----- Original Message -----
From: Bartow, Brett
To: Dirk Fretz ; Evans, Vanessa
Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 6:31 AM
Subject: RE: CNA CCNA - Observations & Suggestions for
Improvement
Dirk--let me know what you think when you've been able to
look over these titles. Would also like to send you a copy of the Boson CCNA
Network Simulator, as I think you will find it compares quite favorably to the
RouterSim product. Would be interested in your feedback on that as
well.
Vanessa--Can you
please send Dirk a copy of the CCNA Certification Library latest printings
(1587201690) and the CCNA Network Simulator (1587201313)? Address is
below.
Thanks!
Brett
Brett,
Thank you for responding and taking the
time to read about my experiences and suggestions for CCNA study material
improvement. I appreciate your taking my critique in the constructive
spirit intended. Initially, I thought of only sending the email to
the CNA, but I didn't want to risk the possibility of it getting placed in the
circular file cabinet or not making it up the chain of command. The fact
that I received a candid response, from the executive editor no less, is
refreshingly surprising and encouraging.
One of the other reasons why I picked the
newer CNA CCNA semester 1 & 2 edition is because of some of the improvements
that have been made over the previous edition. The tables in chapters
9 & 10 of semester 1 do a really good job of showing students the decimal to
binary relationships of IP addresses and subnet addresses. Chapter 10's
examples in the previous semester 1 edition were not nearly as good.
Also, I really liked the fact that chapter 2 of semester 1 showed examples
of networking hardware rather than leaving the student abstractly hanging with a
term and no visual association. So, there are a number of good things
that have been done to improve the books. The situation is not
all doom and gloom.
As for the new CCNA study materials in
the works, I'd be thrilled to look it over and give you feedback. Teachers and co-workers
have often said I would be good at technical writing and reviewing.
Over the years, revising and streamlining books, tutorials, and documentation is
something I've done a number of times. Case in point was the Network
Design Project Request for Proposal document my CNA CCNA class was given at
DeVry-Phx. My instructor liked the
revised version so much that he asked for a copy to use for future
reference.
My mailing address is:
3601 W. Lane Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85051
To give you an idea of who you're sending
this CCNA study material to, my website portfolio contains the
following information, examples, and samples of my work. Not all the
information or links are up to date. In the near future, I'll
be adding additional information and document samples created while
employed at a local wireless ISP.
- Degrees, Grades, & GPAs
- Network Design Project &
Awards
- Coursework, Teamwork, &
Communication
- Documentation &
Troubleshooting
- Intel Corp. Internship & Performance
Review
- Computer Hardware & Software
Experience
- Independent Work & Future Career
Goals
I very much appreciate and accept
your generous offer to sponsor my next CCNA exam session. At the
moment, I'm going through 19 CCNA semester 2 labs to see if there might be
anything that would prepare me for some of the CCNA exam scenarios. It
might even be prudent for me to hold off on taking the exam until after I see
the new study material. Either way, I thank you for your sponsoring offer
and I'll let you know when I'm ready.
Sincerely,
Dirk Fretz
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