Colorado Tech Online Faculty
Meet Cheryl Garvin
School of Information Technology
Teaches BSIT Security courses
Active Instructing
Many of the students in Instructor Cheryl Garvin's Information Technology—Security classes have IT industry experience. And then some students have no experience whatsoever. Either way, Instructor Garvin likes the challenge.
"My approach is to bring each class along like the students know nothing. At the same time though, I know there are students in my classes who already work in the industry and have experience. Since these students are paying just as much to learn as the non-experienced students, I want them to learn something too. It's a balancing act."
A former online student herself—she earned her Master of Applied Computer Science degree in Information Assurance online— Garvin says an online education is the best place for students of different experience levels to learn together.
"In a traditional classroom, instructors can only move as fast as the slowest student. In order to not hold the class back, slower students might pretend they understand concepts they don't yet grasp. In online learning however, slower students can take all the time they need to fully understand something without worrying about holding other students back. Online learning offers the ability to go back and listen to recorded lectures and archived chats and discussions as many times as needed. Online students— both slower and faster learners—all get to move at their own pace."
Garvin has taught most of the classes within Colorado Tech Online's BSIT with a concentration in Security degree program, but most often teaches Information Security Systems, a class that examines all the different aspects of systems security. "By the time students are finished with this class, they have a very well-rounded idea of what security is."
Today, IT and computer science-related degree programs are offered through online and traditional colleges and universities across the country. That wasn't the case when Instructor Garvin was getting into the field 20-some years ago.
"I started in tech support and had to learn everything by the seat of my pants. There just weren't any schools. The field was in its infancy and there wasn't anyone around who could teach it. Students today have it very different."
Even though she had to initially learn everything "by the seat of [her] pants," Garvin says she wouldn't trade that experience. "It was all so exciting back then. I was involved with something that was brand new and hadn't ever been done before. I developed things and learned things on my own. It was rewarding."
Although networking and security are now well-developed, Garvin says she still finds them interesting and challenging. When not teaching at Colorado Tech Online, she works full-time in the computer department of a traditional university. Currently she spends most of her time on the technical side, doing application support and, not surprisingly given what she teaches at Colorado Tech Online, security (such as privilege management for applications and server security).
Since she has been involved in the IT field for so long, Garvin has more real-world experience to bring into her Colorado Tech Online classroom than just that from her present position. Over the years, Garvin has worked as a system administrator, technical writer, web page producer and manager, and computer staff trainer, among other IT positions.
"I bring all my real-world experience into the classroom. I find that it, almost more than anything, helps bridge the gap between students of different backgrounds. For those students who aren't yet working in the field, they get all of these real-world examples. Students who do already work in the field can share their own experiences and get feedback from classmates as well as myself. It is really important to apply what you are learning; sharing, and hearing, personal experiences is one of the best ways to do this."
"I don't like lecturing at students. I prefer 'active teaching' where the students are able to actually involve themselves in the class. It makes for a better experience for everyone, myself included."
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