- Book Reviews (5)
- Certification (16)
- Cisco (41)
- Data Center (8)
- General News (4)
- IOS (3)
- News (3)
- Q&A (4)
- Routing&Switching (19)
- Voice (6)
- August 10, 2009: Integrating the Nexus 1000v VSM with vCenter
- August 4, 2009: Understanding the Nexus 1000v
- July 28, 2009: Book Review - Implementing Cisco Unified Communications Manager Part 1
- June 24, 2009: Nexus 7000 Field Notice
- May 5, 2009: CCIE R&S Exam v4.0 Changes
- April 30, 2009: Nexus 7000 Virtual Portchannel Part 3 (final)
- April 28, 2009: Q&A - VSS and Jumbo Frames
- March 30, 2009: Nexus 7000 Virtual Portchannel Part 2
- March 16, 2009: Nexus 7000 Virtual Portchannel Part 1
- March 13, 2009: Book Review - CCENT Network Simulator
Book Review - CCNA Security Cert Flash Cards Online
Continuing my recent trend of reviewing some of the new CCNA material, my friends over at Pearson were kind enough to let me review the new online flash cards for the CCNA Security exam.
Summary
The first thing I want to point out is that this material is online only, so don’t expect to receive a printed copy. Unlike the CCNx flash cards of the past, this is online based which is the best way to go. The flash cards cover the exam blueprint objectives of the CCNA Security 640-553 exam.
What worked
I was surprised to see these online flash cards are much different from flash cards of the past. Typically, we are used to seeing flash cards based on multiple choice questions, leaving very little open to personal interpretation. What’s nice about this product is that each question is open ended allowing you to provide your own answer. It could be a few words or even a sentence, depending on the question. For example, if I asked, “What are different ways to enable logging on a router”. There are obviously multiple answers, so if I was answering the question, I would have a few sentences based on my knowledge with the topic. You grade your own work, so simply click “view answer” and you get an answer with a explanation –you can then click “right” or “wrong” based on the answer. It’s nice because you can leave your own notes, and even add the question to your own custom group for review later. This is a nice feature because you can have a small bank of questions that you have trouble with and need to study.
There are also about 25 questions that have figures, so you end up looking at a screen output to answer a question. For example, it could be an SDM screenshot asking about a particular configuration.
The exams can be taken in different ways, if you want to only focus on certain categories of the exam blueprint, you can do it. You also have the option to go through all 250 questions at once. You grade your own answers and there is a score report with correct answers in each section.
Target audience
Clearly anyone preparing to take the CCNA Security 640-553 exam. This product should be used at the last step in the preparation strategy.
What didn’t work
Anyone expecting flashcards with multiple choice questions should look elsewhere. I personally believe you will get more out of flash cards using the method present in this product. Being able to answer a question in your own way really helps you grasp the concepts. No problems here…
Ratings
Presentation (8/10)- Not much could go wrong here with flash cards. The 25 questions that have figures to look at in order to answer the question really helps mix things up. With 250 questions, I would have liked to see more utilize figures and screen captures. Maybe some drag and drops to add some interaction. Very simple and easy to use.
Content (8/10)- 250 questions are about the right amount for using a flash card method. The questions vary in difficulty and in category based on the exam blueprint. Anyone that takes the time to go through each question and answer them should be confident about taking the exam.
Practicality (1/10)- This rating doesn’t really apply to flash cards as the hands-on experience should be done before looking at flash cards. Don’t expect to be using your lab gear while going through the flash cards.
Shelf Appeal (1/5)- Once you pass the exam, there is little reason to keep a flash card book around. The good thing is it’s all online based, so no worries there.
Value (4/5)- At around 25 dollars US, the price is decent. Most people should probably use this product the week before taking the exam.
Overall (Great 8/10)- I love the new method to this flash card book. Instead of trying to memorize multiple choice answers, exam candidates are focusing on real concepts. Having to answer a question with your own words really improves learning over choosing a multiple choice answer. The fact that it’s online makes it work. If this was a hard copy, it wouldn’t work for me.
Ted
CCIE No. 21785