Teaching networking and operating systems to information systems majors

Teaching networking and operating systems to information systems majors presents many challenges. Operating systems and networking tend to be taught in one of two ways. Either the material is non-technical, directed more toward the business information systems major, or the material is overly technical, equivalent of teaching a traditional computer science course. We have developed a model for teaching networking and operating systems to information systems majors that bridges that gap. The material is taught in the context of network administration, a topic well-suited to information systems majors. This paper describes our model, the curriculum we use, and the experience of students and faculty.