Cisco Basic Training

At this point of our spring semester at Milwaukee Area Technical College, downtown campus, about the fourth week in classes, things are starting to pick up the pace. Some students may even be falling behind in course work, I recommend not doing this though its hard enough to keep up, as for catching up, good luck I suppose. In any case learning is happening now, since topics are no longer introductory and the groundwork has been laid out for us students.

In the "IT Network Specialist" program things are getting very detailed and possibly very confusing especially if you are taking any of the Cisco classes. This isn't necessarily a bad situation, in fact this is, at least in my opinion, the best possible time to strap down and learn information that is valuable and exciting. Cisco 1 (Introduction to Networks) was a great place to start for IT Networking, since before this I have had no prior training in computer technology, basically a blank slate to write on. 

This image above pretty much outlines the core concepts of how and what data is transferred across media. This is what it means to start from the basics, and I really am grateful of the fact Cisco is taught in this manner. In our world of Smartphones and Terabyte hard-drives most people might not even know this exists, and some "techies" I have conversed with, know nothing but the name. I am by no means claiming vast knowledge about the subject, but in a few short weeks of reading and going to class I know what this OSI 7 Layer Model is used for and at least a basic understanding of the Physical and Data Link Layers. Learning doesn't happen over night, however I am optimistic and eager to learn this field, and I think if I keep working hard, one day down the road this will all seem like a foundation on which to build more complex ideas in networking.

I really enjoy all the classes I have taken this semester, and by working hard and studying the material I plan to get high marks on the assignments and exams. From learning all this Cisco technology, to the Social Media Networks and Business application in IT107, this is a very informative degree program. On a side ending note, Blogging was never something I thought about before this class, but I hope by practicing I will get much better, and I apologize if I sound a bit amateur in some of the Blog concepts.