1. Sabbatical @NCAR Scott Quinn Datacommunications Faculty Lead
Portland Community College 1

2. Portland Community College Portland, Oregon
“As the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon, PCC serves more than 93,000 full-time and part-time students.”
“(PCC has) four comprehensive campuses, eight centers and dozens of independent locations throughout the community…”

3. Portland Community College Portland, Oregon
There are hundreds of full time faculty members at PCC
Only one full time instructor is developing classes in the field of Data Communications

4. Portland Community College Portland, Oregon
Clearly that one instructor must be prepared

5. Useful Classes
Have you ever taken a college class and wondered if what you were learning would ever be useful?

6. Instruction Rooted in Personal Experience
Imagine taking a geology class from an instructor who has read about the eruption of Mount St. Helens

7. Instruction Rooted in Personal Experience
Now imagine taking the same class from someone who has been on the mountain to experience the power of the eruption

8. The Prepared Mind
“What’s it like to be a networking professional?”
Only instructors with current experience can effectively answer that question

9. Instruction Rooted in Personal Experience
I asked for a sabbatical to update my experience with active networks

10. How Does My Sabbatical Help My Students?
In order to be an effective instructor, I need to answer the following question: What skills and attributes does a student need in order to be successful in the field of networking?

11. Why Visit NCAR? I started my career at NCAR
NCAR has always used cutting-edge technologies
NCAR networking is widely respected

12. Scott at NCAR

13. Valuable NCAR Experience
There are two areas I’ve explored while here:
The technologies and how they are used
NETS group dynamics

14. Factors That Have Lead to a Successful Sabbatical at NCAR
The NETS welcoming attitude: Everyone has been generous with their time and has warmly included me, even at lunches and coffee breaks

15. Factors That Have Lead to a Successful Sabbatical at NCAR
Support: Whenever I have needed help, people have consistently made themselves available to help me reach my goals

16. Factors That Have Lead to a Successful Sabbatical at NCAR
Access to Resources: The staff has gone out of their way to make sure I had what I needed, from being able to look closely at antennas on the roof to being invited into the wiring closets.

17. Factors That Have Lead to a Successful Sabbatical at NCAR
Access to Documentation: Diagrams and text documents have been generously shared

18. Factors That Have Lead to a Successful Sabbatical at NCAR
Insights into group dynamics: You have invited me into your group meetings so I can see how effective teams work

19. Factors That Have Lead to a Successful Sabbatical at NCAR
Inclusion in communication: The staff has included me in nearly all group electronic conversations, so I can see what information is needed to help make a group effective

20. What Must Students Learn to be Successful
The answer must cover two areas:
Technical skills
Communication skills

21. What We Teach
At PCC we put the emphasis on technical skills in our classes.
Communication skills are equally important

22. Some Updated Technical Information
What kind of cable is used for networking, both in the local area and for Internetworking?
How is building interconnection accomplished?
How does wireless communication fit into today’s network architecture?

23. Some Updated Technical Information
How are VLANs most effectively deployed?
Where is layer 3 networking preferred over layer 2?
What is effective network management?
What is an effective response time to a problem?
What does it take to implement and robustly support VoIP?

24. Some Updated Technical Information
What does useful documentation look like?
How is an equipment rack effectively used?
How is heat and power properly managed in a data center?

25. Other Updated Information
What makes a good background, (experience, education, and social) to enter the field of networking?
What is better learned on the job than in a classroom?

26. Other Updated Information
What kind of communication is effective?
When are face-to-face meetings the best choice?
When is telephone communication more effective?
How does a department communicate/share configuration changes?
How are decisions made?

27. How NETS has Been Especially Helpful
Providing me with an office.
Including me in meetings and communication has been great
The universal welcoming attitude, complete with smiles really helps

28. What Would Have Made My Visit More Beneficial?
The NETS environment has been almost ideal for my purposes. However, things that would have helped a bit include:
More time!!
Access to the Wiki.
A clearer way to see when people are likely to be around and available.
The ability to use my cell phone in the building

29. Summary
Reading and talking to vendors is not enough to keep up with our field’s rapid technological changes
Embedding in a cutting-edge, functioning networking environment provides tremendous insights
NETS has been an excellent environment to learn in