Most of us in IT are busy people and when it comes to getting a certification it can be very hard to fit the needed training into our schedules and budgets. Fortunately, there are some great solutions out there to help. One is video courseware.
Many vendors offer video training and it's a great way to get the same level of training that you find in a classroom with the wonderful ability to pause, rewind, and most importantly, set your own schedule. The following products are a few that I have had the opportunity to watch and review.
ExamForce Video Courseware CompTIA A+
The video courseware from ExamForce features Mike Meyers for it's A+ training. Because video training is reliant on the dynamics of the trainer to be successful, this one was great. Mike is a known expert in the field and his video training is even more effective than his books. He is conversational and offers lots of insight into the exams.Also, because the A+ certification requires a lot of hands-on experience, it is extremely helpful to see, for example, an actual motherboard and watch as Mr. Myers removes the CPU. It's far better that a diagram in a book. The price of the training is around $500 for 12 cd's, which is still much cheaper than a class but just as effective.
Learnsmart Video Training
Learnsmart's Network+ Video Training is another one featuring Mike Myers. I suppose you can't complain about a good thing! Again, the presentation is great and you'll get 4 cd's for under $400.CCNA Video Mentor
The look and feel of the training is also different. Rather than a video of a person in a room talking, it's a flash presentation of animated diagrams and command-line screencasts. You get a single cd and an accompanying lab guide, which is also provided as .pdf files on the cd. The training is provided by Wendell Odom, another well-known name in the world of certification books, and is very clear and easy to follow.
