ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION
The Discussion Board (DB) is part of the core of online learning. Classroom discussion in an online environment requires the active participation of students and the instructor to create robust interaction and dialogue. Every student is expected to create an original response to the open-ended DB question as well as engage in dialogue by responding to posts created by others throughout the unit. At the end of unit, DB participation will be assessed based on both level of engagement and the quality of the contribution to the discussion.
At a minimum, each student will be expected to post an original and thoughtful response to the DB question and contribute to the dialogue by responding to at least two other posts from students. The first contribution must be posted before midnight (Central Time) on Friday of the unit. Students are highly encouraged to engage on the Discussion Board early and often, as that is the primary way the university tracks class attendance and participation.
The purpose of the Discussion Board is to allow students to learn through sharing ideas and experiences as they relate to course content and the DB question. Because it is not possible to engage in two-way dialogue after a conversation has ended, no posts to the DB will be accepted after the end of the unit.
Assignment Details
The Unit 2 Discussion Board has 3 parts. Complete the following for the Discussion Board:
Part 1: LabSim Description and Action Items: UNGRADED
Please refer to the following for information about accessing and using LabSim:
• Getting Started with LabSim
• LabSim Navigation
Part 2: Group Activity: Design Project:
Once team assignments have been made, contact other team members and start planning for team roles, team member responsibilities, break-out of tasks, and schedule for team contributions. Remember the following as you prepare to start working on this project. Contact your instructor with any questions.
• Allocate time and resources effectively and coordinate efforts with all affected parties
• Acknowledge team membership and role
• Identify the roles of each team member
• Encourage others to express their ideas and opinions
• Show sensitivity to the thoughts and opinions of other team members
• Respond appropriately to positive and negative feedback
• Identify and draw upon team members' strengths and weaknesses to achieve results
• Learn from other team members
• Establish productive relationships
• Develop constructive and cooperative working relationships with others
• Use a group approach to identify problems and develop solutions based on group consensus
Part 3: Discussion Activity: GRADED
Information technology (IT) professionals must understand the functionality of the various types of networking hardware and media. Without this knowledge, it would be challenging to design a local area network (LAN) and to specify appropriate components. Not only are the network hardware functions different, organizations may use devices from different vendors complicating the integration between them.
Imagine that you are a consultant hired to install a LAN for a small neighborhood business. For a start, you may wish to consider the hardware and media used in your home or business to create a LAN. What exactly is required for Internet access?
Begin by discussing the network devices and media used in your home to create a LAN and to access the Internet. Discuss what might be needed to expand this environment to accommodate a small office with six employees.
Focus your explanations on the following:
• Identify all of the network components that are necessary to create a local area network with Internet access.
• Explain what each element does and why you would need to use it.
• Summarize what might be necessary to configure an Internet connection. Identify the type of device you would recommend for this and explain why you would recommend it.
• Finally, describe your experience regarding the LabSim tasks and share which node or activity you found to be the most enlightening. Explain your reasons.