Smart things Shield with Arduino Due

I want to build a Proof of Concept (PoC) on a cheap controllable alarm system.

I am using an SmartThings Sheild (https://shop.smartthings.com/#!/products/smartthings-shield-arduino) and a Arduino Due (http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardDue)

I am very new to Arduino so this might not be a project that gets accomplished fast.

I did figure out how to connect the shield to the board.

Smart Things provides some libraries.

https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-us/articles/200901320-SmartThings-Arduino-ThingShield

Here is another good Community form post

http://community.smartthings.com/t/arduino-and-smartthing-shield/1977/10

Here is another post:

http://community.smartthings.com/t/unofficial-smartthings-arduino-documentation-collection/907

I am going to try to get the shield to work with the arduino. Once I do that I'll make another post about the settings, process, and what had to be done to get it working.

That is all for now. 

SANS MGT 305 Class

ISE 5000 

.5 Credit Hours

Time limit:  45 days (10/7/2014 - 11/21/2014) (I got extra because my books and access to longer)

Final Grade: C

To sign up for a class, SANS students go to a special link that list the classes based on the program you select. You pay for the class and then you receive an email stating that everything is paid for.

So for ISE 5000 (MGT305) there are two options:

• In person
• Online (self study)

I took self study. With self study you get:

• Book
• Audio files

They recommend that you buy these two books:

• The Classic Guide to Better Writing: Step-by-Step Techniques and Exercises to Write Simply, Clearly and Correctly (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062730487/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
• Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0395393914/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

The class has three assignments:

• Read over a Gold Paper Excerpt.
• Write an annotated Bibliography
• Perform a 5 minute video on the Bibliography

I am going to break down each assignment and what I like and didn't.

Read over a Gold Paper Excerpt.

The Gold Paper Excerpt was from about 5 years ago but it was still semi relevant.

I didn't like this assignment. You read someone else's paper and make "adjustments". There is no telling how many adjustments you need to make. So you could over/under edit the paper. For me I wanted to rewrite the whole thing but knew that was not the assignment. You did get another chance to redo the assignment if you did not get a passing grade of 70% or better.

Pro: Redo assignment with "some" guidance.

Con: Editing another's paper is not easy.

Suggestion: Maybe have the student write a short essay on a topic.

Write an annotated Bibliography

Based on the assignment you got for the Gold paper you will research 5 new topics related to your Gold Paper excerpt. This was a very easy and interesting assignment. The only stipulation is it has to be academically credited sources. The problem is SANS does not have a membership to any so you have to use some very good google-fu to hopefully find sources.

The suggested source from the STI Catalog is:

a. Harvard Business School Working Knowledge provides access to a wealth of research on management, finance, operations, negotiation and related management topics.

b. INSEAD Knowledge offers access to articles, case studies, working papers, and other material on innovation, finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, people leadership and more.

c. Knowledge Wharton has articles and case studies on managing technology, finance, ethics, and more.

d. Harvard Business Online Case Study Library is a rich collection of case studies covering many aspects of management.

Magazine Databases

a. MagPortal.com provides a search engine for locating individual magazine articles on the web.

b. Periodicals in Maryland Libraries provide a listing of periodicals owned by Maryland libraries — useful when unable to find the full text articles online.

c. FindArticles.com offers access to articles published in the last two years from over 300 publications

Pro: Easy, understandable assignment with very clear guidance.

Con: Finding sources is hard.

Suggestion: Maybe provide students access to resources to be able to complete the assignment easily.

Perform a 5 minute video on the Bibliography

Make a 5 minute video about your Bibliography. According to the class you should only take 30 - 60 seconds per slide. I broke my slides down by the topic on the excerpt and then the new research I found I put into two categories. Again you have a very limited amount of time to talk about the whole thing. You have to create a Vimeo account and upload the video there. You then send everything to David Hoelzer. He is a great guy and he actually took the time to call me on the phone. We talked about the presentation and he gave me some suggestions. I did a follow up presentation and he said I passed. Again he passed on some wisdom on presenting and that was that. My only complaint was it was on the bibliography and that is a hard topic to present on because it is not a complete thought. David also pointed that out to me.

Pro: Very easy assignment that could be completed in a weekend. David was very personable and it was nice to talk to someone for a couple minutes that is a teacher of the program.

Con: It is an awkward topic to present on. 

Suggestion: Maybe let the student pick one idea out of the Bibliography. Let the student present on that topic.

I am still waiting on the final grade for the class as a whole. Besides the first assignment. I liked the class as a whole. I have taken this course before just not as a student.

I signed up for my next class ISE 5200 (SEC 504).

Also SANS now can support VA benefits. If you are a veteran and you want to use your benefits get with the VA department by emailing: Matthew Scott <mscott@sans.edu>  and  "vabenefits@sans.edu" <vabenefits@sans.edu>.

SANS Masters Registration Process

The process according to the SANS website. (http://www.sans.edu/admissions/masters-programs)

To apply for admission to the SANS Master's Degree program, the applicant must do the following:

1. Determine that you meet the requirements for admission.
2. Fill out the Personal Information Form.
3. Update and submit your resume.
4. Write the Outcomes Statement and Leadership essay.
5. Create and upload your sample video presentation to Vimeo, providing a link to the presentation.
6. Acquire and have submitted a letter of recommendation or have someone fill out the Employer Recommendation of Candidate Form, either to be sent directly to us.
7. Request that your undergraduate (and graduate, if applicable) institution(s) to forward an official sealed transcript directly to SANS Technology Institute.
8. (Optional) If you will be applying for one or more waivers, include a description of the waivers you anticipate after reading the "Admissions Process - Guide to Waivers" form.
9. (Optional) Submit TOEFL or IELTS scores, if English is not your native language (see below).
10. Submit $100.00 as a non-refundable Application Fee. Applicants should call (301) 654-7267 to pay by credit card

Even though I have previous certs with SANS I didn't want to waive the classes.

The essays were the hardest part of the program. 

I submitted all my materials on April 26 and was notified of acceptance on May 30.

Once that happens you get added to two mailing groups. 

You also get to talk the Toby (your profer). 

You and him will work out a schedule of classes, here is mine in case you wanted to know:

Course Number	Course Title	SANS Class	GIAC Exam/ Other exam	Additional Components	Expected Location/Modality (or current status/waiver)	Start	End	Credit Hours	Projected Tuition (Current $/Cr Hr)	Estimated Time (min. actual hours)
						First Year Courses (Need an exact date)
ISE 5000	Research & Communications Methods	MGT 305	N/A	Oral Presentation, Written Exercise	OnDemand	1-Oct-14	30-Nov-14	0.5	$625	19
ISE 5100	Enterprise Information Security	SEC 401	GSEC	Case Study Paper	OnDemand	1-Dec-14	31-Mar-15	4	$5,000	150
ISE 5200	Hacking Techniques & Incident Response	SEC 504	GCIH	NetWars Continuous	SANS CDI 2014	1-Dec-14	31-Mar-15	4	$5,000	150
ISE 5600	IT Security Leadership Competencies	MGT 514.5	N/A	Policy & Leadership Writing Assignments	OnDemand	1-Apr-15	31-May-15	1	$1,250	38
							1st yr total	9.5	$11,875	357
						Second Year Courses (Only Month/Year required)
ISE 5300	Building Security Awareness	MGT 433	N/A	Written Assignment	OnDemand	07-15	08-15	1	$1,250	38
ISE5800	IT Security Project Management	MGT 525	GCPM	N/A	OnDemand	08-15	10-15	3	$3,750	113
ISE 5900	Research Presentation II	N/A	N/A	Oral Presentation of Research Paper	SANS CDI 2015	11-14	12-14	1	$1,250	38
ISE 6000	Standards Based Implementation of Security	SEC 566	Exam	Research Paper	OnDemand	01-16	04-16	4	$5,000	150
							2nd yr Total	9.0	$11,250	339
						Third Year Courses (Only Month/Year required)
ISE 6999	Elective	500+ level SANS Course w/cert	GIAC Exam	N/A	OnDemand	07-16	10-16	3	$3,750	113
ISE 6100	Security Project Practicum	N/A	N/A	Group Written Paper; individual submission. Reflection submission	OnDemand	11-16	12-16	2	$2,500	75
ISE 5500	Research Presentation I	N/A	N/A	Oral Presentation of Research Paper; Reflection Submission	SANS CDI 2016 ?	01-17	03-17	1	$1,250	38
ISE 6999	Elective	500+ level SANS Course w/cert	GIAC Exam	N/A	OnDemand	03-17	06-17	3	$3,750	113
							3rd yr Total	9.0	$11,250	339
						Fourth Year Courses (Only Month/Year required)
ISE5700	Situational Response Practicum	N/A	N/A	Group Paper, Individual Presentation	OnDemand	07-17	08-17	1	$1,250	38
ISE 5400	Advanced Network Intrusion Detection & Analysis	SEC 503	GCIA	Research Paper	OnDemand	09-17	12-17	4	$5,000	150
ISE 6999	Elective	500+ level SANS Course w/cert	GIAC Exam	N/A	OnDemand	02-18	06-18	3	$3,750	113
ISE 6900	Information Security Fieldwork	N/A	N/A	Project	OnDemand	05-18	06-18	0.5	$625	19
	MSISE Capstone		GSE		OnDemand	06-18	07-18	0	$2,098	-

The only thing with SANS is that they did not have a forum for student to talk in. I changed that. If your reading this and are a past member of SANS Master program hit me up.