IT Essentials Version 8
Frequently Asked Questions
Last Updated 20 December 2022
Q. What are the main features of the Cisco Networking Academy® IT Essentials Version 8 curriculum?
A. This course covers the fundamentals of computer and mobile devices hardware and software as well as advanced concepts. Students
who complete this course will be able to describe the internal components of a computer, assemble a computer system, install an
operating system, and troubleshoot using system tools and diagnostic software. Students will also be able to configure devices to
connect to the Internet and Cloud services.
New topics in this version include:
● Windows 10 DNS Records
● Spam Management
● DHCP Operation
● Virtual Lan (VLAN)
● Graphics Considerations
● External Hardware Tokens
● ISO Mountable
● Asset Databases
● Asset Procurement
IT Essentials Version 8 is available on the Cisco Networking Academy website, [Link].
Q. What features and benefits does the Networking Academy website offer?
A. Features and benefits available in the Cisco Networking Academy learning environment include:
● Cloud based environment so learning material can be accessed anytime.
● Curriculum can be accessed on mobile devices for convenience
● New and improved user interface experience
◦ Easy to use, intuitive navigation
● Course management flexibility for instructors
◦ Ability to add course content, including videos, documents, and links
◦ Ability to add assignments
◦ Ability to modify, add, and reorder quizzes
◦ Ability to reorder course chapters
● Communication and collaboration tools, including groups, discussion threads, and course calendar with automatic notifications
Q. What features and benefits does the curriculum offer?
A. Course features and benefits include the following:
● Students develop working knowledge of how computers operate and how to assemble them.
● Students gain confidence in working with the components of desktop and laptop computers by learning the proper procedures for
hardware and software installations, upgrades, and troubleshooting.
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● Learning materials and labs feature new and updated relevant topics including the Microsoft Windows operating system, mobile
platform delivery capabilities, client-side virtualization and expanded networking and troubleshooting information.
● Hands-on labs help students develop critical thinking and complex problem-solving skills.
● Cisco® Packet Tracer simulation-based learning activities promote the exploration of networking and network security concepts
and allow students to experiment with network behavior.
● Online assessments provide immediate feedback to support the evaluation of knowledge and acquired skills.
Q. Will IT Essentials Version 8 help students prepare for the new CompTIA A+ certification?
A. Yes, IT Essentials Version 8 aligns with the two new CompTIA A+ exams Core1 (220-1101) and Core2 (220-1102)
Q. Does IT Essentials 8 offer a digital badge?
A. Yes, a digital learning badge is available for IT Essentials 8. To earn the digital badge, a student must successfully pass
the course, be marked complete by the instructor in the grade book and score 70 percent or higher on the comprehensive
final exam. The digital badge is generated by Cisco automatically and no action is required from the instructor.
Q. How many assessments are included in IT Essentials 8?
A. IT Essentials 8 contains the following assessments:
● 14 chapter quizzes
● Comprehensive exams over groups of chapters.
o 1 for Chapters 1-4
o 1 for Chapters 5-6
o 1 for Chapters 7-8
o 1 for Chapters10-11
o 1 for Chapters 12-13
● 1 mid-term practice exan and one mid-term final exam (Chapters 1-9)
● 1 practice final exam and one final exal (Chapters 10-14)
● 1 comprehensive practice final and one final exam (Chapters 1-14)
● 2 hands-on skills assessment, one for chapters 1-9 and one for chapters 10-14
● 5 checkpoin exams
● 2 Certification Practice Exams, one for A+ Core1 and one for A+ Core2
● In total, the course includes more than 1,000 questions to measure student’s content mastery.
Q. Will IT Essentials 8 incorporate any mechanism to prevent exam cheating?
A. Yes, IT Essentials 8 will incorporate for the first time and for all exams the concepts of dynamic forms. Items are
dynamically pulled from a pool of items thus students will receive a different exam. Sections may contain more items than
actually delivered during testing to aid in maintaining exam integrity and validity and making even more difficult for students
to cheat. Because final exams are summative assessments, items will be statistically balanced but continue to be dynamic.
Q. What are the equipment requirements?
A. The complete equipment list can be found in the Equipment Lists by Curriculum folder. To access this folder, sign into [Link],
from the menu select Resources > Marketing and Program Resources > Equipment Information, then from the first paragraph click
Equipment Lists by Curriculum to access the IT Essentials equipment list.
Q. Do the IT Essentials 8 labs support remote access through NDG NETLAB+ solution?
A. We are working with NDG to support remote lab access through NETLAB+ solution.
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Q. What are the prerequisites for this course?
A. There are no prerequisites.
Q. Is instructor training required to teach IT Essentials 8?
A. No. Instructor training for this course is optional and is not mandatory. We recommend that instructors become familiar with the
instructor resources available. To access these resources, sign into [Link] select Resources > Course Resources > IT Essentials,
and select your language to open the IT Essentials resources folder. However, we highly encourage new instructors to the program to
seek instructor training through an Instructor Training Center (ITC). Training through an ITC provides valuable support, including tips
and best practices for teaching the course, and we recommend this avenue for instructors who are new to teaching a course or
looking for additional guidance.
Q. What instructor resources are available?
A. Instructor resources include the following:
● Release notes highlighting updates from IT Essentials 8 and new content in IT Essentials 8
● Instructor PowerPoint presentations
● Instructor labs and Packet Tracer activities instructions source files
● Student labs and Packet Tracer activities instructions source files
● Skills assessment with answer key
Q. Where can I find the Instructor planning guides?
A. For IT Essentials 8, the planning guides were combined with the instructor PowerPoint presentations, and these are called “Instructor
Materials”
Q. Where can I find the student and instructor lab manuals and activities PDF files?
A. For IT Essentials 8, we provide all the student and instructor source files in an editable format. Academies and instructors can use
them to create any necessary file or manual for their class according to their requirements.
Q. How can I create my PDF if I don’t have MS Word to view the source files?
A. The source files are provided in Microsoft Word format but there are many free Office Suites that can be used to open the files and
even convert them to PDF. Some examples are Libre Office and Open Office.
Q. Is there a downloadable option for IT Essentials 8?
A. IT Essentials 8 does not offer a course downloadable option.
Q. Where can I find information on how to use Packet Tracer?
A. Packet Tracer resources are available in the Packet Tracer resources folder. To access this folder, sign into [Link], select
Resources > Packet Tracer and scroll to the bottom of the page to open the resources folder.
Q. When will the Cisco Press books be available?
A. The Cisco Press books availability dates will be announced in the Jan/Feb timeframe.
Cisco Press Book ISBN Number Availability
IT Essentials 8 Lab Manual and study guide Print only: ISBN 9780135645376 Feb/Mar 2023
IT Essentials 8 Companion Guide Print: ISBN 9780135612033 Feb/Mar 2023
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Q. Will IT Essentials 8 be translated?
A. Yes, Cisco plans to translate the IT Essentials 8 course into French, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese and Spanish. Translated
curricula in these languages will be released in the Nov 2019 -Mar 2020 timeframe.
Q. When will the IT Essentials 7 English language course be retired?
All academies are encouraged to migrate to IT Essentials 8 as soon as possible to take advantage of the updated course content and
align with the new CompTIA A+ certification. The end-of-life dates for version 7 in English is as follows:
Course Language Last Class Start Date
IT Essentials 7 English Dec 22, 2023
Q. When will the IT Essentials 7 translated language courses be retired?
A. The IT Essentials 7 end-of-life dates for translated languages will be announced when each language is released.
All academies are encouraged to migrate to IT Essentials 8 as soon as possible to take advantage of the updated course content and
align with the new CompTIA A+ certification.
Q. Will the Virtual Desktop and Virtual Laptop simulations tools be available in IT Essentials 8?
A. The Virtual Laptop and Virtual Desktop were standalone tools designed to supplement classroom learning and provide an interactive
"hands-on" experience in learning environments with limited physical equipment more than 12 years ago, unfortunately they no
longer represent correctly existing hardware or provide proper simulation to prepare students for real job scenarios. Both tools as
well as support for them has been discontinued.
Q. What revisions have been made to the CompTIA A+ certification exams?
A. For changes on the CompTIA A+ exams please visit their website
Q. What are the recommended browsers for IT Essentials 8?
A. Performance is best with the two most recent versions of the following browsers: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Internet
Explorer.
Q. Are certificates of completion and letters of merit available for IT Essentials 8?
A. Yes, IT Essentials 8 offers a certificate of completion that can be signed by the instructor and a letter of merit signed by Cisco CEO
Chuck Robbins but please consider that the requirements to obtain them differ. The requirements are:
• Certificate of completion: it’s available to all students who successfully approve the course and are marked as complete by the
instructor in the grade book.
• Letter of merit: to become eligible to receive the letter, the student must successfully approve the course, be marked as
complete by the instructor in the grade book and score 70 percent or higher on the comprehensive final exam.
Instructors can print and sign certificates for students by clicking the “Course Details” icon for the course on the Teach tab and
clicking “Get all Letters and Certificates” button on the right side.
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