LAT1 - The Long Road

It has been awhile since I've blogged on here, and that has been due to being tied up with LAT1, a 10-15 page research paper. I did pass SSC1, Social Sciences by the way, and spent around a month just getting started on LAT1. We choose our own topics for LAT1, and the greatest challenge is finding enough sources for that topic as you're going to need at least 10 of them.

Anyone remember "choose your own adventure" books where you turn the page only to find out you just got eaten by an alligator or fell into a ravine? Well, LAT1 can be like this:

- Choose your topic only to find out there are hardly any sources for it. The end.

- Choose your topic, it has plenty of sources, but the sources aren't reputable enough. The end.

- Choose your topic only to find out it isn't researchable. The end.

And then there are delays. You must select a paragraph and highlight it for a paraphrasing assignment but you need Adobe Acrobat or some other software you don't have to be able to highlight sections of a pdf file. Fortunately, the wise people on the message boards have all kinds of workarounds.

LAT1 is slow going if you haven't done a research paper before. Learning APA formatting, how to cite correctly, thesis statements, main points, and evidence, etc. But this course has given me a great chance to truly assess the value of WGU support and I must say everything has been impressive.

I am using the message boards all the time asking questions, e-mailing instructors, chatting with instructors, and I always get a response in at least a couple hours if there are no instructors available to chat.

To chat - you look at the mentor contact button and it will say "available" and you simply click and enter your info. You wait about 10 seconds and an instructor will say "Hi" and you can ask your questions live. Easy.

If no one is available in chat it will say "click to e-mail" and someone will respond after a short while. If it's the middle of the night you'll have to wait until the next day. Or you can ask a question in the message board and a student may answer.

Taskstream is where you submit your work and while there were some criticisms when I began my enrollment they have been great for me. Grading is fast and I even had something graded on Halloween which would never happen at a brick and mortar school.

I am not done with LAT1 and still need to finish LUT1 within a couple weeks before the term ends but am confident I can do it.

With that being said, The Annotated Bibliography be damned. What a pain.

SSC1 - Social Sciences

My last course INC1 was, as I have stated, a pain in the butt. I needed to read each chapter in full as shown in the course of study because I had no competency with the material. But what happens when you are reading through a chapter and feel you already know some of the material and feel you're losing some time to redundancy? This has started to happen with my social sciences course.

Now mind you, I don't know too much of the material already, but there is a chapter here and there that I feel I may be already competent. And since these chapters are fairly long I could save quite a bit of time if I could somehow "skip" these areas. So I am going to offer a tip on how to do this for those of you enrolled at the university.

Take the pre-assessment and view the coaching report. If you see an area where you scored 100% or even in the 90% range, skip that area and move on. There are also section/chapter quizzes you can use to gauge competency; if I score high on a chapter quiz, I move on to the next chapter. And If you scored really high on the pre-assessment itself, you can probably just schedule your exam and get the course completed quickly.

I take my exam next week.

INC1 - A Nightmare In Science

I took my exam for Integrated Natural Sciences (INC1) today and passed, although not by much. Do I care? No. Just glad to have it out of the way.

For those of you enrolled at WGU who haven't yet taken INC1 let me explain roughly what it is: Physics, Nuclear Physics, Chemistry, Genetics, Earth Sciences, Biology, Evolution, Ecosystems, and Astronomy all rolled into one gigantic science course. The information was well presented and I have no problems with the course itself; I learned a great deal and got a kick out of knowing that while kissing someone our atoms aren't actually touching.

The problem I had was the test was very specific for so much information. Usually a test for a course that covers alot of ground asks more general questions such as "what is an igneous rock?" instead of "(insert chemical equation here) what element is this?" There were also a great deal of multiple answer questions so you MUST know your stuff.

While difficult, you will learn much about the world around us and within us and I rather enjoyed some sections such as ecosystems. But chemistry and genetics be damned...

This exam sucked - I'm not going to lie. 76 questions of pure hell.

Term 3 Update

The first course of term 3 went well - Reasoning & Problem Solving. I scored high on the pre-assessment so I just went ahead and scheduled the exam. I passed with a high score. With the exception of the college hotties in the testing room distracting me (yes, even online students spend some time on campus), the test went smoothly.

So I have been working on my first science course, Integrated Natural science. I am not a left brained person and so math and science aren't my most anticipated courses to tackle. And the Integrated Natural Science course covers a lot of ground with everything from biology to physics to astronomy. It is a lot to take on.

The learning resources are great as usual, and there are short videos available with a professor that is quite entertaining. I don't think he dates much, but he is a great science professor. My only gripe is the Biology ebook - it looks great but since it is picture heavy it has a slight lag in scrolling pages. Giving it a few seconds to "catch up" usually does the trick. The other main ebook is fantastic; easy to navigate and read, good illustrations, but not overdone.

Needless to say I am behind schedule right now as I was ill for a couple weeks along with horrible allergies but am working hard to get back on track. I still have enough time in the term, but would like to be farther along than I am.

Term 3 Begins

One of the things I have appreciated most about the university is the ability to arrange courses to meet students needs. My first goal was to change employment and get into an entry level IT position - the reason being a degree should also need experience and getting a few years in before graduation will help accomplish that.

So instead of starting off with lower division courses at WGU my mentor had me go through my A+, Network+, Security+, CIW Associates, and Project+ certifications first so I could gain an entry level position. This has worked out well and employers have been satisfied with these certs as many people seeking similar employment are either 100% self taught with no credentials or only have A+.

Now the plan is to work in the industry as a tech to keep my skills sharp and work on the lower division courses for my degree for a term or two. Then I will go back to the remaining IT courses with some experience.

Since I have done well so far my mentor wanted to push me this term and so I have a pretty full load of courses to take. I am keeping to a strict study schedule and am still using the formula of Pre-assessment + course of study + learning resources.

For example, I first take the pre-assessment to see how well I know the subject. If I score really high on the pre-assessment the chances of me passing the actual test are very good and I can knock out that course with minimal or even no additional study. My first course, Reasoning & Problem Solving, had a pre-assessment score 0f over 90% so I went ahead and scheduled the exam. I will study the one area I was a little weak in but other than this I know I will pass and saved myself at least a few weeks.

The course of study is another important resource. If you have 1100 pages in a particular text but only 500 of those pages will be relevant to the exam, the course of study will tell you this and save you a lot of time. Follow the course of study and do exactly what it tells you to do.

You can also work on multiple subjects at a time but I only do one. The reason being that I like to stay focused and it is easier to remember the subject matter when you are focused on one course at a time. Besides, it is easier to track your progress. Start a course, go through the course of study, schedule the exam, pass, then go on to the next course.

Let Term 3 begin...

Term 2 Comes To A Close

After passing and receiving my Security+ certification I had everything I needed to maintain full time status so I took a quick breather and reviewed the Project Management learning resources to make the decision that a) I would relax until the end of the term, or b) sneak in one more course in the last couple months. For the sake of acceleration I chose the latter.

Upon thumbing through the primary text for my Project+ certification I noticed it was considerably smaller than the other texts I had received which gives the impression it is going to be easy. So I informed my mentor I wanted to knock it out before the end of the term and started reading.

What I found was project management is a broad subject that really requires you to know the material. I read the primary text more than once and also visited the community threads to gather tips from other students who had taken the test.

As my test date approached I got nervous after hearing reports that the test was quite difficult and also knowing I was nearing the end of the term with a maximum of two chances to pass. And indeed, it was a difficult test. But I passed.

And so concludes another successful term and another certification to add to my ever expanding resume.

Progress Report

I have been an active student at WGU for nearly a year now and would like to share my thoughts on what it has been like and some of the pros/cons and how to deal with them:

1) Online schooling takes a great deal of discipline. You MUST be a self starter or you won't make it. I was coming up on an exam and had tickets to an NBA game; I gave them to a family member and because I needed to study. I miss my favorite show (Burn Notice) and end up watching new episodes on re-runs. I take a laptop to work with me and spend lunch breaks studying. And I study every day according to a strict schedule I have created rain or shine. My car hasn't been washed for weeks. These are the kinds of sacrifices that need to be made.

2) Faculty support is top notch. You can call course instructors, instant message them, e-mail them, and they will get back to you. They also know the material. Mentors are similar to counselors; they motivate you and help you with non academic matters.

3) The learning resources are excellent. Videos are fun to watch, texts are detailed and accurate, websites are easy to navigate, and you don't pay extra for books. There are some recommended additional texts once in a while but are not required.

4) Traditional universities have the advantage when it comes to labs. While online universities do give access to multiple operating systems and give you the materials needed, if you want a true lab experience you will need to purchase the parts to build multiple computers and do the labs in your home. I have such means, but others may only have a single laptop or PC.

5) Online universities have the edge when it comes to time and money. You have the opportunity to graduate sooner and the schedule can be adjusted to your own schedule. Many adults who have children or full time jobs CAN'T go to a traditional college (without it taking years) because certain classes are taken at various times of day or on various days of the week.

6) Administration matters such as Financial Aid go much smoother with an online U. No lines, and someone always answers the phone.

7) If you like meeting people in person a traditional college is for you. If you like message boards, e-mails, and IM, online U's work great. People are quite friendly here and there are students who put together study groups for those within driving distance.

8) No walking and no driving to class ='s you get more work done. This saves money.

So far I think this has been a great investment. I have gotten a lot for my money and haven't paid a cent for supplies including books. The only thing I notice is a traditional college has computer rooms, science labs, art rooms, etc. but so far I have been able to do everything I need.

Passed Security+

Second attempt for the Security+ exam was a success. I am glad to get this one out of the way and am on to a Project Management course which I would like to finish by the end of the term. Another certification is in the mail and I have earned the right to play some Fallout3 - awesome game for those of you who are into gaming.

An Unexpected Boost

I have been preparing to take my second shot at the Security+ exam and like all Wednesdays I was awaiting a call from my WGU mentor, but today a different voice was on the other end of the line; my "course" mentor. This is an actual instructor for this particular course and was calling to offer any assistance she might have. Today she answered some specific questions I had about the content I was reviewing and even created a new study plan for me which I am rather excited about.

The best part about this is I didn't even have to contact her which I am certainly able to do through the student portal. You can instant message or e-mail the course mentors at any time to set up a phone call or otherwise get the help you need.

I am very pleased to know that at WGU the faculty will make every effort to make sure you are succeeding. Not only was my course mentor helpful and knowledgeable, but she was very friendly and patient. I didn't encounter this with teachers at the community college.

Failed Exam

I sat for my Security+ exam today and wasn't surprised when I saw the "you did not pass the Security+ 2008 exam"... It was a tough test and I was simply in too much of a hurry to get it out of the way.

The most accurate learning resources I have used for preparing for CompTIA exams are the practice exam software that has questions worded in the same manner as the actual exam. Coincidentally, I only used this software in my last couple days before my exam and scored around 75%. As a result I failed.

One thing I found that I didn't pay too much attention to before was the exam resource has pdf's containg its own chapters on the subject matter and it is helping tremendously. Currently I would read the primary text based resource, kick back with the Learnkey videos, spend a couple days on the exams and test. Now I will pay much more attention to the exam software and its subsequent chapters.

I don't think my failure was related to a lack of knowlege as much as insufficient practice with the wording of exam questions. So I am going to tweak the learning resources and try again. My advice to WGU students is to make use of the community and learn what is working for others; they'll state the learning resources they used and which ones they felt were the most beneficial. If multiple students who passed all used one particular resource, you can be confident it will help you.

I'll be glad to get Security+ out of the way.