Matt Shibla is a network administrator for the Maryland Virtual High School and spends a significant amount of time training students and teachers in system administration issues. He curently resides in Silver Spring, MD.

Schools normally don't look a gift horse in the mouth. With the presidential technology education initiative and a host of other programs like it, many schools have seen a recent influx of computers and computer equipment. The problem is that many schools lack the resources (both financial and personnel) to integrate and maintain this new equipment effectively. The Maryland Virtual High School (MVHS) and its subsidiary, the Student Network Administration Project (SNAP), use students to meet this need.

For years, MVHS has provided its member schools with computer equipment and Internet connectivity. We've also shown our members how effective and valuable student sysadmins can be. In most of our schools, the students become the primary resource for computer technology maintenance. In almost all cases, the students are the primary sysadmins for our Linux Internet servers.

With an eye toward improving the overall quality of these students' experiences and toward sharing our knowledge with other schools, SNAP has begun to develop a two-part curriculum for use in secondary education. The first semester is an introductory course in computer networking. The second course introduces UNIX system administration, with some time

spent using UNIX as a platform for network management. Recognizing that many schools don't have the teacher resources to offer such advanced technology education, SNAP is also developing teacher training resources to assist new instructors of this curriculum.

Taking an early interest in the MVHS and SNAP initiatives, SAGE and USENIX invited me to submit a grant proposal. Following a face-to-face meeting during LISA '97, the USENIX Board of Directors voted to fund 50% of the SNAP proposal over the course of the next three years. This funding would permit MVHS to develop, test, revise, and publish the SNAP curricula and training materials.

It is our hope that schools around the nation and in other parts of the world will benefit from these materials and the documentation of our efforts. To accomplish our goals, we are using a three-stage model of development. The materials are first developed by SNAP. They are written to a draft phase and then tested in the classroom by the SNAP coordinator. Next, the materials are disseminated to supporting teachers who have many years of experience in computer science and secondary school instruction. These teachers further test the materials and make recommendations for improvements. The third phase involves a larger dissemination to participating teachers. These teachers also test the materials and provide feedback for their improvement. The materials will then be published along with a record of the trials and the improvements made as a result.

Development for the Networking I curriculum began in the summer of 1997. The first trial of that curriculum took place at Montgomery Blair High School in Montgomery County, MD during the fall semester of the 1997-1998 academic year. Two further trials of the Networking I curriculum are under way during the second semester of the '97-'98 school year, one at Northern High School in Garrett County, MD, and another at James M. Bennett High School in Wicomico County, MD. We are in the process of revising the curriculum based on these early trials and of preparing the classroom notes and materials for electronic dissemination. We expect to expand the curriculum review process with trials at new locations during the 1998-1999 academic year. Work has begun on developing the teacher training materials for Networking I and a first version is expected by the end of the 1997-1998 academic year. We expect trials of the Networking II/Systems Administration curriculum to begin in the second semester of the 1998-1999 academic year, with additional trials to follow.

SNAP has a way to go before it is completed, but the initial efforts are promising. The first course is a significant step in helping students build their interest, knowledge, and skills in an advanced area of computer science. These students then have the ability to help their schools and communities meet the growing need for technical assistance with computer systems. Helping others to troubleshoot problems gives SNAP students an opportunity to enhance their understanding of technical issues through hands-on experience in a real-world environment.

You can find out more about the Maryland Virtual High School at <http://mvhs1.mbhs.edu/mvhs.html>. You can find out more about the Student Network Administration Project at <http://mvhs1.mbhs.edu/snap/index.html>.