11月. 21, 2023

CSIS makeover: Upgrades to Colden Hall spaces help prepare students for tech careers

A remodeled classroom and other spaces on the lower floor of Colden Hall this fall are enhancing the learning experience for students in 全国网赌正规平台’s School of “计算机科学与信息系统”.

What previously was a networking lab with outdated equipment in Colden Hall, Room 1300 was transformed during the summer months into what is now a 网络安全 laboratory, 配备虚拟化服务器, desktop computers and modern networking equipment for students to use.

It also features modern classroom amenities, including cameras for video conferencing and multiple projection screens that allow students to digest instruction from multiple angles within the classroom. 

“We have way more capabilities in here than we’ve had in the past,” Dr. 内特Eloe, an associate professor of computer science and 信息系统, said. “It’s stuff that we can show and demo with students. We’ve got more computing power in here than we’ve had in previous labs.”

作为一个教室, the lab enhances coursework related to subject areas such as digital forensics, software engineering and secure programming.

“The server we’ve got is going to give students a chance to actually experience what it’s like working in a shared tenancy computing environment and experiment with the difference between virtualization and containerization and why you might want to use one or the other,爱说.

Two other labs on the lower floor of Colden Hall were combined to make a larger room equipped with Mac computers for iOS coursework, round work tables and multiple screens to facilitate collaboration.

All of it is helping to prepare students for a tech field that is increasingly moving to cloud computing and virtualization. The remodeled labs also benefit student groups, 比如西北网络防御俱乐部, which may use the computational power in the 网络安全 lab to crack passwords within their competition arena.

“The 网络安全 lab offers students a secure setting to apply their classroom knowledge, allowing them to practice what they learn in classes,” Dr. Joni Adkins, the director of the School of “计算机科学与信息系统”, said. “We know keeping up with the latest technology tools is imperative in our computing fields to help our graduates be competitive in the job market.”

大厅对面, the School of “计算机科学与信息系统” offers another valuable resource to students in its makerspace. 在今年秋天的一个下午, 肖恩·科伊尔, a senior computer science major from Elk Point, 南达科塔州, was tinkering with a microcontroller connected to addressable LEDs, a device that helps students like him practice building electronic systems. 与此同时, 杰克门外汉, 奥拉西大学计算机科学专业大三学生, 堪萨斯, was playing a game of table tennis with a virtual reality headset.

The makerspace provides an environment where students can play with a variety of gadgets and try things like 3D modeling and printing, 虚拟现实与焊接. A shelf in the room displays some of the items students have created with the 3D printer, including a TIE fighter from the “Star Wars” movies and movable figurines.

As one of the makerspace’s student managers, Coyle spends at least a couple hours a day in the room, helping students learn about the tools and resources it offers, 同时也扩展了他自己的知识. In addition to assisting students with developing skills outside of the classroom, Coyle hopes opportunities like the makerspace inspire students and help them realize that computer science can be more than staring at a screen and creating program codes.

“What really gets me excited about the job and the field and the things that I can do in the future is that there are these fun parts to it,科伊尔说. “There are parts (of the computer science field) that stimulate you to want to do something fun with computers.”

Northwest’s School of “计算机科学与信息系统” offers majors, minors and graduate programs in computer science, 商业教育, 信息系统, 网络安全, 数据分析和数字媒体. 欲了解更多信息，请访问 www.wp101ways.com/csis/.