What I Learned In Teaching Computer Security, Privacy, and Politics to a General Audience
Hard to believe, I am almost finished with teaching a full college course (one semester) --my course at Tufts University entitled "Security, Privacy, and Politics in the Computer Age," offered by the Experimental College. It has certainly been an exhilerating few months, but it has been a very rewarding, memorable, and flattering experience.
So what did I learn from teaching computer security, politics, and privacy to a group of twenty, mainly non-technical, college students? Here are some of my thoughts in a nutshell:
* It is difficult to balance technical and non-technical information. Many students know what spyware and computer viruses are, but the technical workings of them are complicated. If you delve into complexities such as the operating system or the kernel, the students will be lost. I also recall making my cryptography lecture too simplistic, and I saw many students fall asleep.
* Few have knowledge about open source software, and alternatives to popular software packages. It is important to discuss the software life-cycle development process early in the semester because it will provide students insights on where a lot of the problems come from. One of the first comments from students that stuck me was that many have never heard of open source software, nor have they heard of alternatives to popular software packages such as GIMP, GAIM, and yes, even Firefox. As much as the technical community read and speak about OSS, the general public still don't understand it.
* Few have used Unix or Linux. Unix and Linux are sometimes dubbed as the "the most important operating systems you may never use," and I found this quite true. That is why I distributed free copies of Knoppix to students, and used it for my lectures on occasion.
more...
NetClarity - Preemptive, Proactive Protection.
Originally Posted on 9/2/2005 9:44:25 AMContent source: http://www.antivirus-solutions.com/archives/2005/04/what_i_learned.html
So what did I learn from teaching computer security, politics, and privacy to a group of twenty, mainly non-technical, college students? Here are some of my thoughts in a nutshell:
* It is difficult to balance technical and non-technical information. Many students know what spyware and computer viruses are, but the technical workings of them are complicated. If you delve into complexities such as the operating system or the kernel, the students will be lost. I also recall making my cryptography lecture too simplistic, and I saw many students fall asleep.
* Few have knowledge about open source software, and alternatives to popular software packages. It is important to discuss the software life-cycle development process early in the semester because it will provide students insights on where a lot of the problems come from. One of the first comments from students that stuck me was that many have never heard of open source software, nor have they heard of alternatives to popular software packages such as GIMP, GAIM, and yes, even Firefox. As much as the technical community read and speak about OSS, the general public still don't understand it.
* Few have used Unix or Linux. Unix and Linux are sometimes dubbed as the "the most important operating systems you may never use," and I found this quite true. That is why I distributed free copies of Knoppix to students, and used it for my lectures on occasion.
more...
NetClarity - Preemptive, Proactive Protection.
Originally Posted on 9/2/2005 9:44:25 AMContent source: http://www.antivirus-solutions.com/archives/2005/04/what_i_learned.html
posted by NetClarity at
9:44 AM
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