Mobile Computing and Wireless Communications
Instructor Corner
Welcome to the instructor corner for mobile computing and wireless communications. This corner is intended for the instructors who are teaching, or planning to teach, courses in m-business, mobile computing, and wireless communications. The purpose is to share the following:
·
My Own
Experience and Sample Course Outlines. This reflects
my experience of developing and teaching university and
industrial courses in this area for 5+ years. The “Mobile Computing and
Wireless Communications” book was basically developed as a result of this
experience.
· Sample Projects. General discussion of projects that can be and have been used in such courses.
· Download of My Lecture Slides, Text Chapters, and Actual Projects . This gives you access to “classroom tested” lecture slides (Powerpoint), review copy of the book (all chapters in pdf format), and actual projects. You will need an instructor ID and PW for downloads.
This corner is always under construction. Additional materials will be posted as they become available.
For feedback, comments and additional details, please Contact us .
Teaching Experience and
Course Outlines
I have taught different university and industrial courses in this area for the past 5+ years. These courses were intended to provide a broad understanding of the subject matter that exposed the students to business as well as technical aspects of wireless communications. The university courses have been attended by CS/IT/EE students, many of them practitioners in the IT industry. The industry courses were attended by IT managers, network planners, and ,arketing execs. The current book format has been largely influenced by the feedback received from the attendees over the years.
The following two course descriptions outline the two main courses (course1 is intended for MBA students with IS/IT majors and course 2 is for slightly more technical orientation):
§
COURSE 1: M-Business:
Strategies, Technologies, and Architectures
§
COURSE 2:
The courses taught in the industry, variations of these two, were mostly delivered as a three day intensive training seminar. Course 1 can be further “watered down” for non-IS/IT majors by further reducing the technical content and expanding the business and management issues by using some materials from Kalakota and Evans. Course2 can also be easily modified for a more technical audience by adding one or two sessions on physical wireless communications and by reducing/eliminating the management and support topics. There is enough material in this book to “please everyone”(one hopes but one never knowsJ).
Suggested Course Description
This course presents the business aspects of mobile computing and wireless communications and introduces the audience to the necessary concepts, vocabulary, and technologies. To develop a solid perspective, this course covers the major building blocks (M-business, mobile applications, mobile computing platforms, wireless networks, architectures, security, and management) instead of one narrow topic. The course starts with a discussion of m-business and m-government initiatives and examines the needed strategies, technologies and architectures. It covers mobile computing applications such as mobile messaging, m-commerce, M-CRM, M-portals, M-SCM, mobile agents, and sensor applications. The role of wireless Internet and Mobile IP is reviewed and the mobile computing platforms are examined with a discussion of wireless middleware, wireless gateways, mobile application servers, WAP, i-mode, and other relevant technologies. The wireless networks are discussed next with a review of wireless communication principles, wireless LANs with emphasis on 802.11 LANs, Bluetooth, wireless sensor networks, UWB (Ultra Wideband), cellular networks ranging from 1G to 5G, wireless local loops, and satellite communications. The course concludes with a review of the architectural, security, and management/support issues. Managing wireless initiatives in modern settings is emphasized. Numerous case studies are discussed.
Prerequisite: Basic course in IS/IT principles.
Main Text:
Umar, A., "
Support text: Kalakota, R. and Robinson, M. M-Business: The Race to Mobility. McGraw Hill, 2002
Course Grade:
§ Two projects (200 Points)
§ One Examination - in class, open book, open notes (100 Points)
§ Total: 300 points
Course Outline
Note: Each session represents a 3 hour lecture/discussion session.
|
Session |
Major Topic |
Required |
Comments and
Additional Details |
|
1 |
Introduction and the Big Picture |
(Ch.1) Sections 1.1 through 1.8) |
Establish framework for discussion and explain the main building blocks. |
|
2 |
Mobile business, regulations, standards, and applications |
( Sections 1.9-1.11) ( |
Discuss the wireless business, regulations, management and market issues. Introduce mobile applications briefly Discuss case studies in section 1.11 |
|
3 |
Mobile Computing Applications to Support M-Business and M-Government |
(
|
Highlight the main applications (wireless messaging, M-Commerce, M-CRM, M-Portals, sensor applications, location-based services,). Skip mobile agent applications. Discuss case studies in section 2.10 |
|
4 |
Wireless Internet, |
(Ch.3) Skip sections 3.4 and 3..6 |
Concentrate on key ideas May ask the students to review (U -Appendix A) for basic Networking Concepts, if needed. Discuss case studies in section 3.8 |
|
5 |
Mobile Computing Platforms, Wireless Middleware, WAP, i-mode, VoiceXML |
(Ch.4) Skip technical discussions in sections 4.5, 4.6, 4.7. |
Examine the principles of the platforms with a practical analysis of the various platforms and wireless middleware services. Discuss case studies in Section 4.8 |
|
6 |
Wireless Communication Fundamentals |
( Cover sections 5.1 through 5.4. Only cover first subsections of Section 5.5 through 5.10. |
Quick overview of principles of wireless communications with a review of frequency allocations, location management, transmission impairments, error detection and correction, and multiple access strategies (CDMA versus TDMA). Discuss case studies in Section 5.11 |
|
7 |
Wireless LANs and WPANs |
( ( |
Principles of wireless LANs, key characteristics of IEEE 802.11 LANs, Wi-Fi LANs, and Mobile Ad Hoc Networks. Discuss case studies in Section 6.6 Principles of wireless personal area networks with emphasis on Bluetooth. The concepts of UWB and wireless sensor networks are briefly reviewed. Discuss case studies in Section 7.7. |
|
8 |
Midterm exam or project (student presentations) |
|
Student project may be building a WAP application, survey and analysis of mobile computing applications and platforms (depending on background). |
|
9 |
Cellular Networks |
( |
Principles of cellular networks ranging from 1G to 5G with emphasis on 2G, 2.5G, and 3G Discuss case studies in Section 8.11 |
|
10 |
Fixed Wireless Networks, Wireless Local Loops (WLLs), Satellite Communications |
( |
Principles of WLLs, LMDS/MMDS, and their role in the last mile. A discussion of satellites and GEOs/MEOs/LEOs with a brief review of deep space communications. Discuss case studies in Section 9.6 |
|
11 |
Wireless Architectures |
( Skip technical discussions |
Review of how the different components of a wireless system (networks, platforms, and applications can be packaged together to build integrated architectures. |
|
12 |
Wireless Security |
( Skip technical discussions |
Principles of security, special issues in wireless security, and approaches to secure a complete wireless system from networks to applications. |
|
13 |
Wireless Management and Support |
( |
Planning, organization, staffing, deployment and support issues in wireless systems. |
|
14 |
Wireless Management and Support |
( |
Special discussion of management platforms for wireless systems and organizational issues. |
|
15 |
Final exam or project (student presentations) |
|
The students may make presentations on topics of their choice or may give demos of small prototypes they build. |
§ Each session starts with a discussion of case studies from the previous session. For example, at the end of session 1, the students are asked to read the case studies at the end of chapter 1. At the start of session 2, the students are asked to discuss the case studies at the end of chapter 1. This provides a good “ice breaker”.
§ The students do survey and analysis projects that analyze various standards, regulations, industries, and new developments.
___________________________________________
COURSE 2:
Suggested Course Description
This course presents a broad overview of the technical as well as business aspects of mobile computing and wireless communications. Instead of one narrow topic, this course covers the major building blocks (mobile applications, mobile computing platforms, wireless networks, architectures, security, and management) of mobile computing and wireless communications. The course starts with a discussion of m-business and m-government initiatives and examines mobile computing applications such as mobile messaging, m-commerce, M-CRM, M-portals, M-SCM, mobile agents, and sensor applications. The role of wireless Internet and Mobile IP is reviewed and the mobile computing platforms are examined with a discussion of wireless middleware, wireless gateways, mobile application servers, WAP, i-mode, J2ME, BREW, Mobile Internet Toolkit, and Mobile Web Services. The wireless networks are discussed next with a review of wireless communication principles, wireless LANs with emphasis on 802.11 LANs, Bluetooth, wireless sensor networks, UWB (Ultra Wideband), cellular networks ranging from 1G to 5G, wireless local loops, FSO (Free Space Optics), satellites communications, and deep space networks. The course concludes with a review of the architectural, security, and management/support issues and their role in building, deploying and managing wireless systems in modern settings.
Prerequisite: Basic course in Computing Networks or Data Communications and a basic course on IS/IT principles.
Main Text:
Umar, A., "
Course Grade:
§ Two projects (200 Points)
§ One Examination - in class, open book, open notes (100 Points)
§ Total: 300 points
Course Outline
Note: Each session represents a 3 hour lecture/discussion session.
|
Session |
Topic |
Required |
Comments and
Additional Details |
|
1 |
Introduction and the Big Picture |
(Ch.1) |
Establish framework for discussion and explain the main building blocks |
|
2 |
Mobile Computing Applications to Support M-Business and M-Government |
( |
Highlight the main applications (wireless messaging, M-Commerce, M-CRM, M-Portals, sensor applications, location-based services, and mobile agent applications). |
|
3 |
Wireless Internet, |
(Ch.3). |
May ask the students to review (U -Appendix A) for basic Networking Concepts, if needed. |
|
4 |
Mobile Computing Platforms, Wireless Middleware, WAP, i-mode, VoiceXML |
(Ch.4) |
Examine the principles of the platforms with a practical analysis of the various platforms and wireless middleware services. |
|
5 |
Wireless Communication Fundamentals |
( |
Principles of wireless communications with a review of frequency allocations, location management, transmission impairments, error detection and correction, and multiple access strategies (CDMA versus TDMA) |
|
6 |
Wireless LANs and IEEE 802.11 LANs |
( |
Principles of wireless LANs, key characteristics of IEEE 802.11 LANs, Wi-Fi LANs, and Mobile Ad Hoc Networks |
|
7 |
Midterm exam or project (student presentations) |
|
Student project may be building a WAP application, survey and analysis of mobile computing applications and platforms (depending on background). |
|
8 |
WPANs, Bluetooth, UWB, Sensor Networks |
( |
Principles of wireless personal area networks with emphasis on Bluetooth. The concepts of UWB and wireless sensor networks are briefly reviewed. |
|
9 |
Cellular Networks |
( |
Principles of cellular networks ranging from 1G to 5G with emphasis on 2G, 2.5G, and 3G. Design of cellular networks is briefly reviewed. |
|
10 |
Fixed Wireless Networks, Wireless Local Loops (WLLs), Satellite Communications |
( |
Principles of WLLs, LMDS/MMDS, and their role in the last mile. A discussion of satellites and GEOs/MEOs/LEOs with a brief review of deep space communications. |
|
11 |
Special Topics in Wireless Networks: Adhoc Networks, FSO, Flash OFDM, sensor networks |
(Ch.10): |
This session may be conducted by students reporting on details of emerging wireless networks and their strengths/weaknesses |
|
12 |
Wireless Architectures and Traffic Engineering |
( |
Review of how the different components of a wireless system (networks, platforms, and applications can be packaged together to build integrated architectures. |
|
13 |
Wireless Security |
( |
Principles of security, special issues in wireless security, and approaches to secure a complete wireless system from networks to applications. |
|
14 |
Wireless Management and Support |
( |
Planning, organization, staffing, deployment and support issues in wireless systems. Special discussion of management platforms for wireless systems. |
|
15 |
Final exam or project (student presentations) |
|
The students may make presentations on topics of their choice or may give demos of small prototypes they build. . |
This outline can be modified as following (visit the instructor corner for this book on the website www.amjadumar.com for instructor materials, sample projects and more details):
§ A technology focused course intended for students in EE and CS departments by compressing session 1 and 2 into one session, expanding session 5 into 2 sessions, and eliminating session 14.
§ A business focused course for students in IS/IT programs in the business schools by expanding first 2 sessions into 3 sessions, compressing network sessions (5 to 11) into four sessions, and expanding session 14 into two sessions.
Projects are crucial to the learning experience. In the mobile computing and wireless courses I have taught, I have generally used two to three team projects (teams of 2-3 members) that include a mixture of research, hands-on experiments, and architectural analysis. Here is a sample list. You can pick any two or combine some of these to build larger team projects )
§ Pick a mobile computing platform, install it and do a demo of how it really works and how it can be used. Many students have used Nokia’s WAP simulator but Microsoft’s Mobile Internet Toolkit and Sun’s J2ME are definite possibilities.
§ Build a wireless solution for a sample company. The students can chose a company that they are familiar with or the instructor can suggest one.
§ Conduct a design evaluation of an actual or fictitious wireless solution, Many students have chosen parts of their organization or parts of university network, firewalls, etc.
§ Research of special topics such as emerging wireless network technologies, standards, regulations, security, architecture, and management platforms. The main idea is to have students go beyond the classroom discussion and investigate the latest research and industrial developments. Students are asked to develop a proposal early in the term and make presentations on these topics and/or write a report.
§ Programming assignments are especially useful pedagogical tools for students with adequate technical background. This is especially useful for the courses in computer science departments. Students vcan, for example, build 802.11 or Bluetooth applications. In addition, many development packages (e.g., Microsoft’s Visual Studio) at present provide APIs that can be used to gain insights into location-based services and other mobility issues. Students can, for example, build simple LBS applications. .
§
§ For samples of actual projects that have been used in courses, go to Downlasod of Lecture slides, Text Chapters, and Actual Projects
Downloads of Lecture Slides and Text Chapters
When you click on the links below, you will get a zipped file in return with lecture slides and text chapters of the book. You will need ID and PW to access these slides.
If you are an instructor and want a free review copy of the material, please Contact us with university/college name, possible course title, etc. We will send you the passwords and IDs for the slides plus the text chapters.
Lecture Slides (ppt files in a zipped file)
All Text
Chapters (pdf files of all chapters of “
Appendices (pdf files in a zipped file, 1 Meg)
Actual Projects (pdf files in a zipped file, 1 Meg)
Summary of Discussion on ISWORLD
I sent out an email to the ISWORLD community
in July 2004 about “A Course on Mobile Computing and Wireless Communications”. In this email, I outlined my experience in
teaching a course in this area that covers the business as well as technical
issues. I noted that most courses in this area are being taught in the EE
departments and the difficulty in finding good text materials for this course
that cover a good mixture of business and technical issues. I asked for text materials, course outlines,
references, suggestions, comments, etc and volunteered review of my course materials
and the text.
The response to this email has been quite good (over 25 responses so far, more are still dribbling in). I posted the summary of responses on ISWORLD
For summary of responses and my email
that triggered the responses, click here.
Here are some sample course outlines I have received (I have a few more, but they resemble one of the following):
§ Michigan State University Course (“Wireless Networks and Applications”) offered by Dr. Dan J. Kim.
§
§
§
Universität zu Köln (
Please send me your outlines for posting (especially the ones that present different views). I will post more (the ones I have already accumulated) as soon as I have time to breathe, promiseJ