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Lab Modules for Developing Practical Skills in a Python Scripting Course

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Conference

ASEE Southeast Section Conference

Location

Arlington, Virginia

Publication Date

March 12, 2023

Start Date

March 12, 2023

End Date

March 14, 2023

Conference Session

Computer Science

Tagged Topic

Professional Engineering Education Papers

Page Count

9

DOI

10.18260/1-2--45025

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/45025

Download Count

124

Paper Authors

biography

Peng Li East Carolina University

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Peng Li received a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from University of Connecticut. His professional certifications include CISSP, RHCE and VCP. Dr. Li is currently an Associate Professor at East Carolina University. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in programming, computer networks, information security, web services and virtualization technologies. His research interests include virtualization, cloud computing, cyber security and integration of information technology in education.

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biography

Ciprian Popoviciu East Carolina University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-2084-2240

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Dr. Ciprian Popoviciu has over 25 years of experience working in various technical and leadership roles in the IT industry. He founded and led the first company to enable OpenStack for IPv6 and deployed the first IPv6 only OpenStack cloud in production. He is an industry recognized domain expert in IPv6 who, over the past 22 years worked on the strategy, architecture, implementation and validation of IPv6 adoption by large service providers and enterprises Worldwide. Ciprian worked with various governments on defining national level and agency level IPv6 strategies and standards. He also worked with product and test teams on specific IPv6 features and roadmaps towards IPv6 readiness. Ciprian authored two IPv6 books: “Deploying IPv6 Networks” and “Global IPv6 Strategies”. He co-authored 5 IPv6 related IETF RFCs and multiple IPv6 related patents and he contributed to multiple technology and scientific publications.. Ciprian is an IPv6 Forum Fellow and for the past 15 years, he served as a subject matter expert for the European Commission on Next Generation Infrastructure and Security. Ciprian is currently an Assistant Professor at East Carolina University where his research is focused on IOT and cybersecurity. He is also the director of the Center for IOT Engineering an Innovation.

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biography

Steve Keith Baker

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My teaching interests include networking and security. I also enjoy teaching emerging technologies classes and working with the Internet of Things. My background includes twenty years of IT experience with both the private and public sectors. I try to bring real-world examples into my teaching, and provide students with a well-rounded view of expectations in the workforce.

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Abstract

To implement recommendations from our Industry Advisory Board, we switched from PHP to Python Scripting Language in the course Scripting for Information Technology. Python is easy to learn, easy to use and powerful. It is widely used in software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops), artificial intelligence (AI), big data and cloud computing. Our students are eager to learn hands-on skills of using Python in real-world scenarios, which are not covered adequately in the textbook. In this project, we developed five supplemental lab modules and an online, virtual environment, which can be used by both face-to-face students and distance education students, to meet their increasing demand for hands-on exercises. The lab modules include 1) Python in Linux Automation (Ansible), 2) Using Python with NoSQL database system MongoDB, 3) Web Programming Environment with Python, 4) Using Python with Podman RESTful API and 5) Simulating an Internet-Connected Weather Sensor Using Python. A Canvas shell was created to host lab manuals, lab quizzes, and supporting material such as demo video and tutorial. The Linux-based virtual environment is portable and can be accessed by students anytime and anywhere to do labs. Some tasks in the labs are automatically graded on Canvas. Other tasks are manually graded. The lab modules were deployed in two sections taught by different instructors in spring 2022. An anonymous survey was conducted at the end of the semester to collect feedback from students. The instructors also provided their evaluations. We believe that the hands-on approach will help students better understand course topics and improve their practical skills of using Python in the real world.

Li, P., & Popoviciu, C., & Baker, S. K. (2023, March), Lab Modules for Developing Practical Skills in a Python Scripting Course Paper presented at ASEE Southeast Section Conference, Arlington, Virginia. 10.18260/1-2--45025

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