Quickly Checking Ports?

TL;DR: How can I quickly check if a drop has network connectivity?

Hello all! I decided not to get into networking, and decided to pursue programming. However, I got a job where I am probably gonna be the networking/sys admin/desktop tech guy. So in addition to programming an inventory/ticket system for this job (or at least for my resume), I decided to not waste the opportunity and get my N+ and CCNA while I am here. I have so many ideas to get this place out the stone age such as using VPNs to connect all 3 locations, implementing PC imaging via networking, and adding user network accessible storage but I do not have the know how to implement at the moment.

So that's the background on why I'm here, my question is how can I quickly check if a drop has network connectivity? I'm currently going drop to drop with a laptop and Ethernet and that's very tedious. Also, net every drop on the network has PoE, so i cant just grab a VoIP phone and see if it lights up. I shadowed a guy some time ago and he was able to quickly see new clients that connected to a switch. I am working with a mixture of cisco and dell switches.