CSIS makeover: Upgrades to Colden Hall spaces help prepare students for tech careers

A remodeled classroom and other spaces on the lower floor of Colden Hall this fall are enhancing the learning experience for students in Northwest Missouri State University’s School of Computer Science and Information Systems.

Dr. Jerry Qi, an associate professor of computer science and information systems, teaches a digital forensics course in Northwest's remodeled cybersecurity lab. (Photo by Todd Weddle/Northwest Missouri State University)

Dr. Nate Eloe, an associate professor of computer science and information systems, teaches Northwest's secure programming course in the cybersecurity lab. (Photo by Todd Weddle/Northwest Missouri State University)

What previously was a networking lab with outdated equipment in Colden Hall, Room 1300 was transformed during the summer months into what is now a cybersecurity laboratory, equipped with a virtualization server, desktop computers and modern networking equipment for students to use.

It also features modern classroom amenities, including cameras for video conferencing and multiple projection screens that allow students to digest instruction from multiple angles within the classroom. 

“We have way more capabilities in here than we’ve had in the past,” Dr. Nate Eloe, an associate professor of computer science and information systems, said. “It’s stuff that we can show and demo with students. We’ve got more computing power in here than we’ve had in previous labs.”

As a classroom, the lab enhances coursework related to subject areas such as digital forensics, software engineering and secure programming.

“The server we’ve got is going to give students a chance to actually experience what it’s like working in a shared tenancy computing environment and experiment with the difference between virtualization and containerization and why you might want to use one or the other,” Eloe said.

Two other labs on the lower floor of Colden Hall were combined to make a larger room equipped with Mac computers for iOS coursework, round work tables and multiple screens to facilitate collaboration.

All of it is helping to prepare students for a tech field that is increasingly moving to cloud computing and virtualization. The remodeled labs also benefit student groups, such as Northwest’s Cyber Defense Club, which may use the computational power in the cybersecurity lab to crack passwords within their competition arena.

“The cybersecurity lab offers students a secure setting to apply their classroom knowledge, allowing them to practice what they learn in classes,” Dr. Joni Adkins, the director of the School of Computer Science and Information Systems, said. “We know keeping up with the latest technology tools is imperative in our computing fields to help our graduates be competitive in the job market.”

Sean Coyle, a senior computer science major from Elk Point, South Dakota, works with a microcontroller connected to addressable LEDs, in the School of Computer Science and Information Systems' makerspace. (Photo by Chandu Ravi Krishna/Northwest Missouri State University)

Northwest students discuss a task during a software engineering principles course. (Photo by Lauren Adams/Northwest Missouri State University)

Across the hall, the School of Computer Science and Information Systems offers another valuable resource to students in its makerspace. During one afternoon this fall, Sean Coyle, a senior computer science major from Elk Point, South Dakota, was tinkering with a microcontroller connected to addressable LEDs, a device that helps students like him practice building electronic systems. Meanwhile, Jake Layman, a junior computer science major from Olathe, Kansas, was playing a game of table tennis with a virtual reality headset.

The makerspace provides an environment where students can play with a variety of gadgets and try things like 3D modeling and printing, virtual reality and soldering. A shelf in the room displays some of the items students have created with the 3D printer, including a TIE fighter from the “Star Wars” movies and movable figurines.

As one of the makerspace’s student managers, Coyle spends at least a couple hours a day in the room, helping students learn about the tools and resources it offers, as well as extending his own knowledge. In addition to assisting students with developing skills outside of the classroom, Coyle hopes opportunities like the makerspace inspire students and help them realize that computer science can be more than staring at a screen and creating program codes.

“What really gets me excited about the job and the field and the things that I can do in the future is that there are these fun parts to it,” Coyle said. “There are parts (of the computer science field) that stimulate you to want to do something fun with computers.”

Northwest’s School of Computer Science and Information Systems offers majors, minors and graduate programs in computer science, business education, information systems, cybersecurity, data analytics and digital media. For more information, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/csis/.