IT Teaching/Learning Environments

Development of IT Teaching/Learning Environments

A. Secure Client/Server Web Software Development Environment:

Due to severe network security policies imposed by CCBC's IT Dept. during the years 2006-2011, Web Programming courses were taught in classrooms/labs that lacked a Web server, the hardware, and software technology extremely necessary for Teaching/Learning Web Programming courses.

Early in 2012, I worked with Carl Dennis, CCBC Cyber Security (Computer Forensics) Faculty, and Walter Lukhaup, CCBC VP for IT Dept., to develop an external mobile web server using LAMP Stack (Linux, Apache Web Server, Mysql, and PHP).

In Fall 2013, for the first time, I used our new IT Teaching/Learning Tool in my CISW101 Web Scripting. After 6 years, this new Teaching/Learning IT tool allowed me to teach my students all the necessary skills as they are listed in the CISW101 Web Scripting Languages course syllabus! This new technology also made the course much more interesting for the students causing 38.69% increase in success rate, and 43.28% increase in attendance/class participation compared to the previous year!

This web new IT Teaching/Learning Tool not only does not create any computer security treats to CCBC's campus-wide computer network, but it provides CCBC students with an IT hardware and software tool can be used both at CCBC and at home!

This new IT Teaching/Learning IT tool has allowed Technology faculty, who teach Web Programming, Networking, Cyber Security (Computer Forensics) courses, to teach their courses most effectively. It also has allowed them, so far, to develop one new course: CISN203 Linux Operating System, and revise two courses: CISW101 Web Scripting Languages, and CISW206 Web Data Connectivity using ASP and PHP.

This new IT Teaching/Learning Tool, along with student projects using this new technology, was presented at NISOD 2013 in Austin, Texas. The title of the presentation was "Not on My Network, You Don't!, May I Try This?"

A copy of the PowerPoint presentation, in PPTX format, about this IT teaching/learning tool at NISOD 2013 is provided here.

A copy of the PowerPoint presentation, in pdf format, about this IT teaching/learning tool at NISOD 2013 is provided here.

B. CCBC's First Fully Academic Computer Network:

During the Summer of 1995, I supervised a group of CIS/Telecom students in the design, implementation, operation, and maintenance of CCBC's very first Fully Academic Network with connectivity to the Internet.

This project was directed by Dr. Thomas, Vice President for Academic Services, in 1995. This Project facilitated CCBC's participation in the BCIU (Beaver County Intermediate Unit) Technology Group. BCIU Technology Group was an IT consortium, organized to provide all public educational institutions in Beaver County, including CCBC, with the necessary hardware and software technology to connect their labs to the Internet. This consortium was one of the local projects leading to the "Link-to-Learn", "School to Work" and "Welfare to Work" PA projects in the mid-90s.

CCBC's participation in this consortium, and its developing CCBC's first Fully Academic Computer Network in the process provided CIS/Telecom Dept. with then a state of the art IT Teaching/Learning tool and environment, including a Linux Server using a 56K line and several dial-up lines configured to access the Internet!

The new IT Teaching/Learning Tool also led to the development of the revised "CIS/Telecom" curriculum, to be offered to start in the academic year 1996-1997. The revised curriculum provided the students with an opportunity to learn WANs (Wide Area Networks with connectivity to the Internet, using Linux, which was then and still is the operating system widely used by ISPs and Web Hosting Companies.

For almost 10 years, CIS/Telecom students were able to complete their Internship course, at CCBC and Beaver County public schools, gaining experience in design, implementation, and maintenance of LANs, using Novell NetWare, and WANs using Linux, and website development, the skills very necessary to find job as Network specialists, web programmers and in the IT job markets.

A copy of my report about this IT teaching/learning tool to Dr. Thomas, VP for Academic Service is available here.