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Summer 2004 A newsletter for business, educators and students in the telecommunications industry |
Welcome to the National Center for Telecommunications Technologies (NCTT) Newsletter. NCTT is a National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Resource Center for Excellence in Instruction of Telecommunications Engineering Technology. NCTT, a division of Springfield Technical Community College (STCC), is under STCC’s administrative direction and is located on its campus in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Center derives major funding from the College and the NSF and is dedicated to promoting and providing quality technological instruction to students nationally, thereby ensuring the global competitive advantage of America’s Information Communications Technologies (ICT) industries.
NCTT began as the Northeast Center for Telecommunications Technologies in 1997, a collaboration of high school (10), community college (10) and 4 year colleges (5) in New England and New York and business and industry. In 2003 NCTT received a Resource Center grant from the NSF and is establishing a growing network of national regional partners. Additionally, NCTT has broadened its mission as follows: to provide appropriately skilled technicians and technologists with a primary focus on Connecting Technologies™ as workforce for ICT business, industry and ICT users.
In its first phase, NCTT’s focus was primarily on the physical layer with subject matter expertise in the areas of lightwave, wireless, and networking expertise providing some upper layer focus, mostly in layers 2 and 3.
This early focus on the lower layers was appropriate because most network connectivity involved different private devices connected by public networks as illustrated in Figure 1.
 Figure 1: Technology: In the Past - Private Devices Connected by Public Networks (source: Sun Microsystems) |
Connecting TechnologiesTM |
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The public network illustrated in figure 1 was typically the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network or the Internet, which was usually accessed using the PSTN. Infrastructure technicians would work up to a network interface (NI) located at the entrance point into a user’s premises and then typically stop, not being concerned about the end device hardware, operating systems and applications being attached and running via the NI over their network. Today, with the emergence of new end devices and new software, we see a completely different type of user network emerging where personal network connectivity to every device is/will be required for the user to experience the full features and benefits of the device/OS experience. This convergence of infrastructure technology is illustrated in figure 2. |
 Figure 2: Today -> Future: Personal Network to Every Device (source: Sun Microsystems) |
The end devices of today are no longer just telephones and computers connected via the PSTN. They can include Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), tablet PC’s, cell phones with web interfaces, X- boxes and Game Boys connected via broadband. Many of these current and future devices and operating systems will function only in a limited fashion without a network connection. A good example is the next major operating system release from Microsoft, code-named Longhorn. Although the system will function without a broadband always-on Internet connection, it will do so only with limited capability. To experience the full features of your end device and the Longhorn operating system, you will need to utilize a broadband connection.
Providers such as Verizon and Comcast recognize this and see new opportunities to develop new markets and provide better service to their customers. At the same time, however, they see substantial new challenges to the technical knowledge required of their workforces. Today, most customer problems exhibit themselves on the end device. The customer may be having trouble with their email client program, web browser, web cam or firewall/proxy server, but the typical complaint is in very general terms such as "my computer is not working." Following are some typical problems/descriptions with which provider technicians must currently deal.
Troubleshooting these types of problems is difficult. The technician must determine if it is the customer’s device, the device’s operating system, the application being run, the in-house cabling/infrastructure, the LAN, firewall/proxy server, the broadband modem, cable plant, ISP, the local loop, or beyond the local loop.
 Figure 3: Typical Broadband DSL Connection |
We’ve all experienced OS/software/application telephone support, and it is typically weak and, beyond simple fixes, many times useless. Basic procedures are attempted over the telephone, and the "out" for the software people is commonly to blame the hardware. Today, technicians are no longer effective if they only understand/care about what is happening within the network up to the network interface, cable or DSL modem. The modern technician needs to understand all of the elements involved in a communications system from end device through end device to correctly understand how customer setups and configurations interface with and through the core network. The interaction of all the elements involved in an end-to-end communications session is very complex. Successful troubleshooting of the system requires carefully following well-delineated troubleshooting procedures. Also central to effective troubleshooting today is knowledge of the PC (basic hardware and OS) with its supporting hardware and application software. For example, we can look at an ADSL connection, as illustrated in Figure 3 and consider the breadth of the skills, abilities and knowledge required to troubleshoot this type of communications system. |
Top 5 Skills/Abilities/Knowledge Required
The NCTT organization, an expanding national collaboration of regional partners, is addressing these complex issues. A detailed understanding of end device operating systems and hardware, not required a few years ago, has become a critical piece of knowledge for network device and network infrastructure technicians and, therefore, is already being included in NCTT curriculum. End device applications will continue to emerge and become more complex. Table 1 lists some predictions of future demand.
Table 1: End Device Usage Growth
| 1.9 billion mobile connections by 2008 (Ovum 2003) |
| 1.25 million wireless subscribers per week sign up in China every week (Vision Gain, 2003) |
| 100 million Java-enabled handsets in 2003, growing to 878M by 2007 (Arc, 2002) |
| 64 million US homes on broadband by end of 2003 (strategy Analytics Global, 2003) |
| Data usage growing from 16% of ARPU to 49% in 2006 (Yankee, 2002) |
| Steady adoption of VoIP: 66% growth of IP PBX systems in 2003 (IDC, 2003) |
Conclusion
Concentrating only on the physical layer in Telecom and related Engineering Technology programs is no longer a viable option for teaching today’s ICT technician. Traditional electronics based programs need to shift and expand to ensure coverage of operating systems, applications, hardware and communications protocols. Traditional CIS/MIS-based programs that typically have not required the math and science courses needed to understand the physical layer can no longer ignore the physical layer. Only then will all of these programs be graduating technicians with the range and depth of knowledge needed for service providers and other ICT companies to remain competitive in an increasingly challenging marketplace.
Converged networks transmitting voice, video and data in packet formats end-to-end are here. The years left for the legacy PSTN are numbered. Emerging technology-based industries are growing quickly and are becoming increasingly dependent on moving mission-critical information over the newly configured private and public networks. We, as educators, need to be sure our students leave our programs with the proper technical knowledge and skills required to succeed in all these rapidly evolving industries.
The NCTT regional partner group is putting the pieces together as we build out curriculum, content, lecture material and lab experiments. Take a look at our website at www.nctt.org and please feel free to contact me at GSnyder@stcc.edu or 413-731-3151 if you think you might like to join us.
References:
Sun Microsystems, Massachusetts Telecommunications Council Presentation, February 2004.
The first annual meeting of the newly expanded National Center for Telecommunications Technologies was held January 13-15 in Orlando. NCTT staff including Executive Director and Principal Investigator Gordon Snyder, Co-PIs Jim Downing and Gary Mullett, Staff Associate Nina Laurie and Partner Consultant Geoff Little were joined by NCTT’s five Regional Partners represented by:
Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, NJ
Michael Qaissaunee, Department Chair for Engineering and Technology
Collin County Community College, Frisco, TX
Anne Beheler, Dean and Executive Director, Engineering Technology Division
Cuyamaca Community College, El Cajon, CA
Ted Chandler, Instructor of Computer and Networking Technology
Connie Elder, Chair, CIS Department
Gateway Community College, North Haven, CT
Roy Francis, Director, Engineering and Applied Technologies Division
Thomas Adams, Professor, Computer Engineering Program
Midlands Community College, Columbia, SC
Mark Wildermuth, Program Manager and Instructor, Telecommunications Program
Keith Quigley, Faculty, Engineering Technologies Program
The group enthusiastically tackled the meeting’s aggressive agenda and successfully addressed all items over the 2 ˝ days. Primary agenda items were to:
The group was particularly excited about broadening NCTT’s workforce development efforts beyond the traditional telecommunications industry to support ICT-dependent businesses, industries and organizations such as health care, financial services, biotechnology and the military. The group is also eager to explore what it believes will be new funding opportunities resulting from the organization’s new national scope and greater capacity to provide training and educational services.
NCTT Organization to Build Shared Library of Materials
All participants at the annual meeting immediately recognized that the NCTT organization could provide great benefit to its member institutions by creating and maintaining a current and comprehensive library of curriculum, content, resource materials and labs. Faculty in participating institutions, if they wished to do so, could chose the best and most appropriate materials for their programs from the library. The group decided that an open structure for posting materials including content would be the most beneficial approach and will encourage their associates to do same.
NCTT will create the library in Blackboard. Meeting participants agreed that faculty are generally familiar with Blackboard, and that the program provides the best environment for posting material, supporting collaboration for the development of new material and managing access to insure content integrity.
Authorized faculty will be able to access the site to take posted material for use in their program, customize posted material (always giving proper attribution to the original author) to better fit their specific program focus and collaborate with others in the development of new material. The results will be a rich compilation of current content aligned with the focus and mission of the NCTT organization available for dissemination through NCTT’s ever-broadening network of partner institutions.
For more information, contact Nina Laurie at NCTT or the Principal Investigator at your NCTT Regional Partner institution.
It’s that time of year again - NCTT will again be hosting the annual curriculum workshop on the campus of Springfield Technical Community College, Springfield MA. Have you ever wondered “Just how do I fit into the big picture of telecommunications?” Well, here’s a chance to find out, and get some hands-on experience at the same time. We are expecting faculty from 21 community colleges around the country. Attendees will be able to meet the current NCTT Regional Partners. This is also an opportunity to network and share ideas with colleagues, who represent some very unique technical programs. These include:
Our speakers this year feature representatives from industry, faculty from diverse community college technical programs as well as a research faculty from the University of Massachusetts. We are excited that Susan Adams, the Vice President of Engineering for Comcast New England, and Kimberly Smith, Certification Exam Developer for Nortel Networks’ Global Certification Program, will provide their respective industry views of the skills and knowledge needed by tomorrow’s technicians.
Dennis Vallaincourt, the Project Director at NCEHPCT, http://highperformancecomputing.org, and Tim Ryan, the Network Manager at the City College of San Francisco, http://www.ccsf.edu, will each present on the unique technical programs at their community colleges. Also, Professor David McLaughlin, an Armstrong Professor of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts and the Director of UMass’ Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory, http://www.ecs.umass.edu/ece/labs/mirsl/Faculty/mclaughlin.html, will present on wireless research.
Pete Saflund, Partner Consultant, NCTT will present "How to Participate in a Collaboration," which will cover many aspects of successful partnerships. He will discuss the criteria for selecting partners and the different roles of education and business partners and their responsibilities. Different levels of partnership and where to find support resources will also be part of the presentation.
President of Applied Skills & Knowledge (AS & K), Paul Squires, will present on "Creating a National Certification for Network Infrastructure and Network Device Technicians," based on the collaborative work of AS & K, GSX and NCTT. Joselito Lualhati, Director of Research & Development, Global Skills Xchange (GSX), will discuss "Developing Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Skills Standards." Both of these efforts are central to the success of NCTT's national focus for telecommunications education.
Our very popular, hands-on technical workshops will focus on how the traditional telecommunications technologies of networking, photonics and wireless integrate into the evolving systems that is driving and directing industry today.
Wireless Workshop
Professor Gary Mullett will cover the rapidly evolving technology in his Wireless workshop. He will be exploring both a general overview, as well as specific hands-on topics. Several wireless security tools will be discussed and used, as well as a discussion of how cellular telephone technology is morphing into the world of voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).Other topics to be covered are the many security standards and methods, the Quality of Service (QoS) as well as the future of wireless. Michael T. Qaissaunee, Department Chairman for Engineering and Technology, Brookdale Community College and NCTT Regional Partner faculty will be joining Gary in the presentation.
Photonics Workshop
Professor Jim Downing’s Mixed Signals: Sending and Receiving Multiple Protocols and Services over Fiber-Optic Based Networks will explore how the intelligence and complexity of fiber-optic based systems continues to grow. The efficient switching, multiplexing and configuration of multiple services across network structures and media are essential for true convergence. This workshop will focus on the latest developments that continue to add intelligence to previously physical-layer-only devices and protocols and that lead to multiple service provisioning and/or convergence of all bandwidths and services over a single channel.
Networking Workshop
Advanced Protocol Analysis
Professor Gordon Snyder will demonstrate the OSI model using actual network traffic, as well as cover major security issues. This workshop will involve coverage of layers 2-7 of the OSI model with a focus on Ethernet (Layer 2) and the TCP/IP (Layers 3-7) protocols. Protocol basics will be covered as they apply to the movement of data, video and voice across a converged network. Participants will be using protocol analyzers and Tablet PCs to observe traffic across the network we shall set up. Specific network security breaches will be discussed, using actual captured ‘snapshots’ of the network traffic.
In addition to the technical sessions, we are adding a grant writing component which will run concurrently with the technical workshops. This workshop component will provide participants with an overview of how non-profits, state agency staff and others can write fundable grant applications to federal, state and private agencies. Steve Budd, the Assistant Vice President, Grants and Development at Springfield Technical Community College, and Laura Qaissaunee, the Director of Grants and Institutional Development from Brookdale Community College will conduct this session.
Complete Agenda and Registration
Gordon F. Snyder, Jr.
The Massachusetts Telecommunications Council (MTC) recently selected our own Gordon Snyder as the recipient of the “Workforce Development Leader of the Year Award”, one of the MTC's most prestigious. The award recognizes the person who has demonstrated leadership in addressing workforce issues and initiatives. The award was presented at the MTC 8th Annual Awards Ceremony – Honoring Excellence, which was held March 31 at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge.
According to the MTC program, the organization presented Gordon Snyder the Workforce Development Leader award “recognizing his direction of the NCTT to consistently promote and develop a highly trained nationwide workforce in information and communications technologies.”
Snyder stated that the goal of NCTT, “is to create and disseminate a consistent, industry-driven curriculum throughout the country to train technicians and technologists in the information and communications technologies industry. As an example of our work, five textbook publications in photonics, wireless, and networking have been developed along with classroom content and labs.” NCTT is also working with the National Skills Standards Board to devise nationwide levels of skills and knowledge expected of entry-level technicians in this field.
NCTT is collaborating not just with other academic institutions but with numerous telecom and technology companies. Our shared goal is to produce a new model and infrastructure for telecommunications technology education replicated regionally and nationally. Program graduates are an empowered, technologically competent, customer-accountable workforce committed to the value of lifelong learning.
Carol J. Meier, Executive Director, MTC, noted that this is the second time that Springfield Technical Community College has taken home this prestigious award. STCC President Dr. Andrew M. Scibelli received the MTC’s Workforce Development Leader award in 1999.
According to MTC, the future of the telecommunications/networking industry in Massachusetts depends on a strong and renewing workforce that can address complex and constantly evolving technology in a variety of roles at growing companies. To address this important issue, the MTC promotes Massachusetts as a global center for telecommunications and networking. It provides a forum for leaders in the industry to explore key technical and business trends, and it conducts research on the industry. Through the MTC workforce initiative, the organization supports and promotes technology education and careers.
The cornerstone of the NCTT organization is the high-level of collaboration between all of the Regional Partners. Presenting at various conferences and professional development workshops around the country is key to maintaining the organization's commitment to excellence. Following is a list of outreach activities by NCTT and its partners to keep current with industry trends and to disseminate new ideas and best practices for the furthering of telecommunications education.
February 29 - March 3, 2004
League for Innovations - Innovations 2004
San Francisco, CA
Gordon, Executive Director of NCTT, presented on NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Resource Centers and Developing Effective Workforce Training. NSF ATE Center grants have enabled institutions to establish varied and effective workforce training models to meet the needs of business and industry in our service areas. Presenters discussed how their projects have helped them develop and implement these models. Representatives from other centers also contributed to the session.
Gordon, along with Debbie Bellucci, Dean, School of Continuing Education at Springfield Technical Community College, also gave a presentation entitled "Advancing Resources and Intellectual Property on Your Campus." In 2000, the STCC Foundation Press was established to provide mutually beneficial incentives and opportunities for STCC faculty and staff to create, copyright, and publish texts, lab manuals, and other educational materials. This presentation details the establishment of the Foundation Press along with publication of a five-textbook NCTT telecommunications series.
http://www.league.org/i2004/index.html
March 4 - 6, 2004
Gordon Snyder spoke with faculty and staff at the Information and Telecommunications Technology (IT2) Center, a major initiative within the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He also visited the UCSD Super Computing Center along with Mike Qaissaunee and Mohammed Shaneshaz, from Brookdale Community College, and Geoff Little from NCTT. This trip also provided the opportunity to meet with the Advisory Board of Regional Partner Institution Cuyamaca Community College.
May 14 - 15, 2004
Wireless Telecommunications Symposium 2004 (WTS 2004)
Kellogg West Conference Center -- Cal Poly Pomona, CA
WTS 2004 brought together industry professionals and academics from around the world to exchange information with government and industry leaders and experts on advances in mobile communications and wireless networking technology, applications, management, and security. Among the organizations which were represented are the Federal Communications Commission, Bell Laboratories, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, NTT DoCoMo, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gartner, IBM Research, Nokia, SBC Communications, Verizon Wireless, and Broadcom Corporation.
NCTT was represented at this event by Mike Qaissaunee and Mohammed Shaneshaz, from Brookdale Community College, and Geoff Little from NCTT.
http://hwang.cisdept.csupomona.edu/wtsi2004/
May 26, 2004
Recently Gary Mullet, Co-Principal Investigator of NCTT, gave a presentation at the Mid- Atlantic Institute for Telecommunications Technologies' (MAITT) Wireless and Security Workshop for college and university faculty.
June 6, 2004
Gordon Snyder, Co-Curriculum Leader of Telecommunications, Next Step, and Gary Mullett, Co-Curriculum Leader of Electricity/Electronics, Next Step, also spoke at the Verizon Next Step Faculty Institute in Marlborough, MA.
June 20 – 23, 2004
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Conference:
"Engineering Education Reaches New Heights,"
NCTT Regional Partners Ann Beheler and Wayne Jones from Collin County Community College District, Frisco, TX, will be presenting a paper entitled: “Using Case Studies to Teach Engineering Technology." The ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition is the place to see and discuss the latest technical advances, products, and services in engineering education. Located in Exhibit Hall E of the Salt Palace Convention Center, the exposition will feature more than 100 exhibiting companies.
http://www.asee.org/conferences/annual2004/default.cfm
June 20 – 24, 2004
SUPERCOMM Chicago
SUPERCOMM is the world's largest annual all-inclusive exhibition and conference for communication service providers and private network managers. At one time and in one place, SUPERCOMM encompasses every communication technology: Broadband, Enterprise Networks, Converged Wireless, and the entire Public Network Infrastructure. There are exhibitors from around the world and more than 145 free and paid education sessions presented by more than 500 global industry leaders. NCTT will be represented at SUPERCOMM by James Downing, Co-Principal Investigator of Photonics.
http://www.supercomm2004.com
July 24 - 27, 2004
Gordon Snyder will be giving several presentations in the near future. He will be in Santa Fe, New Mexico for the Council for Resource Development (CRD) Summer Symposium on Emerging Issues “Community Colleges as the Focus for Change: Meeting the Challenges of Technological and Marketplace Change”
http://www.crdnet.org/programs/summersym.html
August 1 - 4, 2004
Synergy 2004, “A Conference Workshop focused on Information Technology Education Reform,“ will be held at the Loew’s Vanderbilt Hotel, in Nashville Tennessee. As jobs are lost overseas we must be able to adapt to change and to train a workforce with skills that cannot be sent offshore, or done with a telephone call. Teaching methods must be reformed, to keep up with the changing job market demands.
NCTT team presentation will include Wayne Jones of Collin County, Mike Qaissaunee of MAITT, Tom Adams from Gateway Community College and Nina Laurie from NCTT.
http://www.synergy2004.org/index.htm
October 5 - 7, 2004
Gordon will also present at the FOCUS 2004 “Beyond Education and Training…Leading Economic Growth” at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The State of New Jersey, in association with Global Skills Exchange (GSX, who will speak at the NCTT Summer Workshop this year), is sponsoring FOCUS 2004. This second annual national conference is designed to educate and equip workforce development, education, and training decision makers and practitioners to successfully use industry skill standards and certifications in exciting, innovative, and value-added ways. Conference attendees will meet, learn from, and interact with national, state, and local experts and leaders in the application of skill standards and industry-based certifications. Interspersed among the general sessions and more than 70 workshops and presentations will be keynote addresses by noted business and government leaders.
http://www.focusonskills.info/
Oct. 13 – 15, 2004
Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Principal Investigator’s Conference, Washington DC
This is an annual event held by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) highlighting the work of the national ATE program. Attendees will represent community colleges, business and industry, secondary school systems, four-year colleges, and research and development centers covering projects in a wide variety of areas such as: information technology, engineering technology, natural resources management, chemical technology, biotechnology, and others.
http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Template.cfm?section=NewsandEvents
November 7- 10, 2004
Gordon will also be presenting at the League for Innovations Conference on IT on Emerging Technologies and Open-Source Curricula Design, in Tampa, Florida. Gary Mullett will be presenting at this conference as well. His subject will be “3G cellular and the IEEE 802.x Wireless Technologies”. Mike Qaissaunee of MAITT will be presenting with them.
http://www.league.org/2004cit/
June 14 - 16
Cuyamaca Community College will hold their workshop “The Summer Workshop in Telecommunications Technologies” at their campus in El Cajon, California. The aim is to bring together faculty teaching computer, networking, and telecommunications at high schools, colleges, and members of industry.
http://www.cuyamaca.edu/cis/programs/it2/workshops.asp
June 28 - July 1
Boston area Advanced Technological Educational Connections (BATEC) will be holding a workshop at the Middlesex Community College. Some of their offerings include Java and SQL programming, microcomputer applications and dynamic web development.
http://www.ccde.umb.edu/batec/courses/allcourses/mcc062804.html
July 19 - 23
Collin County Community College in Texas will host the IT Faculty Institute. Some of the workshops include Windows Server 2003, XML programming, the Linux Operating System, and Intermediate/Advanced Security.
http://conv1.ccccd.edu/index.shtml
July 19 – 21
The MAITT Center at Brookdale Community College will be hosting a Wireless and Security Workshop targeted at high school faculty members. The recent workshop for college faculty was a great success in May.
http://www.maitt.org/events.html
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 This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DUE 0302548. |
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