[Year 12 SofDev] A discussion question : how deep should we teach technical details?

[Mark KELLY]

Hi all. One question that has come to mind recently while going through
VCAA, CSE, VITTA and other SD exams is how deeply we should be covering key
knowledge like...

- SD U3O1 KK03 - a brief overview of the concept of the OSI model for
network protocols
- SD U4O2 KK01- technical underpinnings of intranets, the Internet and
virtual private networks
- SD U4O2 KK02- characteristics of wired and wireless networks

My kids have had no more exposure to the OSI than along the lines of,
"These are the OSI stages, and these a few of the main things that happen
in each stage. Data to be transmitted passes through these stages like a
car being methodically stripped down to its parts, shipped overseas, and
then reassembled again. This is what the physical layer does." I don't
expect them to memorise the protocols that operate at each level.

For wired/wireless communication, I don't go much beyond covering the
relative strengths, weaknesses and capabilities of CAT, FOC, WiFi
("Code-named 802.11 with 4 different flavours"), microwave, and infrared.
I don't drill down into fine technical detail.  Do you do more on OSI and
networking technology than this?  I'd be keen to hear.

Some questions I have seen make me wonder: I feel that they are too deep
and specific for the specified key knowledge, especially when only a "brief
overview" is asked for, and the only named OSI level is the physical level.
I don't want to criticise authors, but I have seen questions like...

- At what level of the OSI does HTTP operate?
- Why would Telnet not be a good idea for secure remote access?
- Which of the 802.11 protocols are compatible with each other?
- What's the difference between bridges, routers, switches etc with
reference to the OSI model

I would find it hard to justify the time needed for such exhaustive
coverage of these topics, and since the VCAA exams have not examined
students in such technical detail, I doubt it's really useful.

How far do you go covering the technicalities of the technologies?

-- 
Mark Kelly
Manager of ICT, Reporting, IT Learning Area
McKinnon Secondary College
McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia
Direct line / Voicemail: +613 8520 9085, Fax +613 9578 9253
kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au << use this, not Edumail please!
VCE IT Lecture Notes: http://vceit.com
Moderator: IT Applications Edulist

--
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and
write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn - Alvin Toffler.
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