Ocotillo Spotlight on Instructional Technology
Note: The Ocotillo Spotlight is no longer published, but all previous issues will remain on this site.
spotlight for February 2005
For the February 2005 Ocotillo Spotlight we visit Paradise Valley Community Colllege, where students in Hedy Fossenkemper's Network Administrator's classes get hands on experience with technology they get to directly apply the class principles. Use of removable hard drives allows each student to have their own workspace.
Turning the Key to Success: Using Technology to Facilitate Real World Learning in Network Administration
written by Jennifer Strickland with Hedy Fossenkemper, Paradise Valley Community College
This year marks the first time Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC) is providing students studying to become certified Microsoft Network Administrators with all the tools to success and the keys to unlock them! The courses, taught by PVCC's own Hedy Fossenkemper, teach students not only how to pass the Microsoft certification exam but also provide hands-on, real world learning experiences that enable students to become successful network administrators.
Each student enrolled in the Microsoft Network Administration course is provided, by PVCC, their own removable 40G hard drive for the semester so they can work without risk of damaging the college's server. Each student purchases a textbook (MCSE Guide to Microsoft Windows XP Professional 2nd Edition which Professor Fossenkemper has packaged with a CD that acts as a Lab Simulator.
Between the Lab Simulator CD and the removable hard drive the students can practice and learn how to be network administrators. "It's great, I don't have to worry about doing anything bad to any of the other computers or even the one I'm working on" says one MST150XP student.
The hard drives are protected by Cremax's ICY Dock which is a 5.25", metal, docking bay that is ventilated and temperature controlled with an internal fan. Each student is assigned a hard drive for the semester and given the key to load and unlock the hard drives for each class. Now the hard drives can be re-used every semester.
Professor Fossenkemper begins the semester by having the students disassemble the existing partitions from the previous class. Then they create their own partitions and install their own operating systems. It is an excellent tool for learning.
When students arrive in class they simply remove their assigned hard drive from the secured closet inside the computer lab. They then place their hard drives into the empty slot in the PC, turn the key to lock it in place, and boot up the computer. The computers are programmed to default to the removable drive when one is present.
In addition to being able to install and configure their own hard drives they can network all their computers together without ever leaving the classroom because this room is protected behind a firewall. This is important because the students are acting as network administrators so the students need to communicate with each other but not wander outside the classroom into the computer commons just beyond the doors.
The lab simulator CD provides the students with experiences that cannot be created in the classroom environment. According to Professor Fossenkemper, "even in this technology rich environment we can't demonstrate everything because some situations require hardware set up that we don't have on campus. This way we can run labs on the simulated environment."
Between the firewall lab, removable drives, the textbook, and the lab simulator CD the students are provided with learning opportunities not afforded at many test prep centers or other colleges. One student commented, "It's very effective for practicing what I need to learn." Another student happily remarked "what I like about this class is that you have the hands on ability to work on it so I remember a lot more because I actually do it. It sinks in better than just reading a book and listening to a dry lecture."
The textbook also plays an important role in this class. The hard drives and the lab simulator provide the students with real world experience as network administrators but passing the Microsoft Network Administrator's certification exam is a skill unto itself. The book provides the students with the testing skills necessary for passing the exams. The textbook used with on-line tests created by Professor Fossenkemper provides the students with opportunities to become familiar with the type of questions they will encounter on the certification exams.
According to Hedy, "in the industry only 23% of the people who take the Microsoft exam pass it the first time. On average candidates take the exam 3 times before being successful. On average, 95% of Fossenkemper's students have passed the certification exam on their first attempt. This excellent success rate is attributed by Hedy to the new structure to teaching the courses. The large amount of hands experience along with the test preparation seems to help them succeed on the industry exams.
A student who works as a network administrator summed it up by saying, "when I got on the job I realize that the same stuff we did in class is what I was doing at work."
One can't argue with success like this!
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