A+ Foundational Video Lectures (220-1001 and 220-1002)
William Paul Liggett
Preface: The A+ certification is created by an organization called CompTIA. The certification covers the foundational Information Technology (IT) concepts that really anybody interested in any IT field should understand, to include software developers, network technicians, and cybersecurity specialists. This is because the A+ covers the working basics of computer hardware, software, networking, cybersecurity, and other aspects. As an analogy, think of it this way: imagine that your "doctor" did not understand that there are different blood types (e.g., A-, B+, AB+, O-) in people. Would you still feel comfortable going to this doctor? I hope not. Same goes with any so-called "software developer". If you don't understand what the BIOS is or have never heard of Linux before, then you're probably not a very good programmer. Or, at least I wouldn't trust whatever you programmed, unless I studied it with a fine-toothed comb.
With this being said, for my upcoming Fall 2019 cohort of Software Development/Quality Assurance (QA) students at Year Up and for anybody else interested, I have prepared a curated list of instructional video lectures regarding the newest A+ certification on YouTube. The videos were mostly done by Professor Messer. However, because Professor Messer has many video lectures to cover all aspects of the latest A+ certification, I am not simply reposting the links to his video series (which are here: A+ 220-1001 Courses and A+ 220-1002 Courses). The reason is because the entire series is quite long and very comprehensive, which means newcomers who only need a foundational exposure to the core A+ concepts may be overwhelmed by all of the content. Therefore, I have spent a lot of time cherry-picking which videos should be shown and in what order. I tried to start the organization by what I assume would be knowledge that most people might have, such as basic Microsoft Windows skills, and then I branched out the selection of material to highlight many foundational IT concepts that generally builds upon each other. I also included some educational videos by others explaining what ZIP files are and how to work with them as these are essential skills to also comprehend. Below is a summary of concepts and the order in which they will be presented:
- Windows, macOS, and Linux Overviews
- Mobile Devices: tablets, smartphones, e-Readers, VR, AR
- Thin vs. Thick Clients
- Security: Full-Disk Encryption (FDE) Overview
- Storage Hardware: CD, DVD, Blu-ray, HDD, SSD, M.2 SSD, SSHD (Hybrid)
- Memory Hardware: RAM, DIMM, DDR
- Installing / removing: hard-drives, RAM, NICs
- Connector Hardware: USB (A, B, C, Mini, Micro), RJ-11, RJ-45, RS-232, Molex, SATA, VGA, Lightning (Apple), etc.
- BIOS and UEFI
- Networking: Cable, DSL/ADSL, 56k, Satellite, ISDN, T1, Fiber, Bluetooth, WiFi (802.11), WiMAX
- ZIP Files: How they work and how to zip and unzip files.
If you will be one of my Year Up students, then please know that you will be tested on the material within the first week or two of your classes which will factor into your course grade. Furthermore, it is highly encouraged to take detailed, hand-written notes of the material presented. You should also try to perform outside research on your own to make better sense of any technological concept you find confusing to you. For instance, if you have never heard of Molex before and you found the video presentation to be hard to understand, then you should use your ability to research this technology via a search engine (e.g., DuckDuckGo or Google) or through traditional material like IT books at a library.
Here are the YouTube video lessons I recommend watching for foundational knowledge on modern computer technology:
- How to Pass your 220-1001 and 220-1002 CompTIA A+ Exams
- An Overview of Windows 10 - CompTIA A+ 220-1002 - 1.2
- Operating Systems Overview - CompTIA A+ 220-1002 - 1.1
- Mobile Devices - CompTIA A+ 220-1001 - 1.4
- Common Devices - CompTIA A+ 220-1001 - 3.9
- Storage Devices - CompTIA A+ 220-1001 - 3.4
- Overview of Memory - CompTIA A+ 220-1001 - 3.3
- Laptop Hardware - CompTIA A+ 220-1001 - 1.1
- Mobile Device Connections - CompTIA A+ 220-1001 - 1.5
- Connectors - CompTIA A+ 220-1001 - 3.2
- BIOS - CompTIA A+ 220-1001 - 3.5
- BIOS Options - CompTIA A+ 220-1001 - 3.5
- Internet Connection Types - CompTIA A+ 220-1001 - 2.7
- How Do ZIP FILES Work?
- ZIP UNZIP FOLDER IN WINDOWS 10
--William
Boring Legal Footnote:
Warranty:
There is no warranty of any sort provided by this IT advice article. I try my best to provide accurate information, so you should likely not experience issues as long as you follow my instructions correctly. However, in order to protect me from any potential legal suit, you are hereby informed that any data loss or computer system problems caused from you following my advice will be your own responsibility to fix. Although, you can e-mail me to alert me of any technical inaccuracies that this document might have and I will revise the information accordingly. Thank you for your understanding.
Attribution:
CompTIA is a registered trademark and the CompTIA A+ logo is a service mark of the Computing Technology Industry Association, Inc.
Note: At the time of this writing, none of the above trademark or copyright holders are associated with junktext.com legal holdings.