Microsoft OneNote is a free note-taking application available for certification study. OneNote makes it easy for students to summarize and organize study notes into a manageable review stack. You can create a structured notebook based on how you learn and retain information.
All of your text notes, images, documents, videos, and links are in a single location. This makes OneNote more than just a note-taking application.
It is a study and review tool that enables you to create a manageable information base. The prospect of summarizing a 1,400 page book or 60 hour online course is daunting. Learn how to take notes effectively and prepare for CCNA. OneNote will backup your notes to OneDrive.
OneNote notebook template is available for download with sections and topics for the CCNA exam. Download CCNA notebook file, then go to downloads directory and start. OneNote application will start, then select create, and notebook will load automatically.
*Follow instructions to import notebook ONLY if there is a problem with automatic start.
1. Start OneNote application and select File + Open.
2. Navigate to downloads directory and select CCNA notebook file.
3. Select OneNote Single File Package Type (bottom right corner dropdown)
4. Select notebook filename and default directory.
5. Click on notebook tab and wait several seconds.
OneNote vs Handwritten Notes
- Legible, easy to edit, and create templates
- Structured notebook with sections and pages
- Text, Word, PDF, PPT, HTML, images, video, traces
- Links to labs, quizzes, practice tests, flashcards, etc
- Quick search and index feature
- Portable centralized sharing
- Integrated with office ecosystem
Certification Study Cycle
The certification study cycle follows a similar pattern of learning that starts with a book or an online video course. This is where you read, watch, research and start putting together your study notes. It helps to have an application that supports various multimedia sources to create your study notes.
The next step is active learning with labs for hands-on experience. You will always retain more information when studying with active learning methods. Troubleshooting labs are also very effective to learn protocol operation at a deeper level.
Review is an essential part of any certification prep before attempting practice tests. Some tools include OneNote, flashcards, and quizzes for review since repetition is key to learning.
Practice tests are mandatory to verify what you have really learned and your exam readiness. The practice tests will align your knowledge with detailed explanations and score analysis to identify where more study is needed. Proceed to the certification exam when you are scoring 80% on at least 3 timed practice tests with 100 questions.
Note-Taking Tips and Tricks
The best method to make sure all topics are included in your study plan is with the official certification syllabus. This is the basis for creating a structured folder design with sections and pages. The top-level sections are six knowledge domains and pages represent notes for topics and subtopics.
Start with creating six sections that represent knowledge domains from the exam syllabus. Each knowledge domain is comprised of multiple pages that represent topics and subtopics. This is the basis for your folder structure and how study notes are added.
Study Notes
The most important part of note-taking is knowing what is relevant and how to summarize effectively instead of creating a book of notes. The syllabus keywords point to the types of questions and technical depth required. This includes keywords such as describe, explain, compare, interpret, configure, and verify. You can use this as a guide to create a template with headings for each page. CCNA topics can also be classified based on protocol, service, architecture, addressing, and/or infrastructure.
Topic Headings
There is the option to put all notes for a topic on a single page or create subpages. For example, static and dynamic trunking protocols are listed as topics with the network access knowledge domain. You could create a page for dynamic trunking with the following headings to create structured notes instead of a long list of facts.
| Describe | Purpose and function of a protocol, service, or device + drawing |
| Characteristics | Layer, addressing, ports, AD, metric, encryption, defaults, open standard |
| Operation | Protocol messages, states, roles, modes, devices, loop prevention |
| Comparison | Differentiate between similar protocols, services, architectures, devices |
| Advantages | Scalability, performance, security, redundancy, management, cost |
| Configure | IOS configuration examples with commands based on the syllabus |
| Verify | List output of common IOS show commands for protocols and services |
Some of the headings are not applicable to all topics.. Make sure to highlight in bold any key study points. The old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words is true. Add drawings and pictures to your notes from training and online sources. This makes study much easier instead of doing it from scratch.
| Describe | dynamic trunk negotiation between switches to forward multiple VLANs |
| Characteristics | Layer 2 domain, VLAN tagging, default settings, Cisco proprietary |
| Operation | DTP frames, protocol modes, native VLAN, allowed VLAN, spanning tree |
| Comparison | DTP vs static trunking and security implications |
| Configure | switch port mode, protocol mode, VLAN pruning, native VLAN |
| Verify | show interfaces trunk, show interface switchport, show vlan brief |