Learning, how to ? (personal approach)

My name is Adrian and i’ve been a Cisco fan for about two years now, i admit it. :)

As you might know if you have been reading this blog, i started preparing for the CCNA Exam by enrolling myself to a Cisco affiliated academy. I can not put enough emphasis on the advantages of accessing the Cisco’s learning program in that manner. Besides the access to real gear and the know-how of the instructor, the most important aspect from the whole deal is that you get to learn how to learn.

Their practical approach on things and the very well structured schedule, make it a high rewarding learning experience. Personally, i can state that it literally changed my life and for that i am thankful.

As stated above, it did not only provided me the basic skill set required to perform in a networking job, but it embeded in me a way of learning which i can adapt and apply for a whole bunch of other things. Let me in the rest of this article to break down what i am trying to say by using a personal example.

I have recently set myself a goal of making a deeper dive into learning BGP.

Easy said, but the BGP protocol can be a real intimidating monster if approached without caution. This due to it’s complexity and the large volume of information. So, i made myself a plan on how to attak this beast !

Step #1

At this stage i try to sketch the big picture and answer to three questions: Why ? How much ? When ?

Why i want to do this ? I want to do this because it is relevant for my job. This question also helps me to establish the importance of the thing i am trying to learn so i can better decide on how much time i am willing to alocate for this action.

How much i want to learn ? I want to understand how BGP works so i can freelly go through and describe a solution, being able to configure at least parts of that solution and increasing my troubleshooting skills. Since every new thing learned implies a previous knowledge to build upon, setting this target is closely related to my current skill level. So i got to be realistic when answering this question and set a feasable goal.

When is the deadline for this ? Like the previous questions, the answer to this one is closely related to my actual skill level, the importance and the personal impact of this action.

After i am done with answering to this questions i am ready to go further.

Step #2

This stage implies researching, accuiring the material needed for learning, like technical documentation and training video courses, finding alternative resources such as blogs, forums, people with know how and establishing a learning schedule.

Step #3

This step means going through the resources according to the learning schedule and practicing in laboratories the theoretical concepts in order to accuire the hands-on experience. A big part of this step is documenting all the laboratories. I personally use OneNote, but feel free to use anything you like. This will come very handy later when dust falls on some aspects and you will wish to do a recap.

Step #4

After i am done with the learning and the hands-on labs, i try to find a method of assessing the level that i’m at.

This is important on deciding if i achieved the established goal and i can move forward or i need to alocate a bit more time for this.

And this is it !
I will try to share some of my labs in the upcoming posts.

Good luck ! :)