Cisco Packet Tracer as a teaching and learning tool for computer networks in DWU

I recently published an article co-authored with Dr. Peter Anderson in the DWU Journal on Cisco Packet Tracer as a teaching and learning tool in DWU. This paper was basically a reflection on my teaching experiences with Packet tracer for the networking courses.

Here is the introduction.

Computer networks have become a fundamental tool of today's corporate environment. “Computer networks consist of devices that provide communication paths between electronic machines to create local networks inside buildings as well as the interconnection of networks in such structures as campuses and the Internet” (Frezzo, Behrens et al. 2010).

As Lammle (2010) suggests, “computers have become invaluable to us personally and professionally. Our society has become highly dependent on these resources and on sharing them with each other. The ability to communicate with those we need to whether they’re in the same building or in some far-away land completely hinges on our capacity to create and maintain solid, dependable networks” (Lammle, 2010). To have such skills that will enable an IT professional to create and maintain networks requires rigorous training. It is a demanding field of expertise since the efficient operation of many business organizations today rely upon the smooth operation of its computer network.

You can download or read the paper here 

Is my organization using IPv6 already?

"Many reports predict the Internet boom in the Asia Pacific will continue with strong growth in traffic, devices and users. By 2019, the region will have the most Internet traffic from mobile devices in the world. Another report on Pacific Island nations says recent submarine cable installations have resulted in an explosion of capacity. Across the Pacific, international Internet bandwidth jumped more than 1,500% between 2007 and 2014, rising from fewer than 100 Mbit/s to over 1 Gbit/s.

But those who travel the region know the availability, stability, speed, and security of Internet services vary widely from place to place. Users in some developing economies tolerate conditions that are unacceptable in the developed world, and which will seriously limit the benefits that the Internet can deliver." This is according to APNIC Foundation.

Meanwhile, the region is facing a growing list of technical challenges and one of them is the transition to IPv6. With IPv4 resources all but exhausted globally, IPv6 is the only viable option for the Internet’s future growth in the Asia Pacific region. While some organizations are embracing this, the transition is happening very slowly.
This big question is, do you know whether your organization is using IPv6 or not? Or more importantly is your organization IPv6 ready? Especially to the Asia Pacific small island countries.

Try the test.
If you do not know yet whether your company/organization is using IPv6 here is one way where you can find out.

• Go to http://test-ipv6.com/
• As soon as you hit the link above, the site will run a test on your publicly available address. 
• It will also indicate if your company is using a proxy server for internet access.

So from the test done below for Divine Word University, Madang PNG, here is the following information taken. (See screen shot below)

Testing OpenWRT in VirtualBox

I read on many different forums about the advantages of OpenWRT and really wanted to find out for myself but I didn't have a wireless router. I started to ponder on the possibility of using Oracle VirtualBox to test OpenWRT thus this article. I actually came upon a similar project which was a bit outdated so I decided to document this. 

If you are considering to test OpenWRT without a router or you don’t want to flash the router firmware over and over again. Here is a step by step article on running OpenWRT in a VirtualBox environment. OpenWRT in a virtualbox is an image file run in VirtualBox. At the time of writing this article, the VirtualBox version was Version 5.0.24 r108355 (the current release is 5.1.18, download available here) & OpenWRT image version openwrt-x86-generic-combined-ext4.img (download available here) 

Download links:

• VirtualBox 
• OpenWRT image file for virtualbox 

Teaching NAT in CCNA4

Recently as I was preparing to teach CCNA4 chapter 5 on NAT (Network Address Translation), I decided to put additional information in the introduction to draw the students attention to the state of IPv4 particularly in our region and country specifically. This would then set the basis for me to introduce NAT and its purpose as an immediate solution to IPv4 address exhaustion.

Here are some links I found in my research that I thougth would be helpful to other instructors who are preparing material for teaching.

Source: Internet Society IPv6 introduction course screenshot.

• Allocation of IP addresses by country - You can find your country and extract the information needed to give your students an overview of the number of addresses allocated by IANA to your country.

• Major IP Address blocks - This site gives you blocks of allocated addresses but does not indicate which ISP uses what block, the next link does show you further info

• Gateway information and address blocks by ISP's in your country - this is a very useful site as it gives you additional info about your country's gateway as well as the block allocations to ISPs that operate in your country.

Tinkering with Raspberry Pi

Sometimes when you get handed something new and interesting, you have two choices; you either put it away or you start tinkering over it. If you like tinkering over new and interesting gadgets, you will soon learn one or two things about it (even become good at something).

That is exactly what happened to me when I was first given a Raspberry Pi 2 two years ago by the head of our department.

Raspberry Pi 2

•Small computer
•Make, learn, design in a fun way
•Quad core CPU
•1 GB RAM (Pi 2)
•40pin GPIO
•Micro SD slot
•4 USB ports, HDMI, Stereo output, DSI display
•Micro USB power source

  

 

 At first glance, I had some idea what it could be but I never knew what interesting things you could do with such a very small thing, almost the size of your BSP Kundu card.

What tools I use for screen capture

When it comes to doing screen captures for my lessons or short tutorial videos for my CCNA classes, I've always relied upon Camtasia Studio to do all these. After I compile the videos, I upload them to Moodle (the LMS that we use in DWU).

Speak To Me In The Stillness Of My Heart

SPEAK TO ME IN THE STILLNESS OF MY HEART

By Picky Airi

Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-11

Do you have time to listen?

There are times in our lives that we so often talk too much. Imagine there are two people communicating, and only one person is doing all the talking, never trying to listen. In any culture there are always basic protocols (rules) of communication. For example, when we meet a wantok, we shake hands first as a sign of greeting or sometimes say a simple hello before anything. Then after the initial gestures, we start to verbally communicate.  

Poem: Goodbye My Dear Friend

I’m not good in writing poems but I decided to write this one today (23.02.16) dedicated to my former teacher, mentor, toastmasters coach and a special friend, late Mr. Jun Pasilabban. 

Photo credit: Jun's Facebook page

Goodbye – My Dear Friend

Written by Picky Airi

Morning tea today

Wasn’t like any other day

Why switch to Windows 10? Why not open source?

While it is good to have Windows 10, I doubt the stability of this OS. I have used Windows 8 and 10 only recently on one of my machines and its (Windows 10) lack of stability is really an issue for me unlike the experience on Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1. And based on tech forums and articles I'm reading, I am not alone. Example here

Although Windows 7 has been granted a 2 year extension on the shelf  (Microsoft's sales life cycle), the move has been on snail pace for many users from Windows 7 to Windows 10. 

Another one of those must have tools for the "eTeacher"

Source: itunes.apple.com 

As a teacher who relies heavily on ebooks as reading resources and reference material for students, I download a lot of ebooks from the internet. One problem I have come across is how do I split the PDF to extract only the pages I want to give the students and leave out the rest.

Rather than copying the entire chapter and pasting to word which I used to do before I decided to do some googling to find out if there is an app that can split the PDF and give me just what I want. (This feature is built into adobe pdf but you will have to register to use it which I couldn't.)