Teacher For A Day 

With every month that passes my responsibilities get a bit more complex, as I learn about new systems to manage and add new hardware support. I have come a long way since I awkwardly walked into the campus, feeling unsure of myself. Right now, I have a much better understanding of the dynamics of my workplace environment. I am learning about software and systems previously unknown to me, in addition to implementing some things that I have previously only done in the classroom. I am loving every minute of it. Given all those wonderful experiences, I was asked to add one more to my portfolio.  

At the start of the current semester, one of the teachers at the school asked me to be a guest lecturer for an IT class on networking, as she was aware that it was my main field of study for my BSc. I reluctantly agreed. I was given the syllabus and I tried to think about how I could balance my industry knowledge and experience while remaining within the confines of the syllabus. As such, I used the class syllabus to frame my lesson plan. I wanted the lecture to be informative but also fun.  

I began the class by talking about the OSI model, networks, and how it started. I then moved on to the types of networks and what were they used for. I tried to relate the technologies that make up a network and the systems the network supports to the OSI model as much as possible. I also tried to give them real-world examples of things they may have been familiar with, which was not difficult given that we all use networking in this modern connected era. I provided explanations for WANs, LAN, MAC address, WPA, AES, and Gateways. I also noted their functions and why they are essential. I was able to cover all the topics necessary. To my delight, both the students and teacher were happy with my presentation. Due to time constraints, I was unable to give the class the practical exercise I prepared. As such, the teacher decided to allow me a second session the following day. 

For the second session, I spoke to the class about the fundamentals of real-world networking. This included how to modify an IP address in Windows, set a gateway, what the gateway represents. Using the ping, nslookup, and ipconfig commands. Demonstrating how DNS works, and how DHCP simplifies assigning of IP address. Most importantly, I had the students log into a basic home router and allowed them to play around with the configurations to see how the network was affected and get a feel for how the configurations are actually done. I noticed that there was a particular student whose eyes lit up when the concepts from the previous day started to connect with the tasks she was performing. It was a great joy was when that same student later said, “you know, I think I want to do, networking”.  

Overall, I was very happy that I got the opportunity to share what I love with the students.