This course focused on the preparation of an electronic portfolio integrating the my academic studies, work experiences, skill identification and work products. This course utilized the Cybersecurity format for electronic portfolios.
Reflection Introduction:
For me, my ODU education started with becoming accustomed to a format that I had no experience with, Online classes. This for me was a struggle as all my previous education has been in a face-to-face capacity. I am a digital immigrant. I grew up in a world without cell phones, the internet, or social media. Even my first experiences with computers were from a technician’s perspective. I knew how to build them, but not program them. I say all this to simply state, this has been a journey.
From the start I delved into basic concepts that my class peers understood as second nature. Yet, by the end of my first semester and course work in CYSE 200T and CYSE 201S, I started to see where many of the physical security practices I had used and taught in the past were a foundational aspect of cybersecurity. With a strong understanding of how physical security played into Cybersecurity policy I delved into the uncharted waters of the digital realm. Throughout the following semesters I learned basic programming skills, working with Linux, digital forensics, Microsoft windows management, Cyber Techniques, and computer networking. It may sound like a lot, but much like steppingstones on a path, the journey was unburdened by the complexity of it all.
Program Reflection:
I have always hated nebulous questions such as “most valuable learning experience”. Everything I have done at ODU builds upon what came before. If you remove any of the learning and work experiences I have had, you run the risk of destabilizing the entirety of the learning structure. Even redundant experiences can spark a moment of clarity, a burst of knowledge injected into a void of tedium.
Outside of the new experience of being an online student, most of the obstacles I have had to overcome have been of a personal nature. From using dry erase boards to repetitively write class work down to overcome my TBI, to dealing with thieves breaking in and cleaning out my family home. They can be stressful and frustrating to deal with but on the grand scale of things, they are meaningless. My family members were not harmed in the robbery, and writing on dry erase boards gets me up and moving. I will take the good of it and let the rest go by the waste side.
IDS 493 Reflection:
IDS 493 was a strange experience for me. As a digital immigrant, the concept of putting private information on the world wide web for the public to consume is, well, troubling to say the least. I do understand the networking aspect, the showcasing of skill sets, and the providing of a platform for prospective employers to find suitable employees. Yet every fiber of my body screams in resistance to what I have always experienced as an incredibly dangerous breach of security posture. I love people in general, but I don’t trust them any farther than I could throw them.
Now taking the course outside of my social engineering concerns, I found it to be a worthwhile endeavor. Learning accessibility considerations, design layout, how to showcase your skills and promote yourself, these are excellent concepts to learn and or expand upon. For example, I struggle with complexity. It is hard for me to break things down into a non-OCD format. I played around with AI a lot this semester and was including AI generated art onto my site. It was an unnecessary addition to my page, and through peer critique, I removed them to help clarify my page’s purpose. I learned from this experience and had the pleasure of exploring my peers’ sites. As an online student, I cannot express how nice it was to “meet” my classmates for the first time.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, my studies at ODU came together quite well. The connection I found between my previous work experience, childhood experiences and the concept of cybersecurity was unexpected. I didn’t really know what to think when I first started my classes, yet I quickly came to the realization that they were all connected and this interdisciplinary symbiosis of concept was, at its core, a method by which I could again serve to protect my fellow Americans.
I cannot say for sure what my future holds. The older you get; the more complicated life becomes. I have been offered direct admission to Graduate studies at ODU, yet this would require me to move into the Norfolk area. As a father and grandfather with a dependent mother, it is more complicated than just a simple move. I do plan to take advantage of this opportunity; I am simply acknowledging the logistical hurdles that the move would entail. Sometimes in life it just helps to sound things out.