For the past eight years, Internetworking competition winners in the national SkillsUSA Championships have been Cisco Networking Academy students. This year’s six winners were no exception.

It is back-to-school time. In my early days as a young student, one of the cornerstones of my school experience was the study of words—how to spell them, how to define them, and how to use them in a sentence. Today I am no longer a young student, but I find myself struggling with some of those words that I was led to believe had solid definitions. No one ever told me that using words in context would often be the object of debate.

Training Versus Education

·         Network World: Cisco Networking Academy Set to Celebrate 10th Anniversary

·         eSchool News: Wanted: More IT Workers

·         Healdsburg Tribune: Schools Leap into High Tech World

·         Cisco Addresses Global Networking Skills Gap with New Entry-Level Certification and Updates to CCNA 

·         Cisco Networking Academy Introduces Innovative Approach to Learning, Teaching, and Curricula

·         Cisco Updates IT Essentials Curriculum

·         Cisco Networking Academy Announces 2007 "4R" Recognition Award Winners

It's impressive that there are two billion people connected to the Internet, but having four billion not connected is a social issue.

Technology companies are reaching out to those four billion people to connect them to the Web and its advantages of better education, a stronger economy, more political power, and a better life.

The quarterly newsletter informs readers of alumni benefits, Career Connection opportunities, and resources that Cisco provides for career development in and beyond the classroom.

We interviewed Richard Weeks from the Network Development Group (NDG), makers of NETLAB, on what makes this such a useful tool for Cisco Networking Academy.

CISCO: Networking Academies are often challenged to find a cost-effective means to provide the hands-on exposure to real equipment that students need to ensure their success. How does NETLAB+^® provide a solution?

Cory Gray, now a network engineer and consultant at Conquest Technologies, a Cisco Silver Certified Partner, has made great strides since he first registered for the Cisco Networking Academy as a high school student.

“Where Gray finds himself now is a far cry from what he was led to expect as a high school sophomore when networking first appeared on his radar screen. … He's created a life and career for himself building some of the largest networks in the country.”

Read the SearchNetworking.com interview