Re: Study Advice

Hi Marc,

It's funny to answer Petr's post with one of his previous posts but this one
below was a big help to me, especially as my biggest problem seems to be
that I forget information as fast as I learn. I've put Petr's full post
below.

Two points that I thought were especially valuable:

a) Do not start working with VOL2 labs unless youre confident with most
technologies from VOL1. This is important, as VOL2 is not designed to be an
easy reading
b) I also now spend one day a week reviewing the labs that I've done in VOL1
(on Mondays). I mostly don't ever configure the full VOL1 labs but only
make sure I understand everything, type out the commands on my home router
and make sure that I can find the info in the cisco docs.

I'm using the internetwork expert VOL1 & VOL2

Hope that helps, good luck.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

----
 How to study for your CCIE:
http://blog.internetworkexpert.com/2009/03/22/how-to-study/#more-951 By Petr
Lapukhov, CCIE #16379
Many people studying for CCIE are looking for a solution to better memorize
and retain the new information. The biggest enemy of good memory is one
simple ugly fact: *the more you know the faster you forget*. One can
actually start off this and write a simple ordinary differential equation
that models the forgetting process:
dY(t)/dt = V  aY(t)
where *Y(t)* is the amount of information memorized at moment *t* and *V* is
the speed of the new information being memorized. The component
*-aY(t)*demonstrates the forgetting effect described above (speed of
the forgetting
is directly proportional to the amount of information learned). Integrating
the equation we easily obtain:
Y(t) = V/a+const*exp(-at)
What it basically says, is that the amount of information that we memorize
is proportional to the *speed* of learning! The exponentially decaying
component does not play any major role as the time passes, and thus your
know as much as you learn. As soon as you stop learning new information (or
repeating the old info), your knowledge volume will decay with the speed of
exponent. Not the best news in our already uneasy world!
However, lets get back to the real world [image: ;)] The above said might
sound a bit nerdy and scientific and thus pretty persuasive. But luckily,
the model is too simple to be true. Still, it demonstrates one important
fact  unless you actively learn, you forget. The solution for the equation
exhibits the well-know Ebbinghaus curve effect (Forgetting
Curve<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgetting_curve>),
which has been known for over than century. Two methods can help you
overcome the forgetting effect, and they are *active learning* and *spaced
repetitions*. Lets start with
*Active Reading*
Active learning has many forms. The most basic involves transforming
knowledge in the series of questions that could be answered in a short
manner. For the demostration, look at the following blog post (accidentally,
it is my own post ;))
MSTP Tutorial Part
I<http://blog.internetworkexpert.com/2008/07/27/mstp-tutorial-part-i-inside-a
-region/>
Read every paragraph, and come up with a few questions for each.
Q: What is the major drawback of the mono spanning tree?
A: Impossible to engineer traffic flow for different VLANs
Q: What is the major drawback of PVST?
A: Does not scale with the number of VLANs
Q: What was the main idea of MISTP?
A: Decoupling STP instances from VLANs.
Q: How did the original MISTP instance convey STP information?
A: Every instance has its own BPDU sent on every link.
Q: How was the VLAN to instance mapping information distributed in MISTP?
A: Manually on every switch, no automatic protocol.
Q: What is the general rule to avoid MISTP inconsistencies?
A: If VLAN is filtered on the link, make sure the respective instance is not
forwarding here.
And so on. The first time you will probably read over a body of knowledge
without any questions. Take another pass, and this time write down your
questions. Try doing it so that the answers are short and easy to remember.
Do not mix multiple concepts in the same question. Your first pass will
probably result in many questions and it should be the most intense one.
However, as time passes and you return to the material for repetition, you
will probably condense the amount of questions. Its a good idea save any
images and figures, as they are good anchors for your visual memory. Of
course, the asking questions procedure could be applied to any material,
for example CCIE technology-focused practice labs. You can use IOS code
samples as answers to questions like: How would you configure GDOI
profile? Do not forget to type in the code samples, dont simply copy-paste
them. This approach might look simplified and indeed, there exist other,
more complicated, methods of active reading, such as
SQ3R<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQ3R>.
All active reading methods require intense concentration and practice, but
the result surely worth it. Now, to the next stage:
*Spaced Repetitions*
While active reading greatly helps in learning, you still need repetitions
to keep your knowledge fresh. There has been some research done on the
optimal repetition intervals, and you can find it on the Internet.
Personally, I prefer using the algorithms developed for SupeMemo
application. I highly recommend anyone reading the following article: Using
Supermemo method without a
computer<http://www.supermemo.com/articles/paper.htm>.
There is a table there, suggesting the optimal repetition intervals  in 4,
7, 12, 20 days and in a month. The list continues into the scales of years,
but for the purpose of exam preparation you may stop at 20 days or a month.
When repeating, abridge the number of questions, condense the information
and retain only the key concepts. Focusing on core facts will reduce the
information load but still help you remember. If youre practicing IOS
configurations, make sure you type in your configurations using the
notepad copy & paste method during 2nd and 3rd repetitions. You may not
even use the actual routers when doing 3rd and further repetitions. Starting
with 4th repetition, just skim over and make sure you clearly recall the
core concepts. If you find this routine too time consuming, you may leave
just 3 spaced repetitions.
The link provided above would give you recommendations on proper training
schedule. You may want to optimize it using some modern calendar software
(or even getting the free/commercial versions of SuperMemo software). For
instance, you may use Google Calendar service as your organizer (what is
cool is that you may share your calendars with friends and see how all of
you progress). Suppose that you are working with ours IEWB-RS
VOL1<http://www.internetworkexpert.com/ccie-workbook-routing-switching-advanc
ed-tech-labs.htm>(technology
focused labs). Choose the amount of material you can easily
practice every day, without putting too much stress on yourself. For
example, today you spent some time practicing IEWB-RS VOL1 Labs 13.1-13.5
(Section IP Services) using the active learning approach. As a result, you
ended with a series of condensed questions & answers for every lab. After
that, you add notes to your calendar to repeat the *same* labs in 4, 7 and
12 days. Therefore, you get some work scheduled already. Keep in mind that
repetitions took less time than the full-blown practice. Thus you may easily
combine 3rd and 4th repetition with practicing another five labs, e.g.
13.6-13.10. It is not mandatory to practice all labs from the same section.
You may interleave QoS and IP Services focused labs, or even combine the
full-scale labs from IEWB-RS
VOL2<http://www.internetworkexpert.com/ccie-workbook-routing-switching-full-s
cale-labs.htm>with
technology focused labs from VOL1, provided that you already have good
technology coverage.
A few tips on working with our VOL2 labs. There are total of 20 labs, and
you may spend quite some time working through all of them, as every single
lab might take about 8-16 hours. You may use the following guidelines:
a) Do not start working with VOL2 labs unless youre confident with most
technologies from VOL1. This is important, as VOL2 is not designed to be an
easy reading [image: :)]
b) Mark the tasks that you found hard on your initial attempt. During your
second repetition, work though the core section of the labs (Switching, IGP
and BGP) plus the marked non-core tasks.
c) During your third repetition, skim over the lab texts and solutions,
focusing on the tasks that you marked as hard. It might not benefit you to
repeat more than three times, but if you got a lot of free time, you can do
even four repetitions.
During your final stage of preparations, you will probably find yourself
repeating the condensed information from VOL1/VOL2 labs. Before attempting
the lab exam, you may want to take at least one or two Mock
Labs<http://www.internetworkexpert.com/iemlcod-rs.htm>to gauge your
readiness. The Mock Labs are not designed to be repeated -
you should probably schedule a new lab every time to get more unbiased
result. However, if you want a testing tool that adjusts to your level of
readiness plus changes every time - you may want to try out Polymorphic
Assessment
Lab<http://www.internetworkexpert.com/ccie-routing-switching-poly-labs-assess
ment.htm>,
which automatically generates different labs on the same physical topology.
Now, the final part: if you want to retain the knowledge learned, keep
repeating the information on monthly and yearly basis. This may end up in a
life-long schedule, as you will keep adding new information to your calendar
of repetitions. The process worth itself as the active learning methodology
and optimally spaced repetitions are proven to be an extremely effective
learning tool.
On Fri, Jun 5, 2009 at 2:10 PM, Joe Astorino <jastorino_at_ipexpert.com> wrote:
> I just want to remind you guys that even if you are studying 3.0 you can
> grab our blended learning solution for an awesome price right now, and you
> are automatically entitled to the free upgrades later.
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Joe Astorino
> CCIE #24347 (R&S)
> Sr. Support Engineer   IPexpert, Inc.
> URL: http://www.IPexpert.com <http://www.ipexpert.com/>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gary Duncanson <gary.duncanson_at_googlemail.com>
>
> Date: Fri, 5 Jun 2009 20:47:20
> To: Marc La Porte<marc.a.laporte_at_gmail.com>
> Cc: <ccielab_at_groupstudy.com>
> Subject: Re: Study Advice
>
>
> Marc,
>
> Welcome back to the fold. I have been plodding on myself being rather busy
> on the work and family front so can relate a bit. My written has expired so
> Im busy knocking it out now. I imagine there are no lab slots free anywhere
> in the world before the lab change but you never know.  I'm still studying
> version 3. If I have to do version 4 that's fine. I would say knock out the
> theory first. My lab prep is going very well and I have everything planned
> nicely over the next 12 weeks but the written test is an elephant in the
> room so Im trying to get it out over the course of the next fortnight, so
> it's all reading right now. But once it's done I can just settle in on the
> remaining lab practice and mock exams I have planned. Suggest you do the
> same.
>
> As for study materials for v4 I suppose just check out the latest vendor
> offerings!
>
> Regards
> Gary
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Marc La Porte" <marc.a.laporte_at_gmail.com>
> To: "Cisco certification" <ccielab_at_groupstudy.com>
> Sent: Friday, June 05, 2009 9:49 AM
> Subject: Study Advice
>
>
> > Hi guys,
> >
> > I am looking for some good advice for approaching attempt #2 for R&S. I
> > failed my first attempt back in September 2008 and due to personal
> > situations I haven't been able to pick up my studies again, which means
> > that
> > I won't be able to comply to Cisco's policy to do the second attempt
> > within
> > a year after the first attempt. Thus, I will have to redo my theory as
> > well.
> > Not so much a problem (considering the QEQ), but not fun nonetheless.
> >
> > I have decided to go for version 4 (both theory and lab), and so I need
> to
> > get up to speed on the new topics, work on my weaknesses (security, qos,
> > multicast, ip services) and keep the rest up to speed as well...
> >
> > Here are my questions:
> > 1. Is it wise to combine theory and lab study? Or should I do theory
> > first?
> > 2. How do I make sure I don't "overdo" the theory study (i.e. spend too
> > much
> > time on it)?
> > 3. How do I best prepare for the new topics in v4?
> >
> > BTW, I am using Internetwork Expert solely (Volume 1,2,3, and CoD for
> both
> > R&S and SP).
> >
> > Looking forward hearing from you.
> >
> > I really want to nail it the second time, and put my name on my own site
> > (CCIE Hall of Fame), but do not look forward to the new topics and the
> > troubleshooting ;-)
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > Marc
> >
> >
> > Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
> >
> > _______________________________________________________________________
> > Subscription information may be found at:
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>
>
> Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
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>
> Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
>
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