Teaching Computer Security
When I was a student in college, I avoided many classes because of a number of reasons. Some of them were simply way too early (what student can pay attention at 7.45am?!), and others were on topics that I did not find all that interesting. However, the biggest turn-off was when a teacher opened the first class of the semester with a statement similar to "There is nothing I am going to tell you in the lectures that is not also in your books". Great. Why am I sitting through hours of boring agony when all that material is also in a book that I can study when it suits me best? More often than not, questions that might arise during lectures of this type are not answered sufficiently anyway. In my opinion, a lecture that merely summarizes a book's content, without adding insights to it or without enriching the "learning experience" should be made illegal.
Now that I have the chance to design a class and teach a whole semester myself, I am
really excited. I want to offer material that is interesting and
relevant to students, in a way that captures their attention and
challenges their intellectual capabilities. That does not mean that
I'll be giving them an easy ride. People who have taken classes from me
(or from my former group) know that we are not easily pleased and
require a high quality of work. Yet, when the work is (mostly)
interesting, I hope that the students will respond appropriately.
My constraints are simple: I have fifteen weeks and two 75-minute classes per week to teach the students about what computer/network security is about, why we do it, and what common themes are. Assuming that the students are undergraduate computer science students with with a basic understanding of networking, programming, and databases, what should I teach them? I have some ideas about a course layout, which I will be sharing here when they take on some more substance. Until then, I'm looking forward to any ideas that you might have. Please send me email at kees@leune.org, or post comments here if you want to share your thoughts.
My constraints are simple: I have fifteen weeks and two 75-minute classes per week to teach the students about what computer/network security is about, why we do it, and what common themes are. Assuming that the students are undergraduate computer science students with with a basic understanding of networking, programming, and databases, what should I teach them? I have some ideas about a course layout, which I will be sharing here when they take on some more substance. Until then, I'm looking forward to any ideas that you might have. Please send me email at kees@leune.org, or post comments here if you want to share your thoughts.
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