LRCC ITN100 Review

 

LRCC ITN 100 Introduction to Telecommunications Review

"Skynet will remind us: 'you should have written your papers word by word when you had a chance, but instead you helped my AI learn from your mistakes until it owned you[.]'" Dr. Sam.

I love the class and think the instructor is great. As of the initial publishing date I don't have a lot of time to do this review: I'm doing a 'bootcamp' style CompTIA Network+ class this week from Northern Virginia Community College (I will have an upcoming review of professor Nick Pierce and the NOVA CompTIA bootcamps - It's 4 days, 8+ hours a day) so I don't have time to flesh out my ITN 100 review. On top of this, mid-term exams are next week for the 2 classes I'm taking this summer at LRCC and I need to study for those.

This is a review of ITN100 Intro To Networking at Laurel Ridge Community College. The professor is Dr. Abdessamad EL Gbouri ("or Just Dr. Sam)." The quote at the top of the blog from Dr. EL Gbouri typifies the great nature of the professor and the class. It was in the first Module for this weeks lessons where Dr. EL Gbouri was discouraging folks from using AI to write their essays. When I saw it, I knew it needed to headline my review of the class.

Pros:

• Professor is very engaging; often creating multiple videos each week discussing the state of the class and providing a lecture of the material covered that week.

• Plenty of projects and essays that allow you to put concepts into your own words which, in my opinion, helps to learn a subject.

• Multiple attempts on quizzes. I like this. I think it gives you a chance to go find the correct answer to something you got wrong. It encourages seeking out knowledge.

• Multiple videos from other content creators that help explain concepts.

Cons:

• In my opinion, the professor is too easy on grading. I know some people think this should be in the Pro's section.

Tips for studying:

• Print the quizzes out for study later. You can print the quizzes out once you complete them. They make great study material for the exams.

• You are allowed multiple attempts for each quiz. This gives you an excellent opportunity to: 1) see what you've retained, and 2) learn what you missed. At the end of each chapter in the textbook is an index of subjects. You can often use the index to quickly look up the answers choices in each quiz question to find the answer.

• Each week there is a Power Point presentation. The slides can be downloaded. Download the slides. The downloaded slides are great for reviewing the Chapter at a future date.

Criticism

If I could offer 1 criticism for improvement to Dr. El Gbouri, it would be to stop recording his video lectures late at night. He often records his videos after 12 a.m. midnight and he is difficult to hear sometimes.  It sounds like he's talking in a manner to not wake up people who are sleeping. I have to turn the sound up on my computer to 'full' and lord help my ears if some notification comes through with my sound all the way up. That's the only real complaint I have with the class.

Summary

In summary ITN100 is a required and fundamental course for several IT degrees. It can be difficult for someone who has no prior experience with networking/ telecommunications. If that's you, you should find an instructor that is going to effectively teach students new to these concepts well. Professor El Gbouri fits that bill. The professor provides a ton of supplemental material and projects to help students grasp fundamentals. I like the way Dr. El Gbouri engages with the class. At this point I would 100% take another class Dr. El Gbouri teaches.