these are an excellent addition to the website!
Quiz Your Co-Workers
Published Apr 14, 2014 04:00 AM
PUBLIC - This article does not require an IPVM subscription. Feel free to share.
A major new offering, now IPVM members can take a series of 7 quizzes, plus they can assign them to their co-workers who are also IPVM members.
7 Quizzes to Start
We are starting with 7 quizzes, 2 of them are public / free, the rest are member's only. Take them now!
- Video Surveillance 101 (Public)
- 2014 Video Surveillance Current Events (Public)
- Basic Access Control Components (Member Only)
- New Products Knowledge 2014 (Member Only)
- Cable Design and Installation (Member Only)
- Installation Tools (Member Only)
- Video Surveillance Manufacturer Revenue (Member Only)
Make sure you truly are on top of surveillance and security technology. Check how much your co-workers know and motivate them to learn more.
My Quizzes
All IPVM Members now have a new section called 'My Quizzes' that shows them a list of available ones to take, plus their scores and correct answers for ones they have taken:
Assigning Quizzes to Co-Workers
Plus, group admins now have a new section called 'Assignments', where they can assign quizzes to co-workers and check their results.
When you assign a quiz to a co-worker, they immediately get an email with a link to take the quiz. When they complete it, the admin gets a follow up email with the score and a link to review the answers submitted.
Screening Quizzes to Non Members
Plus, Group members can assign select quizzes as 'screening' to non IPVM members. The goal here is to 'screen' how well outsiders know security and surveillance. Just enter their email and we will contact them, letting you know when the quiz is taken.
Help More People Learn With Co-Worker Quizzes
Many organizations have one or a few people that love to learn and stay on top of things, but not everyone is as motivated. And while one can send emails internally to encourage them to read individual reports, these quizzes are an interactive (and often fun) way to challenge co-workers to be informed.
More Quizzes and Custom Quizzes
This is only the beginning. We are going to add a lot more quizzes on many different topics. Have suggestions? We would love to hear them.
Also, do you want custom quizzes just for your own organization? Perhaps, quizzes that cover the key topics of interest for your operations? Let us know.
Comment Please
Comments (14)
KL
Keefe Lovgren
Apr 14, 2014RW
Rukmini Wilson
Apr 14, 2014Cool! Maybe add a time element to the scoring for some tests, so that one can show extemporaneous mastery and not mere Wikipedian facility. (This coming from someone trying to blow thru the first test way too fast and stumbling ignobly.)
P.S. I have noticed that your comment activity dipped down a bit from your standard 1080P (10 80 word Posts per day), but this explains it, its always more fun to code, right?
JH
John Honovich
Apr 14, 2014We can track time and record that as well. I'll queue that up. Good suggestion!
As for coding, I am now acting as Product Manager. We have a developer who is much better than me.
JP
John Paterson
Apr 14, 2014Really excellent idea, as the quizzes can be updated to suit the tecnology updates. Keeps people involved and as up to date as possible. Thanks for your effits team this is great.
RW
Rukmini Wilson
Apr 14, 2014And for those of you lucky enough to have IPVM co-workers, the cable-design and installation quiz is perfect for those red-caped IT messiah types, just watch as they take it and their face slowly blends into their cape...
JH
John Honovich
Apr 14, 2014Lol, that's Brian's! We are trying to get a range of quizzes so that people can either specialize in areas they care most about or expose themselves to new things. More ideas on other quizzes are appreciated.
Brian Rhodes
Apr 15, 2014
Harald Lutz
Apr 15, 2014Great stuff. Anyway, I need to translate first as most of local SI speak their native language only. Thanks anyway, I'm already curious to see how well some of the people in my mind are doing ;)
Kyle Folger
Apr 20, 2014I had fun taking the tests. I did have one question related to the installation tools test. "It crimps ethernet (RJ45) connectors on cable." Shouldn't this be 8P8C since the RJ45 standard is not used for ethernet terminations? I know the whole industry likes to call them RJ45 connectors but there was a lengthy discussion a while back about this in the professional audio listserve I'm part of.
Brian Rhodes
Apr 21, 2014Hello Kyle:
I think I wrote that particular question. I have never heard them referred as 8P8C connectors!
Keep in mind, I'm not saying you are wrong, just that I may be part of the collective 'industry misuse' of the term. :)
I checked around several sources (EIA/TIA, BICSI, Cisco) and all the references I found to RJ45 referred to ethernet (or data bus) cabling, so I think our use is fair.
However, if you can post a link that clarifies or counters use of the term, please do. I am curious!
Above all else, we want the quizzes to be accurate and useful, so your feedback is great! Thank you.
Kyle Folger
Apr 22, 2014I know Wikipedia is not 100%, but there is a lot of talk back and forth on this issue:
There are even two separate pages:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modular_connector
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RJ45_(telecommunications)#RJ45
I read it as the registered jack is the jack the connector plugs into related to how it is wired.
The standard for wiring the 8P8C is given by T568A/T568B
The only reason everyone sells it as RJ45 is because many don't know it's an 8P8C modular connector wired using either T568A or T568B.
In audio, the common connector is the XL connector for mating microphone and line level signals. An XLR was originally designed to have a resilient polychloroprene compound. However, International Standards calls it an XLR even though all "XLR" connectors today don't have the resilient polychloroprene compound. Reference is:
So the "RJ-45" connector/jack may have become one of those things where due to the fact that everyone calls it so, it must be. However, I just don't feel that it is the proper term due to learning more about the Registered Jack 45 standard as it was originally since I don't believe it was officially changed.
I checked many of the sources that you listed and I found that depending on the document, BICSI would refer to it one way or the other. I realize it is a rather moot point, though I didn't realize how much debate there is over such a small connector.
RW
Rukmini Wilson
Apr 22, 2014Kyle let me say it is quite refreshing to see someone (besides me) apply a laser beam intesity to some relatively academic piece of minutiae. So I think that I am probably the best one to tell you that you are wrong on this one. In both letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Let's look at the question and answers:
Which option below best describes the main purpose of this tool?
It crimps ethernet (RJ45) connectors on cable It splices cable safely.
It installs nylon cable ties without over-tensioning them.
It cuts fiber optic cable without shattering the ends.
It allows the technician to remove ethernet cables without risk of electrocu
Since the 8P8C connector is not even an option I'm sure you will agree tha first answer is technically correct.
Furthermore even though the.connector is more correctly called "8P8C ", if you had no teach students one term or the other which would you choose to teach?
Kyle Folger
Apr 22, 2014Yes, I knew what was meant by the answer and agree that is the best description in this situation. I'm not saying many will get it wrong based off the other possible given choices to the question.
If I had to teach students, I would teach them that is an 8P8C modular connector commonly and incorrectly called RJ45.
Its kind of like to the whole world not involved in professional lighting the "light bulb needs to be changed" would be the common phrase. In the professional realm it is most often referred to as a lamp. The projector "bulb" or the projector lamp needs to be replaced.
Many people improperly wrap cables. I used to be one of them.
The above regarding lighting terms is trivial, but I can remember being corrected quite often and I'm mostly an audio person when compared to lighitng. I got yelled at for trying to help wrap a cable the way I had always seen others do it (around the arm) and then learning later why I had been doing it wrong. Wrapping a cable around your arm does have visible damaging results over time although some will still not notice the damage or the fact the cable will no longer lay flat.
Is the person talking a speaker. Is the sound eminating from audio cabinet a speaker or is it better termed loudspeaker to reduce ambiguity.
Joel Kriener
May 12, 2014Great Idea! Should help refresh my memory