Lab exercises and learning activities for courses in computer networks

For today's graduates in computer science and engineering, possessing a working knowledge of networking and data communications has become essential. While most computer science and engineering departments offer an upper-level course in this area, many are exploring ways to leach some of this material earlier in the curriculum. Doing this provides an opportunity for advanced study in this area, but it also presents some challenges. One such challenge is how to create labs and activities for students who may not have the typical upper-division course background. This paper presents activities that are suitable for use in a lower-division computer networks course or that can be used in programs where access to proper lab facilities may be limited. In addition, the projects are designed to use collaborative learning and discovery learning techniques. The structure of these activities is presented and a qualitative discussion of their effectiveness is given.