started the reading for task 2.
xeruan, my mentor spoke of the 'high level' of writing this program requires. Did you see a progression in the requirements in the tasks up to the end of the 3rd course?

I was thinking the same thing about pushing those middle classes out. I can save Cryptography and CHFI until right before my capstone, and maintain the steam with paper writing until then, with the assessments right before the final paper.

xeruan

I was thinking of postponing the CHFI and Crypto exams until just before the capstone, but I also want to make sure that I give myself enough of a "break" from writing assignments so that I don't feel completely burned out on writing. I think I'll start with the CEH exam after I've completed the first 4 courses (Current and Emerging Technology through Vulnerability Assessment), and then if I feel like I want to write again, after the CEH I'll start the more "managerial" courses. If I feel like I still want a break, I'll add the CHFI and potentially the Crypto exam. Also, due to efficiency, I would like to keep the CEH and CHFI exams close to one another due to the recommendations of others on the board, so time will tell how I feel.

novovictus wrote: »

xeruan, my mentor spoke of the 'high level' of writing this program requires. Did you see a progression in the requirements in the tasks up to the end of the 3rd course?

I haven't been able to submit any of my completed assignments yet, so I'm not certain how they grade. But as far as the requirements go, I haven't really noticed it (yet) from course to course, but I have from task to task inside of a course. Most noticeably with the 3-value rubrics in the first assignments until the 5-value rubric on the last assignment. It seems to go from a paper that might normally get a C/B is passing on the first, to requiring more of an A level paper for the final task of each course. The reason I say this is because the grading criterion go from "sufficient detail" to "substantial detail". Granted, we only have to score a "3" on the 5-value rubric, I still feel it adds to the difficulty.

Edit*: One thing I forgot to mention, as far as my tasks have gone - I'm not a big fan of the tasks requiring powerpoint presentations. I'd rather write a paper just because it's easier for me to just continuously write rather than trying to create slides and type a couple of paragraphs before moving on to the next slide to figure out what content it should cover and writing a couple more paragraphs.

xeruan

I have to admit, after working on another powerpoint-based task, it isn't as bad as I initially felt. I'm currently working on 2 powerpoint-based tasks, Hacking Countermeasures and Techniques Task 3, and Vulnerability Assessment Task 2, and they aren't that bad. I'm hoping to finish up Vulnerability Assessment Task 2 tonight before getting a little more work done on the Hacking Countermeasures Task 3 in order to finish it up tomorrow.
After that, I'll have one more task (Vulnerability Assessment Task 3, combined powerpoint and 1-2 page memo) before I begin studying for my CEH exam, which I am hoping to start over the weekend.

I still haven't spoken to my student mentor, have a call set up for this Friday (5th), but I'm hoping by the time I talk to him, I'll be able to successfully say that I've completed my first four courses (Current and Emerging Technology, Cyberlaw, Hacking Countermeasures and Techniques, and Vulnerability Assessment). Then it'll just be a flood of posting my attempts into TaskStream and waiting for results while I study for the CEH.

If my student mentor does not enroll me in the CEH course on Friday or over the weekend, giving me access to the CEH material, it won't be too big of an issue as I plan to watch the CBT Nuggets videos first before attempting the iLabs/iClass.

nelson8403

Keep in mind with those power point tasks they really are looking for almost a full 3 page paper worth of notes on each slide. I've had many come back due to inadequate notes on each slide. Some later on in the program were a PITA because they kept asking for more and more information to be put into the slideshow.

xeruan

nelson8403 wrote: »

Keep in mind with those power point tasks they really are looking for almost a full 3 page paper worth of notes on each slide. I've had many come back due to inadequate notes on each slide.

That's definitely not happening currently, I'm probably averaging 1/2 to 1 pages worth of text per slide. I'm just going to hope I cover the material effectively enough for a pass. Even if it comes back, I don't mind adding more to a few slides here and there (just hoping it isn't every slide).

tonyz90

I just recently got accepted for the August 2015 term - how are you folks working on assignments prior to your classes starting? How do you know which assignments you need to do? I would love to get started working on them ASAP.

Thanks

xeruan

tonyz90 wrote: »

how are you folks working on assignments prior to your classes starting? How do you know which assignments you need to do? I would love to get started working on them ASAP.

You won't actually gain the ability to see the tasks until you gain access and complete the Education Without Boundaries Orientation course. Once you have access to your Degree Plan, you can select individual courses and view the materials that are associated with the course, and on the Assessment tab is a "Preview" button. This button will show you the individual tasks that are associated with all of your "P" courses. "O" courses only require tests, so you will have the option to take a pre-assessment test if you want.

novovictus

xeruan wrote: »

You won't actually gain the ability to see the tasks until you gain access and complete the Education Without Boundaries Orientation course.

Keep in mind this only applies if you are new to WGU, returning students must wait until the 1st for the system to roll over to the new degree program.

I cranked out the third paper last night, and am really curious to see if it meets the standards. For the first task I went through the entire COS for that section, but didnt find it that enlightening. For the second task I skimmed through and moved into writing the paper looking back as needed. For the third, I dove right in and just had to clarify a few things as I was writing the paper.

As I start on TFT2, I wanted to see what others approaches are. There is quite a lot of material to read, and I imagine that is par for the course.

xeruan

novovictus wrote: »

As I start on TFT2, I wanted to see what others approaches are.

In all honesty, I've only read a handful of the chapters from each course as I go through the material. Mostly I look at the requirements of the different tasks, and if there is something that I'm unfamiliar with, those are the chapters that I will read over. Granted, this might change some when I get to the last few courses, as I have no managerial type experience.

After finishing LOT2 (Hacking Countermeasures) Task 3 last night, the only task I have left is VUT2 (Vulnerability Assessment) Task 3 before moving on to the next objective-based courses. Currently though, I'm back to not enjoying powerpoints, lol, so my plan is to write the memo section of the Task, and then to watch a few CBT Nuggets videos for the CEH before I jump back over to complete the powerpoint.

It's finally Thursday, so I will have my Group Degree Plan call tonight, and then will talk to my mentor tomorrow so I can finally submit all of this piled up work and see how much, if any, passes muster.

novovictus

Awesome, I wanted to see if that approach was doable. Good job man, you are killing it. I would rather powerpoints to papers, but it seems there is plenty of writing involved with those as well. I will be on the call tonight as well, so see you there!

xeruan

My Degree Plan was finally approved, while my Student Mentor doesn't mind the order, I was strongly encouraged to only enroll in 8 hours initially. Overall, this isn't a big deal for me, as I will be speaking to my Student Mentor tomorrow about enrolling in my next course.

Since enrolling, I've gained access to the first three courses of the program, and have uploaded documents for all 10 tasks. I'm currently waiting for the TurnItIn report for all of the tasks, and once that is completed, I will look to submit my tasks for grading -- the moment of truth.

I've been slacking on Vulnerability Assessment Task 3, the last task I need to complete before I begin studying for the CEH exam. I started watching CBT Nuggets CEH videos instead. I've got the powerpoint outline built, I only lack all of the writing. I might work on it for a bit tonight, but my goal is to finish it by tonight (Friday night), so that I can devote this weekend and next week to studying for the CEH.

Currently, I'm trying how to best plan to study for the CEH and take it. The nearest of the Pearson VUE centers is nearly an hour and a half from home, and I'm wondering if I should just work on a task or two between scheduling and taking the exam, since some of the available testing days don't really match my schedule.

novovictus

I have a call at noon, and hopefully I can get mine approved to start submitting. This TurnItIn feature seems to be new, I don't remember that from my BS degree program.

I am starting task 2 of TFT2 today. Should be pretty quick I think. This weekend I want to see if I can get two papers written in between home and lawn projects.

As for the CEH, I took that via the live online course. The course was very rigorous, and the trainer was great. At test time though, it was a different story. Really to pass all you need is a good practice exam. I am thinking WGU's materials should be sufficient based off what is available for the CHFI. Personally I would like to push the objective exams to last before my capstone. Hopefully if my mentor recognizes my progress so far she will loosen up, allowing me to make those kind of changes.

nelson8403

Turnitin was always a part of taskstream but it was never required to submit it to them first it was always automatic usually within 10 minutes of submitting you could see your results.

novovictus

That sounds right, I do now recall taskstream giving you a rating on uniqueness before your grade came back. I guess that is now a bigger part of the submission process.

xeruan

Talked to my mentor, he wants all 3 courses to be completely graded and passed before he allows me to enroll in my next course. This isn't a big issue for me, as I think he is still feeling out what I am capable of doing, rather than just blanket agreeing to enroll me in another course and have all 10 tasks returned.

Of the initial 10 tasks, I have not submitted 2 of them. While they are complete, I'm concerned with the high percentage of matching for the TurnItIn originality report. It's above the 30% mark, but while looking over the document, it is matching my entire title page and headers (apart from my name) so I'm planning to speak with someone about it specifically today.

My other documents were generally between 1-6% on the originality report, but these two were 36% and 45%. Though the matching in both, I feel isn't a big deal because they are TFT2 (Cyberlaw) Tasks 1 and 2, which requires the student to modify polices. So my matches consist of "new user accounts are created by admins", "passwords must be lowercase, uppercase, a number, and a special character", etc.

Edit Update*: I just hung up with someone in the Academic Authenticity department from a contact that my Student Mentor sent me. I emailed them my originality reports, and am waiting to hear back with their recommendations.

novovictus

I just talked to mine as well. She mentioned that the courses had to be completed in order. Has yours said the same xeruan?

I uploaded my first 5 papers, and am waiting on the turnitin. Let me know how it works out for task 1 and 2, because those are two of the ones I submitted.

xeruan

I hung up with her after speaking for a few minutes about the task and results, and emailed the report of both tasks so she could review them.

Within 10 minutes I had a response that there wasn't any issue with either of my tasks and that after I had submitted them, to email her back so that she could clear them for evaluation. I was a bit worried since I had read everywhere about the 30% mark, but even with them being above, she had no issues with the originality of my tasks. My initial numbers were incorrect, due to filters being applied - without filters Task 1 was 40%, and Task 2 was 51%.

novovictus wrote:

She mentioned that the courses had to be completed in order. Has yours said the same xeruan?

He has mentioned that I should complete the classes in order for the ones I am currently enrolled in, but he has said that since I have all of my tasks submitted, to continue working on other courses. For the courses that I'm accelerating he wants me to speak with him during our weekly call about my plans, but he has given me freedom in choosing which course I begin working on next.

novovictus

I am still waiting on my originality reports to come back, so we will see.

Whats your mentors name, Kirk K? I am thinking I may request another mentor to work with. I, like probably most here, don't do well with rigid micro-management.

xeruan

novovictus wrote: »

Whats your mentors name, Kirk K? I am thinking I may request another mentor to work with. I, like probably most here, don't do well with rigid micro-management.

It is.

He's mentioned that his supervisor requires students to stick to the initial 3 courses and completing them in order before being able to move on to additional courses, and that I should stick to the original degree plan as much as I can. But he's also said that once I have all of the tasks submitted for a course, that I can work on another that I choose. I think at least for the few weeks/courses, it's mostly just trying to understand each student that they're working with.

When I initially said that I had submitted my tasks, and asked a question about pursuing acceleration, he said that I needed to complete all 3 courses. There was a bit of a pause after I explained that I had already submitted all 10 tasks, and had completed the majority of Vulnerability Assessment as well.

I think most of the initial micro-management is just their getting to better understand each student. Even Kirk still has some reservations, but I think that once the grades come back with necessary revisions or passes, he'll better understand what type of student I am. This first bit of time is just us learning how the other operates.

For me, I don't really sweat it too much. I have access to the tasks, so that even if I'm not enrolled in the course, I can still complete tasks and have them ready for submission as soon as I enroll. Granted, that's not to say if my Student Mentor takes 2 weeks to approve my enrollment after I've completed a course that I'm not going to be requesting another mentor.

Edit*: I've already succumbed to Taskstream stalking, this is terrible.

xeruan

This Taskstream queue countdown is agonizing, how do you guys cope?

novovictus

Taskstream seems to be slower than it was a few years ago, but that may be due to an increasing number of students, or simply my perception since I have assignments submitted. It is nice to see where you are in the queue and what date of submittals they are working on, less of a guessing game. My first submission is at 122, where is yours?

My TFT2 Task 1 had a 41% match, but like you said it must be from the nature of the assignment. My task 2 only had 11% however. Everything else was in the single digits.

I am starting on task 3 this morning, but I did read over everything yesterday, twice. As I read it again, I find this one to be particularly challenging to me. I guess I'll need to go back and review more material because I am clueless where to start. This may be a good time for me to reach out to a course mentor.

xeruan

novovictus wrote: »

My first submission is at 122, where is yours?

Initially I started out with submissions between 144-152 and 164 and 165 yesterday, but at the end of the day, my first submission ended at 86.

Currently, I'm at 70, and there is the slightest of hopes that one or more of my submissions will be graded late tonight, but in all reality, it'll most likely be tomorrow morning.

I'm still slowly working on VUT2 Vulnerability Assessment Task 3 because I'm back to not enjoying the powerpoint aspect too much. I've started watching the CBTNugget videos for the CEHv8 so I've been going back and forth between working on a slide or two, and watching a video. I should finally finish the task today.

I emailed my mentor about opening up the CEH Learning Resources, and I am hoping I can get a response today.

xeruan

Well, I had hoped that they graded over the weekend, since the Student Handbook mentioned that most grades would be obtained within 3 calendar days. My tasks moved up about 20 spots this morning, but my place in the queue has remained the same for about the last 5 hours.

Edit*: I was mistaken, my tasks have moved 2 positions in 6 hours.

I'll finish up Task 3 of Vulnerability Assessment in the next hour, and then will be done with the first 4 courses until I receive my task evaluations and necessary revisions. I've got about 8 more hours of CBTNugget videos for the CEH to watch, so that'll last me through Sunday. After that, if I haven't received a response from my student mentor, I guess I may look toward one of the other performance assessment related courses until my Student Mentor weekly call on Tuesday.

xeruan

I finally stopped slacking and finished Vulnerability Assessment Task 3. I'm up to spots 53-60 and 77/78 in the queue for my first 10 assignments.

I'm down to about 6.5 hours worth of CBTNuggets CEH videos and I'll probably stretch out watching them, aiming to finish before my weekly Student Mentor call on Tuesday. My Student Mentor also approved my access to the CEH learning resource materials. I received my access to the iLabs and Boson Practice Test, but the iLearn email stated that I should receive a link to the material in 3-5 business days. My current plan is to complete the CBTNuggets CEH videos, then work on the iLabs, and finally watch the iLearn videos before I try the Boson tests.

The 3 closest Pearson VUE testing centers are all ~75 minutes from me, so I have to decide how I want to best plan for taking the test. The easiest day to take the test is on a Saturday, which is what I've done for my Sec+ and CCNA exams, but that would push my exam off until the 27th.

My thought is if I end up taking the exam on the 27th, I'll complete all of the material and schedule the test, and while I'm waiting I'll work on tasks for one of the remaining 3 performance assessment courses. A few days before the test, I'll make sure to review the material and take another practice exam or two.

I thought about doubling up the CEH exam with another objective test, but I don't feel like I'd have adequate time to prepare for both the CEH and CHFI by the 27th. I could take the Cryptography exam, but there is a local junior college that partners with WGU that is only 15 minutes from home, and I'm just planning to take that one afternoon since it would be much easier to schedule and take.