[TriLUG] Red Hat System Admin class
Joseph Mack NA3T
jmack at wm7d.net
Tue Nov 6 08:45:02 EST 2007
On Mon, 5 Nov 2007, Marty Ferguson wrote:
> If the contents of the exam were openly discussed and
> posted on blogs, the value of the certification would
> become significantly debased
This is a larger problem. Do you give students previous
exams to help them learn the material or do you let them
figure it out on their own? AFAIK there are no studies to
show which is best and you don't attempt to justify the
above statement. There are not even agreed upon criteria to
assess which of these two paths are the best - do you look
at the abilities of the person 1yr later, 10yrs later? Do
you give them another exam in a year? If so are the contents
secret/known?
It has been my experience that exams and courses are given
to make money for the institution concerned. They are not to
educate the student, who is trapped by the requirement for
an easily checked piece of paper. This makes life easier for
employers, who seem to have no way to check the applicant's
education, but who can check a piece of paper. I have a PhD
and have worked at various esteemed research institutions.
Not once have I been asked by a potential employer to tell
me the smartest thing I've ever done. They want to know
which journals I've published in and how much grant money
I've brought in.
Whenever I see a course where past exams and materials are
hidden, I assume that the course exists to make money for
the institution and not to educate the students. It's hard
for me to see how a student can be in an optimal learning
situation when access to information is blocked. It tells me
that the instructor is not far enough ahead of the students
to think of new questions, or that the material is
sufficiently routine that no new questions/test situations
are possible.
> There is no doubt in my mind that the requirement of
> confidentiality is of utmost importance in maintaining the
> credibility of the certification and the social contract
> between RHCE's, employers, and Red Hat Software.
I'm sure this is true. But your statements are in the guise
of talking about the best training for the student, when in
fact you're talking about the best outcome for RH.
Joe
--
Joseph Mack NA3T EME(B,D), FM05lw North Carolina
jmack (at) wm7d (dot) net - azimuthal equidistant map
generator at http://www.wm7d.net/azproj.shtml
Homepage http://www.austintek.com/ It's GNU/Linux!
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