Online Education in Computer and Digital Forensics: A Case Study

Computer forensics is a relatively new, but growing, field of study at the undergraduate college and university level. This paper describes some of the course design aspects of teaching computer forensics in an online environment. The learning theories and pedagogies that provide the guiding principles for course design are presented, along with specific issues related to adult education. The paper then presents a detailed description of the design of an introductory computer forensics course, with particular attention to the issue of hands-on assignments in the online environment. Finally, a small study about the efficacy of the online courses is presented