CLASSROOM STRATEGIES FOR…
HANDS-ON SKILLS, EMPLOYABILITY, AND CERTIFICATION
Jean Andrews
Walt Jaqua
jeanandrews@mindspring.com
wjaqua@sbcsc.k12.in.us
CompTIA’s LATEST EXAMS…
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MAJOR GOALS
Help the Student…
•
•
Become an Excellent A+ Technician
Earn Their A+ Certification
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EXCELLENT
GOOD
AVERAGE
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AN EXCELLENT TECHNICIAN…
Soft Skills
• Communication Skills
• Critical Thinking & Problem Solving Skills
• Self-Motivation, Work with Little Supervision
Technical Knowledge
• Based on Concepts, not Rote Memorization
Hands-on Skills
• Practical, Real-world
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INDIVIDUAL LEARNING PATH
Pre-Assessment
(including Practical)
Low Score
Medium Score
High Score
Review &
Activities
Review &
Activities
Post-Assessment
(including Practical)
Post-Assessment
(including Practical)
Done
(Move on)
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SELF-PACED LEARNING
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TEACH CONCEPTS, NOT ANSWERS
A+ 901/902 Objectives Expect Conceptual Knowledge
• “Given a scenario…”
• “Compare and contrast…”
• “Summarize and explain…”
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TEACH CONCEPTS, NOT ANSWERS
Typical Questions to Check for Factual Knowledge
• What is the maximum segment length for a 100BaseTX
cable?
• What is the maximum speed of 100BaseTX Ethernet?
• What is the maximum segment length for 100BaseFL
multimode fiber?
• What is the cause of attenuation in network cabling?
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TEACH CONCEPTS EXAMPLE #1
Scenario Requiring Understanding of Multiple Concepts
A client has contacted you to assist in resolving an issue with their network.
The onsite technician has received numerous calls from users in the shipping
department complaining that the network connection for all of the shipping
computers is dropping intermittently. The technician has checked the CAT5e
cable currently installed between the office space network closet and the
switch in the shipping department and found it is wired correctly. The
technician does not want to relocate any network hardware, is content with
Fast Ethernet speeds, and has no plans for future network growth.
Refer to the following floorplan and explain your recommendation to solve
the network issue while being careful to meet the requirements of the client.
Be sure to include detailed specifications for any changes you recommend.
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TEACH CONCEPTS EXAMPLE #1
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TEACH CONCEPTS EXAMPLE #2
Use Diagram 1 to verify you
have received valid IP
configuration values.
Do the values on your lab
computer match the values
on the diagram?
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INVESTIGATE & DISCOVER
Successful Discovery Learning Requires:
• Resources and Tools for Student to Discover Solutions
• Clear Objectives and Expectations
• Instructor Assistance, One-on-One or Small Groups
• Instructor Check for Understanding
• Answer Students Questions with Probing Questions
o
o
Drive the Student Back to Resources
Help Student Connect Concepts
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DISCOVERY LEARNING EXAMPLE #1
For this lab you will need:




Step 1
The knowledge you gained from Labsim 8.2, textbook Ch 24
Notebook computer and power adapter (see your instructor)
Antistatic precautions
Jewelers screwdriver set
Before beginning any type of upgrade or repair of a notebook computer several
factors must be taken into consideration.
a. What is the first step in repairing a notebook computer when you are
unsure how to disassemble the computer? Why is this step important?
b. You completed the first step as defined above. Before you take the first
screw out of a notebook computer, what is the next step you should take
after powering down the computer?
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DISCOVERY LEARNING EXAMPLE #2
a. Remove the wireless NIC.
- What expansion bus interface is used on this wireless NIC?
- You should have disconnected a white and black wire from the wireless
NIC. What do these wires connect to (opposite the NIC)?
- What would be the outcome if you forgot to reattach these wires when
you reassembled the computer?
- Suppose this NIC has failed. Replacement NICs are not available for and
no used NICs can be found anywhere. How might you get the computer
connected to the wireless LAN so the user can continue working?
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LABS, EXERCISES, & SCENARIOS
Hands-on Learning Must:
• Be Practical & Applicable to Real-World
• Be Challenging & Comprehensive
• Follow the Same Investigate & Discover Principles (not stepby-step)
• Promote Collaboration & Teamwork
• Have Multiple Instructor Sign-off Points
o
Check for Understanding
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HANDS-ON EXAMPLE #1
Using Diagram 1, manually
configure your lab computer’s IP
configuration settings to connect
to the lab network without using
DHCP.
If the IP configuration parameters
are configured correctly, you
should be able to open a Web
browser and navigate to
http://mailserver.local
Try it. Can you reach this URL?
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HANDS-ON EXAMPLE #1
If you do not have access to a physical or
virtual machine, use a screenshot for the
student to fill-in.
Using Diagram 1 and the following
screenshot, manually configure the lab
computer’s IP configuration settings to
connect to the lab network without using
DHCP.
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HANDS-ON EXAMPLE #2
Configure the host with the parameters that
meet the following requirements.
Subnet:
10.0.0.0
IP address:
Last valid address in subnet
Subnet mask:
Default class subnet mask
Default gateway: First valid address in subnet
Preferred DNS server: Last valid address in
the 192.11.2.0 subnet
Alternate DNS server: First valid address in
the 199.255.0.0 subnet
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HANDS-ON EXAMPLE #3
Step 2 Many times, when a computer is infected with malware or while
you are in the process of cleaning a computer of malware, the explorer.exe
process gets halted. This can cause some rather ugly things to happen. Let’s
make something ugly happen and then make things beautiful again.
a. Using the tool you documented in Step 1, kill the explorer.exe
process.
Close the tool you documented in Step 1.
Write your observations of what happened.
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HANDS-ON EXAMPLE #3
b.
Now that’s ugly. The Start orb or Start Menu button is gone. The
tool you documented in Step 1 is gone. The screen is blank. Now
what? How can we resolve this issue without restarting the
computer?
Resolve this issue using the tool you documented in Step 1.
Write your observations of what happened.
Be prepared to show these steps to your instructor.
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HANDS-ON EXAMPLE #4
STOP: You must show this lab and your configuration to your instructor
before continuing. Have your instructor sign here.____________
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TROUBLESHOOTING EXAMPLE #1
Step 1 A user is complaining about the print quality of their inkjet printer.
When you arrive at the customer’s location to check the printer, you print a
page that looks similar to the following figure.
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TROUBLESHOOTING EXAMPLE #1
a. Using the Canon Inkjet printer you installed while doing Lab 7.2.1,
locate the process you would use to print this page.
b. What test print did you select to print this test page?
c. What is the first thing you should do to the printer to attempt to
clean-up this test print?
d. If this first process did not resolve the issue, what would you do next?
e. If the first and second process did not resolve the issue, what would
you do next?
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TROUBLESHOOTING DECISION TREE
Number
Problem
Next Step
1.0 Problems with the monitor
1.1
Monitor is turned off
Check the LED light on front of monitor.
1.2
No power to monitor
Plug power to monitor into a different
outlet.
1.3
Monitor needs adjusting
Adjust buttons on front of monitor.
1.4
Hardware problem with monitor
Exchange monitor for a known good one.
1.5
For CRT monitor, EMI interference
Press degauss button or remove
interference.
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TROUBLESHOOTING DECISION TREE
Number
Problem
Next Step
10.0 Problems with Windows system files and device drivers
10.1
NIC drivers are corrupted or out of date
Update the NIC drivers
10.2
System files are corrupted, but can still boot to
Windows desktop
Run the System File Checker utility
10.3
10.4
Recent changes to the system are causing a
problem
Corrupted system files; unable to boot to
desktop
Apply a restore point.
Boot from a DVD and repair the system.
10.5
Windows is locked or generally giving trouble
Restart Windows
10.6
Video drivers are corrupted
Enable low-resolution video (640x480)
10.7
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Windows errors resulted in
the BSOD
View logs available in Event Viewer
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