We describe Shamir's secret sharing scheme and explain how it can be used for secure and redundant cryptocurrency storage. We include samples of individual and group assignments that can be used in an upper-division cryptology class for students who are familiar with modular arithmetic. It takes about one class to cover Shamir's secret sharing,…

Transparency is once again a central issue of debate across types of qualitative research. Work on how to conduct qualitative data analysis, on the other hand, walks us through the step-by-step process on how to code and understand the data we've collected. Although there are a few exceptions, less focus is on transparency regarding…

This article describes the author's experience designing and implementing an inquiry-based learning (IBL) pedagogical approach to an upper-division undergraduate cryptology course. The author shares the course goals and how the IBL style supports their achievement. The article concludes with sample activities -- in-class exercises that touch on…

The Miller-Rabin test is a useful probabilistic method for finding large primes. In this paper, we explain the method in detail and give three variations on this test. These variations were originally developed as student projects to supplement a course in error correcting codes and cryptography.

We present a concrete situation where there is a difference between the theoretical security of a cipher and its limitations when implemented in practice. Specifically, when entering a PIN, smudges on the keypad substantially reduce its security. We show how the number of possible keys in the presence of the "smudge attack" can be…

Cued Speech is a system that manually codes the phonemic patterns of spoken languages for visual accessibility. Since its inception, this system has transitioned from a support for speech reading to the current use of home language and literacy development. While controversial in some sectors within the field of Deaf education and the Deaf…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can foster education but can also be misused to breach academic integrity. Large language models like ChatGPT are able to generate solutions for individual assessments that are expected to be completed independently. There are a number of automated detectors for AI assisted work. However, most of them are not dedicated…

This short paper presents an educational approach to teaching three popular methods for encoding DNA sequences: one-hot encoding, binary encoding, and integer encoding. Aimed at bioinformatics and computational biology students, our learning intervention focuses on developing practical skills in implementing these essential techniques for…

In this paper I suggest a pragmatic model for the notion of 'information' used in molecular biology in the description of protein synthesis. Discarding any ontological commitments of the term 'information', I propose a view of information based on an analogy with communication. This view could at least supplement the existing information-metaphor…

We present a detailed description of a Cryptography and Computer Security course that has been offered at Knox College for the last 15 years. While the course is roughly divided into two sections, Cryptology and Computer Security, our emphasis here is on the Cryptology section. The course puts the cryptologic material into its historical context…

Cooperative Extension professionals utilize proven qualitative techniques to collect and analyze information to make data-driven decisions that guide program direction and determine impact. While the process may not always look the same, it is indeed essential to ensure findings are credible and reflective of the data. A codebook is a valuable…

Educational assessment is inherently uncertain, where physiological, psychological and social factors play an important role in establishing judgements which are assumed to be "absolute". AI and other algorithmic approaches to grading of student work strip-out uncertainty, leading to a lack of inspectability in machine judgement and…

Post-secondary institutions are required to complete a variety of quality assurance activities including external program review, a process of inviting external reviewers from outside the institution to provide constructive feedback on all aspects of an academic program. While external program reviews have been completed for decades, there has…

Human-driven carbon emissions have resulted in increased levels of dissolved carbon dioxide in the Earth's oceans. This dissolved carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid, which impacts ocean acidity as well as the solubility of carbonate-containing compounds, with far-reaching impacts on marine ecosystems and the human communities…

Despite the elevated importance of Data Science in Statistics, there exists limited research investigating how students learn the computing concepts and skills necessary for carrying out data science tasks. Computer Science educators have investigated how students debug their own code and how students reason through foreign code. While these…