Back when I taught part of an IT program, the Director of the school suggested tackling the subject of networking. If you know anything about networking, you also know it is one of the dryest topics to learn about - real drool-inducing stuff. Just mentioning the words 'OSI 7 layer model' are enough to cause some peoples' eyes to start drooping. So when I was teaching networking, I tried to liven things up a little.
One of the more obscure and abstract topics we covered involved data structures - you know: packets, what they're made of, yada yada. I was describing 'preamble' when I had this epiphany. Somehow, the song 'Back in Black' by AC/DC came into my head and I suddenly realized that the beginning of the song was a brilliant example of a preamble. You know, the drum beat sets the timing for a specific number of beats, then there is a change in the sound of the beat and finally a definate pause indicating that the actual 'song data' as it were was about to begin. So here's Karl using an AC/DC song to explain what a preamble was - the students looking at me like I'm some kind of alien freak.
Man, I love teaching...
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