Implementing a networking component in a CS/IT curriculum: an experience report

This paper describes a three-and-a-half-year effort to develop a networking component for IT majors and CS majors alike. The finished component, a two-course sequence, covers networking fundamentals in the first course and system administration in the second. It stresses hands-on exercises; exposes students to socket programming in the first course; and mentions security concerns in both courses. Student feedback, which was used to identify and correct initial missteps, became more positive over the course of the effort. Remaining work includes the introduction of supporting electives, and the creation of a system course that reduces the need to teach principles of system operation in the second course.