Hi everyone, I teach Sysadmin and managing databases to 16-18 year olds. I try to keep myself up to date on what is happening in these spaces, but I often feel like my knowledge (I'm very familiar with the internet knowledge rabbit hole) is hampering my ability to simplify complicated systems for the younger generation who grew up being always online.
My own experience is with books like 'Computer Networking: A top down approach', ''Network Know-How', 'The TCP/IP Guide: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Internet Protocols Reference'. These are great repositories of knowledge that go in depth on the topics, but are not suitable for students of a my age bracket.
Currently I'm guiding my students through the OSI reference model and focussing on network communication protocols. Are there even decent textbooks on the matter for this age category?
My ASK HN: Any advice on finding modern resources that keep everything that can serve as an introduction to networking? My preference would be books, blogs, magazines, YouTube or other video format, podcasts, ...
I don't mind making my own syllabus and course with proper bibliography, but a decent starting point would help. This will be my big summer holiday project.
The CompTIA Network+ book 8th edition (2022). These books aren't just for preparing for the CompTIA exams (that's a side benefit if you decide you want to get a cert later) but really are great to read on their own and learn everything you didn't know you needed while being curated. Good for those students who don't have a CS degree like you explained why the other books aren't suitable. Your local public library will usually have one on the shelf, check it out! Select the chapters you want to teach and skip the others. If you want something even more introductory, you can look at the CompTIA A+ book 11th edition (2023), skip the IT specific and focus on just Chapters 18-21 (Chapter 18 Essentials of Networking, Ch 19 Local Area Networking, Ch 20 Wireless Networking, Ch 21 The Internet) as reference for something even more basic but still well structured. This book is especially tailored for those just starting out and more than suitable for a highschool audience.