Studying help!

**Pyroarcher** · May 12th, 2009, 06:53 AM

Hey well im studying to become a programming specialist, which is all exciting for me but im having some problems.

my first exam is the Comptia A+ im currently studying it and the way im studying is im reading the books first, then im gonna read them again with an open computer to learn all the parts that way, then im gonna read them a third time taking notes!

but my issue is, is i cant remember any of the terminologys! like sata and DDR i have to keep going back through the book, and then i forget other stuff so i cant get through the first chapter!.

does anyone have any tips on how to make the knowledge stick!, i seem to pick up useless information and the important stuff just goes out my head.

also to anyone thats a programmer or done the Comptia A+ exam, do they test you on the terminologys?? I dont wanna know exactly what they test you on, but am I right in presuming that I will be asked questions along the lines of "what does this mean?"

I mean i know what the terminologys are for, I know DDR is reffereing basically to the RAM, etc etc, but I cant remember what they stand for :S

help!.

**GroundZero3** · May 12th, 2009, 06:55 AM

Flashcards, anytime you come up with a new term make a flashcard of it. Take it with you and randomly pull out your flashcards and test your memory. Trust me after going over the flashcards 4-8 times a day you will start remembering terms. Another helpful item is to put a picture of what the connector looks like so you can identify the device

**Pyroarcher** · May 12th, 2009, 06:59 AM

thats a good idea groundzero, ill try that.
I dont normally panic about exams but I really dont wanna fail this.

**pullmyfoot** · May 12th, 2009, 08:12 AM

I have no knowledge of programing whatsoever so forgive me if my question sounds dumb. Why do you need to know all the technical terms for hardware-related issues? Unless DDR and SATA is an unrealistic representation of all the terms you are learning, because they both are for hardware.

**Pyroarcher** · May 12th, 2009, 09:03 AM

pullmyfoot: because my first exam is the comptia A+ which is computer maintenance and repair etc, i have to pass that to move on to my next unit, I dont do things by halfs I wanna learn all the terms etc etc, for 2 reasons 1) incase its in the exam, 2) for my own personal knowledge.

**pullmyfoot** · May 12th, 2009, 09:11 AM

Originally Posted by Pyroarcher

pullmyfoot: because my first exam is the comptia A+ which is computer maintenance and repair etc, i have to pass that to move on to my next unit, I dont do things by halfs I wanna learn all the terms etc etc, for 2 reasons 1) incase its in the exam, 2) for my own personal knowledge.

Right

. Makes sense

Good luck

**bpadraic** · May 13th, 2009, 09:25 AM

Pyroarcher, do you consider yourself a visual or audio learner? That makes all the difference. Flash cards are great for visual learners. But if you're the type of person who learns by hearing, flash cards won't do a thing for you. Make or buy an audio recording version of flash cards. You can get them pretty cheap online if you don't want to make your own.

**Ditrik** · May 14th, 2009, 05:17 AM

I think that reading without taking notes would be pointless and just reading and then reading + taking notes would take considerably more time while the effect would be pretty much the same.
Also pictures are important.Take notes of pictures too.
You could for example draw how the ram looks like etc. as it would make things easier when you try to identify them inside computer.

**Pyroarcher** · May 14th, 2009, 07:57 AM

Bpadraic, im more of a practical learner really, i learn by doing but sometimes audio helps, so ill have a look for audio recordings, but a way im using is also researching some of the CPUS mentioned etc so im kinda doing practical as atm theirs not really much practical other than tasks of researching anyways.

Ditrik, reading through does help because even if you dont take much on your alot more familiar with it all than you were before (i.e. reading a normal book, you wont be able to repeat the whole book but if someone mentions a scene in it your more likely to understand what their speaking about if you read it through)

thats why im gonna go through three times 1st time to just familiarise myself with it all, 2nd time is more getting to grips with it all, 3rd time taking down notes of parts where im really not getting it and learning from those, then ill use flash cards...or audio recordings as bpadraic has suggested.

Ill try drawing them, that might be an idea but now its just a case of whether i can make out my drawings! lol!! I have the drawing skill of a 2 year old lol

**bpadraic** · May 14th, 2009, 01:33 PM

Try everything. Better to explore all avenues and overprepare than to leave something out that could have given you the extra push. Good luck!

**huntert** · May 24th, 2009, 10:21 PM

cbt nuggets has a pretty good course for a+ you can go to cbtnuggets.com and watch the first video for free

**Pyroarcher** · May 25th, 2009, 04:48 AM

thanks everyone, im falling behind in my studys like crazy but gonna really buckle down this week and finish it all (well the first read) got an idea from a tv show aswell for my studying was watching a british soap show, and this guy was studying for his exams and he had post it notes all over his house in places he always goes (like toilet door, mug door, kettle etc etc) so think what ima do when i take my notes is put em on post it notes aswell and stick them round my house, hopefully that will help too.