On the enhancement of teaching method for information security course

Abstract

There is a common consensus that information security courses at undergraduate level should teach principles of the field in a theoretical fashion. It is perceived that most of the information taught using this method are either outdated with respect to current developments in security technology or lost after graduation as theoretical information easily slips from the students' minds after the final exams. This is because this information is not tied to practical experience. Although some courses tried to provide a remedy to this obstacle by including lab sessions, they are considered not to be enough as they offer only exercises. The course outcomes will be highly beneficial to the students combined with hands on experience, implementing theories and exercises on a real life project. This paper focuses on enhancing the teaching method of information security course with an aim of acquiring better understanding and comprehension by the students to make it more beneficial in their future real life careers. The implementation of this enhancement shows an improvement in a students' marks average in comparison with students who took the course without applying for the proposed improvement.