“Teaching” is one of the few professions in which an academic is involved in shaping the future of students and their society. Therefore, I take teaching with an immense responsibility. A great portion of my energy, time and efforts are invested in becoming a highly effective teacher. I seek constantly to learn novel teaching methods and techniques. I am always on the lookout on how new advances in technology and teaching tools (such as WebCT, blackboard, YouTube video clips, Computer-based training material, Wikipedia, etc.) can be utilized and exploited to enrich the learning experience of my students. This was recognized in 2006 as I received the Distinguished Teaching award.
The discipline of Computer Science and Engineering is rapidly evolving and
changing. A teacher in such a discipline can be at a grave risk of being easily
outdated. An outdated teacher does not add much to student’s learning experience
and earns little respect from faculty and students. In order to remediate such a
risk, it is important to be visible in such a discipline in terms of research
and contribution. Therefore, I make it a top priority to give seminars on hot
topics in computer security, networking, and operating systems. Recently, I have
given and scheduled to give invited talks and seminars on the emerging area of
"Cloud Computing". I seek to publish constantly in reputable journals and
conferences. Presently, I serve as an editorial board member of seven
prestigious international journals. It was a great achievement to find out that
one of my publications on IP telephony has been continuously making it for the
past four years in the top 25 hottest articles of one of a well-known journal in
computer communications.
I am very fortunate to be teaching topics in the field of Computer Science and
Engineering. I truly find myself enthusiastic and excited about the material
that I teach. It simply comes naturally to me because I love Computer Science
and truly believe that it is a field that has so much to offer the world. The
in-class learning experience is rewarding, yet enjoyable and fulfilling to me
and students.
I believe that my role as a teacher is not only disseminating knowledge but also
empowering the students with the necessary skills to be independent life-long
learners. Fundamentally, my role is to plant little seeds that will bring forth
high-caliber graduates who will rise up to challenges in their future careers.
Therefore, during my in-class lectures and presentations, I enrich my class with
analogy, story-telling, practical examples, and try hard to engage students to
participate and interact with me in order to develop skills of critical
thinking, problem solving, reasoning, and analysis. It is important for them to
understand and not memorize. They must be able to see relationships,
differences, implications, and applications of material. I always advocate to my
students that knowledge retention is accomplished by discussion, questioning,
paying attention, and good listening. Discussion will allow my students to
communicate better and use the language of discipline. I always emphasize to
them that the ability to verbalize an idea is a great skill to develop.
Homework, quizzes, exams, and projects are key educational and motivating tools.
They direct student's studying and provide necessary corrective feedback in
addition to building critical skills. So, I advocate to treat them as such
instead of a basis for providing grade. I tell my students that Thomas Edison
was once asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied by saying,
"I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,001 steps."
I find that my ongoing consultation with Saudi Telecom on issues related to
network security and design, as well as my past industrial experience in the
field of computer networking and software development is of a great added value
to students. The practical component is a very essential part of my teaching.
The vast majority of my students graduate and work in industry, so they are
anxious to know how it looks like working in hi-tech companies, particularly how
to apply key concepts and knowledge.
To be a highly effective teacher, it takes a lot more than having up-to-date
knowledge in the field or having strong presentation and communication skills. I
find psychology and understanding human behavior and how people learn are
essential components of being an effective teacher. I devote a great deal of my
free time to read on such topics. I find it very rewarding when employing these
techniques during my interactions with students and faculty. I believe that a
good teacher needs to boost the mood of his students, identify them by name, and
throw in little humor. Having a good sense of humor to set up a comfortable
atmosphere is enormously effective.
My students, peers and faculty describe me as committed, enthusiastic,
approachable, resourceful, organized, innovative and knowledgeable with a keen
attitude towards helping students. I believe that the role of a teacher is that
of a leader where you have to show the path, motivate, encourage, and lead by
example. My success lies in seeing my students succeed and I experience it when
I see my students move on to industry or graduate school. Eventually some of the
past students evolve into useful professional and industrial contacts who stay
in touch long after they have graduated.