Passed Saylor CS402: Computer Communications and Networks on second attempt

[camjenks]

There are many posts about the Saylor CS402: Computer Communications and Networks course and the inaccuracies in the direct credit final. The main issues I found were:

1. Questions with demonstrably wrong "correct" answer. 
   
2. Vaguely worded questions with no correct answers.
   
3. Questions that were not covered anywhere in the material.
   

It really seems like it's written by someone who didn't understand the topic that pulled questions from a wikipedia page, and then tried to change the wording a little but ended up changing the meaning without realizing. The course also covered some really obscure protocols and skipped over more widely used ones. Overall, it doesn't do a very good job teaching the networking that IT professionals need to know, and would be confusing if you're learning since they contradict the material with wrong answers, but it's still a cheap option if you already know networking and can manage to pass the final.

After failing the first time, I submitted the errors with screenshots and references, and they said they'd have it verified and update if needed. I took the test again last night and passed (barely). I was kind of expecting to get the exact same test, so I had made flashcards from the previous direct credit final and practiced those, but they were all new questions. There were still some questions that were vaguely worded or didn't have any correct answer.

I'm glad I passed, and I'll take the credit, but I think it would make so much more sense for places like TESU to take legitimate IT certs like network+ instead of this. It's kind of crazy that TESU will only accept certs acquired within the last year or two when those tests are updated constantly and this one has material nearly a decade old. My Network+ from 2015 is miles ahead of this course. Another issue I ran into was a lot of the units were just links to Wikipedia page articles that had been revised so they didn't contain what they were supposed to. They could probably repost the material instead of linking to Wikipedia, and then periodically review and update. There were around 10 questions from the first test that were strangely specific but I could not find anywhere in any of the material after scouring it for hours. I'm filling out the course survey and I hope anyone else that takes these will do the same. I love what Saylor's trying to do, but the execution here left a lot to be desired.


One last note, I'm starting BUS303: Strategic Information Technology now. It has better sources so far, but one common thread I've noticed is that the material is so broad and disjointed. It's pulling from 5 or 6 books on similar topics and you read a chapter here and there. It'd be easier for me to pull these concepts together and learn if they focused the majority of information on one good textbook and added supplementary material occasionally. I'm hoping I can muster up 70% on the final for this one Sunday. Only 18 credits left.

[bjcheung77]

Good Job! That's awesome you passed. BTW, both of those courses will come into TESU as LL. What do you have left to take? That's 6 courses for the BSBA CIS left. Are you going for an IT degree afterward? I noticed you have the Stackable Certs from CompTIA and other certs, they'll be perfect for a BSIT degree at WGU.

[dfrecore]

I love what Saylor's trying to do, but the execution here left a lot to be desired.

One last note, I'm starting BUS303: Strategic Information Technology now. It has better sources so far, but one common thread I've noticed is that the material is so broad and disjointed. It's pulling from 5 or 6 books on similar topics and you read a chapter here and there. It'd be easier for me to pull these concepts together and learn if they focused the majority of information on one good textbook and added supplementary material occasionally.

I think in this case, you get what you pay for.  I have not ever been impressed by Saylor, and I've tried out a lot of courses.  It's just painful.  My only advice is to take the tests that you think you can pass without having to study - it may be worth throwing $25 down the drain if you don't pass, and well worth it if you do.  Use other materials to study for the exams if you need to.

[sanantone]

There's a TECEP for networking. After failing two Saylor tests, I decided to spend more money on CSU Global CBEs. CSU Global's study materials are well-organized, and the exams are straight forward.

[camjenks]

Good Job!  That's awesome you passed.  BTW, both of those courses will come into TESU as LL.  What do you have left to take? That's 6 courses for the BSBA CIS left.  Are you going for an IT degree afterward?  I noticed you have the Stackable Certs from CompTIA and other certs, they'll be perfect for a BSIT degree at WGU.

All the Saylor ones I'm doing are showing up that they come in as 300 level, but I've had them planned for a while. I'm also planning CS302: Software Engineering. I took System Analysis and Design at Study.com, and I'm hoping there's a lot of overlap.

[MNomadic]

Good Job!  That's awesome you passed.  BTW, both of those courses will come into TESU as LL.  What do you have left to take? That's 6 courses for the BSBA CIS left.  Are you going for an IT degree afterward?  I noticed you have the Stackable Certs from CompTIA and other certs, they'll be perfect for a BSIT degree at WGU.

All the Saylor ones I'm doing are showing up that they come in as 300 level, but I've had them planned for a while. I'm also planning CS302: Software Engineering. I took System Analysis and Design at Study.com, and I'm hoping there's a lot of overlap.

Did tesu plan them that way?
Also, let us know how the software engineering goes.

[Ideas]

I'm glad you got credit for this. I've taken other Saylors and felt they were fine. This one is terrible.

I hope Saylor Software Engineering works out for me.

[Ideas]

I updated on my CS thread about how I felt from the Software Engineering practice exam. Your input would be great when you get into the practice questions. Do you have prior experience with SE?

[camjenks]

IdeasI updated on my CS thread about how I felt from the Software Engineering practice exam. Your input would be great when you get into the practice questions. Do you have prior experience with SE?

Only from what I've taken in courses like Study.com System Analysis and Design. That one touches on some of the same topics, but Saylor SE goes more in depth. I spent three weeks studying all the material, taking practice exams, and then failed the direct credit final by one question. I took it again and failed again. I might try one more time, but it's pretty much a lost cause for me. I'm planning to take a study.com one if I fail the third time and it will just be a wasted $75.00. Maybe if you're already an expert in the field it'd be worth it. The problem is there's so much material and the questions are not testing your understanding of the topic; they're mostly pulled word for word from a random sentence out of the hundreds of pages and hours of videos in the material. Plus, some of the sources provide different definitions/explanations. It's very frustrating. 

As an example, a question might be 'what's a major aspect of object-oriented programming?'. And the options include encapsulation, inheritance, and two other choices. Now I would read that and think 'hmm, two of those options are very good answers', so let's say I just pick inheritance as a guess, and I get it wrong. Then when I'm reviewing the material to figure out why I got it wrong, I find the part of the textbook that discusses Object-oriented programming and find a sentence that says 'Another major aspect of object-oriented programming is encapsulation'. Well, there it is in the study material almost word for word. This is obviously where they pulled that question from. But the paragraph immediately before that starts: ‘There are 2 important properties in object oriented programming. The first is inheritance…’ and continues with a discussion of inheritance. And then the part about encapsulation shows up after that. Well I knew that both of those were good answers. I knew the material. But I didn’t remember that the text said word for word that encapsulation is a major aspect of object oriented programming, so I got it wrong. This is an example because I don’t want to give stuff away, but those are the kinds of things that have gotten me on Saylor's tests. 

I’ve taken mostly Clep (Modern States), Study.com, and now onlinedegree.com. I’ll praise all of those up and down. The all have good courses and bad, pros and cons, but they’re great. I cannot recommend Saylor.org at all. I advice everyone to stay away from their CS courses and spare yourself the frustration. Do it somewhere else and you’ll learn more and be happier, even if you pay a little more.

[Ideas]

I’ve taken mostly Clep (Modern States), Study.com, and now onlinedegree.com. I’ll praise all of those up and down. The all have good courses and bad, pros and cons, but they’re great. I cannot recommend Saylor.org at all. I advice everyone to stay away from their CS courses and spare yourself the frustration. Do it somewhere else and you’ll learn more and be happier, even if you pay a little more.

Thanks!

I agree. I have found some Study.com questions that seemed wrong or confusing, but it's a minority of questions. I also think they're more careful with their actual exam questions. With Saylor it's so upsetting.

I replied more in my thread.