Don’t Be Scared to Test at Home This Halloween!
Does the thought of taking your test at home send shivers up your spine? Are you scared that you will fail because you won’t be ready? Does the idea of having someone watch you make you feel like you’re in a bad 1980s video sung by Rockwell and Michael Jackson?
It’s OK to get a little nervous before plunging into the unfamiliar. This may be not only your first time taking a CompTIA exam, but also your first time testing from home! Luckily, you’re not alone in having those feelings as this is a new process for most of us.
Not a proctor, just the world’s creepiest shoulder surfer.
I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts
We’ll help you overcome your fears by helping you prepare. Fortunately, many others before you have already done it successfully. After all, CompTIA allowed testing from home on April 15. Other vendors like Certiport and Cisco, among others, have done the same.
By the way, if you want to check out those other certifications or get some more last-minute practice, then check out our materials here:
Total Seminars on Certifications
- TotalVideo video-based training courses
- TotalSims performance-based question prep
- TotalTester practice tests
Ready to test?
Click here to get CompTIA Discount Exam Vouchers
Test at Your Favorite Haunt
With a strong Internet connection, a computer that meets the requirements, the right ID materials, and no prohibited materials or distractions in the room, then you can test safely from home. Also, make sure that you plugged your computer into a reliable power source and aren’t relying on the battery.
Good news! You don’t even have to test at home; you can test from work, or also a public library! You can’t take the test from a tablet or mobile phone at this time.
What happens when you keep putting off scheduling the test.
Bad Things Come in Threes … Unless You Prepare!
First, you should check if your computer would work under exam conditions. Take the official system test to see how well it would perform on the day of the test:
Assuming that you pass, then your next biggest concern will involve having a high bandwidth because you will use streaming video and audio for the entire two hour test. You should try a speed test.
Ideally a wired connection works best. If you have only a wireless connection, then ensure that others in your area turned off their connections temporarily. Better yet, have them leave during test time. Yes, Big Brother is watching you, so give him a gift card for a coffee, send him trick or treating somewhere, or give him a book to read.
Now that you know you have the proper equipment, you need to get familiar with the test format. Unfortunately, because you cannot use notes on paper or electronic devices to remember things, draw diagrams, summon spells, or perform calculations, you’ll use a sheet on the screen for your notes. We really, REALLY recommend that you practice using this feature before so that you don’t waste precious time learning how it works during the test itself:
https://home.pearsonvue.com/onvue/whiteboard
My proctor quit after I tested for some reason.
Now, if you do these three things, you’re pretty much ready to test at home by this point. But you should also know what to do for the test itself.
Don’t Ghost Your Test at Home!
Just as with any standard test center, you should arrive 30 minutes early. The check in process takes 15 minutes. If you’re scheduled at 1 PM, then get online and be ready by 12:30 PM.
Screams and tears won’t make you any less late. Arrive early to avoid upsets! No exceptions!
The proctor will explain the dos and don’ts. You will provide an ID copy, just like at a testing center, but good idea to bring two in case one doesn’t count.
The proctor will validate your ID with the Web camera and explain the rules. This means that you will need to make sure that your camera, microphone, and speakers work.
Just Because You’re Paranoid Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Watching You
The camera must be positioned so that the proctor can see you, the screen, and keyboard. Software will record your test screen even if you somehow block the Web camera with your hand, so you can’t “accidentally” block the screen. Trust us, we thought about it and they beat us to it already.
You cannot wear any phones, headphones, headsets, electronic devices, pagers (if you’re in a 1980s costume I guess), watches, wallets, purses, hats, head coverings, bags, coats, books, notepads, pocket protectors, or anything else not approved. Clothes are optional but we highly recommend them.
Wait, so we’re supposed to be afraid of her for not wearing a mask? Clown world indeed. Go, 2020!
I Can See Your House From Here…
The proctor will also make you pick up the Web camera and do a 360 view of the entire room. Therefore, you must remove all electronic devices, audio devices, notes, cards, books, scrawls on the wall/ceiling, floor, and any people who could possibly give hints, tips or cheats.
You can’t have notes, books, papers, pens, pencils, monitors or computers (or at least they must be turned off and unplugged), whiteboards, blackboards, Ouija boards, bloody messages scrawled on the wall, etc.
Are you moving it or did the mouse run out of battery and stop syncing again?
You won’t pass if you fail this preview of the room. The camera also will help the proctor to see if you’re checking your pockets, looking at the floor, or glancing around during the test looking at things that can help you during the test. Basically, you must look at the screen only.
Sure it’s disturbing, but at least they can’t accuse you of cheating on the test!
Don’t Rely on Phantom Power
You will also need to enable your microphone. That system test that you did earlier should check the microphone component. CompTIA doesn’t want someone to record the questions with hidden microphone, therefore you cannot talk to yourself during the test. Besides, it’s kind of weird. Psychic communication with spirits is technically not prohibited, but since they’d probably only know old versions of the test anyway any ghosts in the machine won’t help you very much.
We prefer the term living impaired, thank you.
CompTIA Will Soon Mean for Computer TestIng At Home (The H is Silent)
That’s pretty much it! You can now take the test and with our help you’ll know all the content so that you can pass the exams with ease. Once you’re done, the test will ask demographic and basic questions – just like they do at the test site examinations – and THEN it will give you your results. You will get a hard copy in the mail and you can get a digital copy on the spot.
We hope that you have a safe and Happy Halloween and that you succeed on your exams! Now go study, register, and test, then let us know how it goes!
Uh, you go first. I’ll be right behind you.
Why is An A+ Practice Test an Ideal Exam Preparation?
[Posted 25 July 2013 by Kathy Yale]
The A+ certification is often considered to be a stepping stone certification in the IT industry. This is a certification that is obtained by industry professionals who want to prove their knowledge of fundamental concepts and core subjects. Because this is a fundamental certification, many who pass the A+ test and earn the certification will later move on to take more advanced certification courses to further advance their career. While the A+ test is a fundamental IT exam, it can be challenging to pass. Many people find that studying the right materials can help them to pass the exam on the first attempt. Using an A+ practice test is one of the best exam preparation steps that you can take if your goal is to get certified.
The Types of Questions
One of the important reasons why you should use an A+ practice test from Total Seminar to study for the A+ exam is because it can give you realistic insight to the types of questions that will be answered. By researching the exam in more detail, you may learn about some of the general topics that are covered by the exam. However, when you take the A+ practice test, you will be able to gauge the level of knowledge that you need to have for each topic. In addition, you will be able to see how difficult or easy the questions are for you.
Areas to Study
In addition to providing you with more information about the general topics that you will need to study, the A+ practice test from Total Seminar will also provide you with more information about the specific areas of each subject that you should study. The practice tests include answers to each question, so you will be able to determine which questions you missed. Furthermore, explanations for all of the answers are provided. Because of this, the tests are more than simply a question and answer resource that you can use to gauge your knowledge. Instead, they also can be used to enhance your knowledge and expand on areas that you are fuzzy about.
Building Confidence
When you take a certification test for the IT industry like the A+ exam, it is understandable that you may feel stressed and anxious about it. This is a certification that can help you to get a good job in your field, and it can also help you increase your income and obtain a solid knowledge base that can be used as a stepping stone for other certifications. While you may feel nervous about the exam, taking a practice test from Total Seminars can help you to build confidence. You may take your first practice exam and realize that you need to study up on a few key areas. However, you may take another practice exam after studying these areas to see how significantly your knowledge of the material has improved. Once you have passed a practice exam a few times, you will have confidence walking into the testing center on exam day.
An A+ practice test from Total Seminar is an excellent resource that you can use to study for your real exam. These practice tests are designed to be used as study aids, and they are based on actual questions that were in the latest version of the A+ test. If you have been looking for the best resource to use to study for the A+ exam, take time to review the practice exams available through Total Seminar.
How to Use the A+ Practice Test to Gain a Foothold in the IT Industry
[Posted 09 May 2013 by Kathy Yale]
The A+ practice test can be highly beneficial to someone who is serious about building a long-term professional career in the IT industry. As anyone working in a technical field knows, industry certifications are a fact of life. Because many of the issues that you’ll face in IT require highly detailed knowledge of specific platforms or software packages, employers need to use certification exams to determine your level of technical competence.
Why Take the Test?
Some individuals who already have a good deal of knowledge in the field of IT may question the benefit of taking the A+ practice test. Indeed, taking the test will require a bit more of a time investment than simply going straight for your certification. However, you should look at the practice test as a tool rather than a time investment.
As A+ is considered by many employers to be an entry-level certification for anyone wishing to join the IT industry, there likely will be a fairly large pool of applicants for any position requiring the skills you’ll learn. Practicing before testing for your certification is one way to set yourself apart from potential competitors.
In an article prepared for the Learning Strategies Database at Muskingum University, it is explained that practice tests are perhaps the best way of preparing for any type of examination. The main benefit is said to stem from the fact that such tests impose an in-depth review of the material that will be covered on an actual exam. Additionally, the practice exam will generally follow the same format as the official one, thus allowing a student to get acquainted with the way information and questions will be presented to them.
Making the Most of the Test
If you do elect to take the A+ practice test, you’ll want to make sure that you maximize the opportunity that doing so gives you. There are two ways to do this deepening on your situation. If you’re not sure which elements of the test will be most difficult for you, you can work through the whole thing, and then go back for a more detailed review of any topics that you had problems with.
On the other hand, if you’re already aware of the fact that you are weaker when it comes to certain topics covered on the test, you can choose to focus all of your efforts on these areas until you’re able to attain a high degree of confidence when it comes to all the material.
By using the test in this way, you can greatly improve upon any areas of weakness you might have. This will make you a stronger candidate for employment even when it comes to entry-level positions. You’ll have a stronger grasp of crucial material then other applicants who did not take the same extra time for preparation.
A final benefit of taking the A+ practice test is the fact that it puts you in a better position for furthering your career down the line. Because A+ certification focuses on many of the fundamentals in the IT industry, the strong foundation of skills that you’ll be building by taking extra time to learn will likely mean that you’ll be better prepared to delve into the more complex areas of IT as you move up within the industry.