[SLUG] LPI 101 tutorials from IBM

[john at johnallsopp.co.uk]

> On Wednesday 08 Jun 2005 8:33 pm, Martin Webb wrote:
>> I found this IBM LPI 101 tutorial website (URL below), looked at the
>
> Had a go at the first one, although haven't read the suggested reading
> bits yet.... looks quite slick.
>
> My main worry is that the exam/course seems to rely on being able to
> remember
> a lot of command line instructions and their switches with which my
> ageing brain struggles.

I don't think I have a very good memory, so I worked out what I needed
to do during the degree I just finished.

For me it was recognising the difference between recognition and
recall. Most people read something and then when they go back to it
and they recognise it they think they know it. That's recognition.

Recall is a different mental process. If all you do is practice
recognition, you may not do well in the exam, although a multiple
choice exam may work better for you.

I'd suggest getting lots of small pieces of reasonably thick card and
a container, and every time you learn a command write it on one side
of the card, with the meaning on the other (eg. 'pwd' on one side,
'print working directory on the other').

Then set aside a time to, do, say, fifty. Pick out a card, let's say
it says "pwd", then you need to recall what that means. If you see the
other side, it's the command you need to remember.

You can get more sophisticated and monitor how many you got right, and
increase the number you do if you fall below a threshold, or do fewer
if things are OK.

I know that for every hour or so of 'discovery', I'll need to do two
or three hours of recall practice. It takes effort to learn things.

Knowing the difference between recall and recognition is, as they say,
is the secret of my success.

The other thing will be usage. The more you use what you know, the
more you'll know.

J