Introduction to human-centric computing 

Disruptive teechnologies are those that fundamentally change the way we live, work, play or relax. Some examples of disruptive technologies:

• Streaming media services (Spotify, Netflix and so on) replacing physical media sales

• Uber services changing the way we order and use transportation, deliveries and just about everything else

• Game consoles as a service - Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud services, the PlayStation Network and PS+ changing how we game

• Zoom and similar collaborative services for remote working fundamentally changing the need for most people to be in office five days a week.

Let's discuss disrputive technologies in more detail!

Below is the table of disruptive technologies, sourced from https://imperialtechforesight.com/visions/table-of-disruptive-technologies-2/ (right click and open to new tab)

What this shows is a speculative look as technologies that have (it was published in 2018), are, will, and may change the way humanity works. It forms the basis of the slide deck and worksheet.

Graph and Network Theory

This sounds like a Maths lesson. It is. It also shows how computers can be connected to each other in a more effective network structure, as well as how our social networks connect us all together. 

Remember the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"? It's a game where any actor can be linked to actor Kevin Bacon in no more than six people. Read more here. It's an example of a real world network...

Watch these videos and keep some notes:

IoT (Internet of Things) and IoMe (Internet of Me)

If you counted all the internet capable devices you have in your home, including smart phones, tables, consoles, TVs, computers, printers, refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, assistants, lights, speakers who knows what other devices, there are probably a lot. Almost certainly more than people living in the home and probably way beyond that. (This web admin stopped counting at 50 - but acknowledges that he is a bit of a nerd). All these devices form the Internet of Things. The data that they provide is part of the Internet of My and I can control my virtual world through apps and commands.

The slide deck below discusses the basic concepts of IoT with its partner worksheet. The slide deck is for students in class to dicsuss their understanding of IoT and IoMe, which will then be discussed as a group. The second part of the slide deck is a summary. The worksheet comprises homework and is designed to deepen understanding of the concepts.

But, in the finest traditions of education, nothing stays simple for long! Next up is a look at a few IoT case studies to put our knowledge into a practical scenario.

And, as is the case with all things internet-based, we need to consider how these devices and data can be kept secure.

The worksheet is a scenario based on a Smart Home System data breach. You may think it's not a big deal. Read on and answer some questions for more details!

Read Cisco Systems' top 10 Cyber tips here. How many are new to you? How many are well ingrained in your every day security habits? Visit their trust centre here.

A quick note on Cisco Systems, if you've not heard of them. Cisco makes entworking hardware. Along wtih HP, they make the majority of the world's internet infrstructure. Servers, switches, gateways, routers and so on. They are a big, important company, so when they publish a list of best practice on the internet, you should pay attention!

Now let's expand beyond the home to IoT in the workplace. It is more accurately described as Workflow and a lot of time, effort and resources are poured into workflow systems to make them as efficient and secure as possible. Let's consider workflow in a class, then expand that to look at workflow in a business with remote working.

Networking hardware and traffic filtering

It's important to take a break from IoT and IoMe for a few moments and think about the hardware that is used to make all this stuff possible. As mentioned above, companies like HP and Cisco Systems make the world's networking hardware and make all this possible. Let's get out head around the different hardware comeponents required to make efficient networks.

The wroksheet below has the first example completed for you to give an indication of what level of detail is expected.

Traffic filtering is an important part of network efficiency and security. The slide deck and worksheets will guide you  though an overview of these.

IoT and SCADA

What is SCADA I hear you say? It stands for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition . It's a standard that allows different IoT devices to share data easily. The slide deck has more infomration for your learning pleasure. In conjunction with the worksheet, you will get a solid overview of IoT and SCADA and how each enables the other.

Keet your eyes open for communication protocols in SCADA systems. They allow for easy communication in IoT systems. It also explains why things like Google Home systems (and Amazon systems, Apple systems and so on) are so effective and easy to use. No it isn't bcause of Apple's assertion that it's "magical"!

Now consider the use of Machine Learning in IoT. This enables IoT systems to learn and become more efficient. Machine Learning should not be confused with AI, although AI has helped ML along a lot in the last year or so.

The worksheet has a number of sections and scenarios that challenge you to look more deeply at the implcations of ML in IoT systems. To be clear, these implications are not always negative - issues are not negative, they are points that designers should address to improve systems to make them more efficient, more secure or more user friendly. You can argue that IoT devices and networks take jobs away from people, it's called the changing nature of work, and that can be a fair argument. But here's the counter-argument: IoT and IoMe provide opportunities for deeper and more satisfying work.

Final point: When you think of implications or issues related to any new technology, look for the good "issues" or implications in the tech, not just the negative.

Network design

 Network design is in important part of all computing. It's very rare that you see a computer that stans away from the internet nad has no interaction with any other devices. If you do come across these computers, they will be for specific purposes and be highly specialised. So we need to be able to create neworks. The slice deck below gives a hand's on guide to creating a network using basic hardware and processes. It may be the equivalent of WordPad compared to Word in terms of complexity, but the theory is the same.

Recent data breaches:

The following website: https://www.webberinsurance.com.au/data-breaches-list lists recent data breaches. It is important to understand the nature of these breaches, the data stolen and the implications on individuals and society. The first worksheet, "Recent data breaches in Australia" has you looking at a number of breaches adn implications of these.

The second has you looking at a theoretical home network, and what you can do to secure it.

This worksheet is a design scenario with a bunch of tasks you rae required to fulfill. The left worksheet is your task. You are to choose (or be assigned) one of the scenarios from the right-hand sheet. (Note to teachers: This design task can be easily adapter into a network-based assignment task).