Work Hard, Have Fun and Learn with New CISA Online Review Course

At the very end of his 2010 speech at the iPad’s debut, Steve Jobs mused on the secret to Apple’s success: “It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough. It’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields the results that make our hearts sing.”¹

Now I’m not foolish enough to even begin to compare myself to Steve Jobs, but I do know a thing or two about technology, and I have updated the CISA Review Manual for the new 2016 job practices. I also was part of a team brought together to work on the new CISA Online Review Course. Individually, we may not be Steve Jobs, but together we hoped to be inspired by his vision.

The CISA Online Review Course, which will be available later this month, prepares learners to pass the CISA exam using proven instructional design techniques and interactive activities. The online, self-paced course allows learners to prepare for the exam at a time and location that suits their needs. The course keeps track of where learners last left off, and includes a video, interactive content, downloadable workbooks and job aids, case study activities and a practice exam.

We began working on the course in April 2016. I still had my day job, so it involved some long nights and some even longer weekends. My email seemed to be constantly pinging, and once a week, I gave up my lunch break to participate in conference calls with ISACA HQ. It was hard work! But you know what? It also was great fun!

Several of the conference calls resulted in some great ideas that came about due to the intersection of our different strengths. Further, a few times, I would develop something and go to bed tired but thinking “I’ve really nailed that,” only for it to somehow inspire the more creative people in the team, who would suggest changes that only served to further enhance the course.

Becoming a Certified Information Systems Auditor is by no means easy. When studying for your CISA, it will be your turn to work late nights and weekends. It will be your turn to work hard, to learn and (hopefully) have fun. I believe the new CISA Online Review Course will help.

When you read some of the case studies, smile and remember that you read this blog. More than that, remember what you just learned while you smiled, and smile again when that question comes up in your CISA examination. Good luck in your studies!

Editor’s note: The new CISA Online Review Course will be available later this month at www.isaca.org/Education/on-demand-learning/Pages/default.aspx.

Registration is open for the first testing window of 2017 for ISACA’s core certifications. Exams for CISA, CISM, CGEIT and CRISC will be offered in 2017 at PSI testing locations worldwide during three, eight-week testing windows. The first testing window will be 1 May-30 June, with 28 February marking the early registration deadline. Exam registration via the ISACA website is available at www.isaca.org/examreg.

¹ www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904875404576532342684923826

Ian Cooke, CISA, CGEIT, CRISC, COBIT Foundation, CFE, CPTS, DipFM, ITIL Foundation, Six Sigma Green Belt, Group IT Audit Manager

[ISACA Now Blog]