WEBVTT

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>> Exam time.
Strategies for success.

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The learning objectives
for this lesson

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are choosing the best
exam location for

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you and also night before

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an exam day strategies to
better help you prepare.

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Let's get started. The best
testing location for you.

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It seems pretty straightforward.

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You go online, you
purchase your voucher,

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and then you choose
a test location.

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But it didn't really work
out that way for me,

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when I had my test location
for the Cast Plus.

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The place that I took
it out ended up being

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a very old place with
very old computers.

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They had folding metal chairs

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that were very uncomfortable,

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especially for a
three hour exam.

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The problem started as
soon as I got there,

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because I couldn't log
into the testing software.

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This delayed me
for over an hour.

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Even after the test
was completed,

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they lost my results.

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I had to contact CompTIA

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directly to make sure
that they received

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the results and for

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a while I didn't even
know if I had passed.

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It was unnecessary situation

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that had nothing to do with me.

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It was just with the
testing location

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that this wasn't even
really their main business.

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This is something
they had add-on to

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their business to try to
generate some income.

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If I were you, try to research

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the testing location that
you're hoping to go to

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beforehand and make sure
that it's going to be

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a place that you're
going to feel

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comfortable taking the exam in.

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This is your exam, find out
what works best for you.

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It's your money that you
paid for the voucher

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unless your employer took
care of that for you.

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But regardless, you want to make

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sure that you put the best foot

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forward for yourself and to

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find a good place that you're
going to be comfortable in.

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You don't need that location,

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making things worse for you.

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Just so that you're aware
testing at home is now

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an option or even
at your office.

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But there are some issues

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with that as well and
we'll discuss that next.

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Here's some considerations for

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taking your test at
home or at work.

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You're going to want to make
sure you have a quiet place

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and that you're free
of distractions,

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including your pets,
your children,

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your spouses that type of thing.

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You want to make
sure that you are

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able to focus on
the test itself,

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because that is at
least one advantage

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of a testing location is that,

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it's quiet and they
usually make you put on

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some headphones so that you

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can't hear anything from
the distractions that way.

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You're often sitting in
little cubicle areas,

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so at least you're zoned in on

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just the test-taking
computer itself.

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But you're going to want to make

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sure that you can at least

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create some of that in

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your location if you're
going to be testing at home.

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Because of the way this works,

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they are going to want to use
your webcam to scan around

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the room and make sure that

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there's no one there
in the room with you.

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There are no study
materials anywhere,

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that you don't have a
whiteboard somewhere

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with information written on it.

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They're going to have you
take your webcam and scan

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across the room and
show everything

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before the test starts.

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On that note, you're going
to want to make sure that

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your webcam is working
before the test.

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You don't want that to cause you

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a delay when it's time to get

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started and now your
webcam doesn't work.

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Make sure your webcam and your

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Internet connection are solid,

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and just be ready that
they're going to want to

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see the room and everything
and they're also

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going to watch you
during the entire test.

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If that has a creepy
feeling to you,

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maybe you want to go
to a testing center.

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But we've seen great
success with this,

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especially during
the recent pandemic

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with people being able
to take tests at home.

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If this works better for you,

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then by all means go after it.

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The idea of a last review,

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in my opinion, and
from my experience,

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there are two schools
of thought on this.

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Is that you cram all the way
up until the night before.

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Everyone's a little
different about this.

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Everyone learns in
a different way.

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Sometimes too much information

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is actually not
beneficial for you.

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If you find yourself cramming
up to the very last minute,

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maybe you don't feel
you're ready for

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the test and maybe you might
want to reschedule it.

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But I do think flashcard reviews

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up until the test
is started is good,

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because those terms are going

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to show up over and
over on the test,

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especially as acronyms.

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A lot of questions,
will have acronyms

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in there and expect you to

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know what they are before you

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can even answer the
rest of the question.

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So flashcards are a good way of

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cramming in that information
especially again,

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for the areas that you don't
feel so comfortable with.

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But there's no shame
in rescheduling.

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If you don't feel
you're prepared,

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then just go ahead

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and get it done because
you don't want to make

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sure that you're not

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going into test as
prepared as you could be.

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But at the same time, you don't

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want to let that ability to

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reschedule allow you an
excuse to put the test off.

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You've come this far,

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go ahead and get
your tests taken.

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If you feel that
you're prepared.

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Now, good night sleep and
nutrition are critical.

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During that time is when all of

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the things that we
reviewed through the day,

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everything we learn is written
to our long-term memory.

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It's very important that

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we get a good night
sleep before.

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I know I sound like
your mom here,

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but I really can't stress this

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enough that you don't want to

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study through the night and
not be ready the next day.

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I really recommend getting

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a really good night's
sleep ahead of time.

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But also nutrition and
this is a critical item

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and I'm not going to
lecture you about this

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here on what to eat,
what not to eat.

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I'm just going to
say make sure that

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you eat before you go in.

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Because testing centers don't

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allow you to eat
anything and there's

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nothing worse than being in

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an already high
pressure situation,

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and then you start
getting hungry.

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Now your focus is on the test,

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no I'm hungry, you
run back to the test.

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You don't need that.
Make sure that

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you eat something before you go.

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I usually eat a protein
bar because that's enough

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to help me get through

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for the next couple
of three hours.

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The other thing you're going
to do is stay hydrated,

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because the testing center
that I mentioned earlier,

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it was really hot in there

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and surprisingly that
made things even worse.

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Because of that, I needed to

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make sure that I had
enough water to drink.

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I always make sure that I
try not to drink too much.

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Because you don't want to go to

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the bathroom too many times,

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but drink enough that you feel
comfortable and hydrated,

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because you really don't
know what you're going

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into with some of these
testing situations.

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Let's summarize.
We went over how

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to find the best testing
location for you.

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Whether that's a testing
center or if you

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should choose to test
at home or at work.

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Then if did you
make that decision,

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we went over some considerations
for testing at home.

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Then we went over final reviews
and how to help you use

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techniques to retain the most
knowledge before test time.

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Then we ended the lesson
with sleep and nutrition.

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That brings us to the
end of this lesson,

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but it's also the
end of the course.

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I hope this course was helpful
for you and I wish you the

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best of luck in your pursuit
of a cast plus. Thank you.