Network Security In An Insecure Age

Workshops Designed for the Deaf.


A computer networking workshop will be held exclusively for deaf and hard-of-hearing professionals November 12-16 at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) on the Rochester Institute of Technology’s (RIT) Rochester, N.Y., campus.

"Network Inspection, Maintenance, and Troubleshooting" will cover such topics as network topologies, OSI, TCP/IP, proxy servers, security and troubleshooting.

Designed for and offered only to deaf and hard-of-hearing professionals, this workshop is one of six scheduled this year as part of the Deaf Initiative in Information Technology (DIIT) project, funded by the National Science Foundation.

All the instructors are fluent in sign language, allowing for direct communication between the instructor and all participants, unlike similar workshops where deaf and hard-of-hearing participants often feel isolated and may be reluctant to fully participate in the training.

"Having the perspective of other deaf adults while learning new software and technology was very beneficial," Patrick Murray, product tester for IBM, said about a previous workshop. "Participants shared their experiences from the work world and built a solid network of people who could support each other in the future."

Other DIIT workshops will be offered in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Rochester, N.Y., between the end of November and August 2002. Workshop topics include PC hardware maintenance and repair, wireless networks and mobile communications, fiber-optic cabling, object-oriented programming using Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 and introduction to Microsoft Access database.

All workshops are given by NTID's Applied Computer Technology Department faculty. For more information about the workshops, visit the DIIT homepage at www.rit.edu/DIIT, or for inquiries, send an e-mail to diit@rit.edu.

The first and largest technical college in the world for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, NTID offers educational programs, access, and support services to the 1,100 deaf and hard-of-hearing students on the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Rochester, N.Y., campus. Visit the NTID homepage at http://www.rit.edu/NTID.

For more NTID news go to http://www.rit.edu/NTID/newsroom.