i think 95% of my class enjoyment was based on how interested i was in the subject.
but i think things like the following are cool:
* teaching something that provides actual understanding of some real-world concept, such that it opens a door for them to go get more understanding if they so wish. so, e.g. maybe it's explaining what a browser is doing when you click on a link, then simulating it from curl, then eventually telnet.
* maybe have them do an MVP using one of say 10 different low-code tools - there's literally a new one every day. anvil.works. the new anvil-like competitor that showed up here yest. webflow. bubble. andalo. etc. that'd introduce various concepts of mvp/agile/requirements/scope creep/deployment/etc.
* teach them how to use postman - how it's a UI alternative to curl.
* maybe exercise they have to find an api and use it to show something on a web page.
* demo the ghostery addon on the college's home page to show the 50 trackers that show up and talk about what the heck is going on.
* demo google tag manager and what it's used for.
* talk about the EFF and how the US is becoming a totalitarian state like China with 'surveillance capitalism' - i.e. introduce shoshana zuboff -- i just learned some of her older stuff seems rockin, too.
* introduce hacker news.
* ask the students if they have plans for careers, etc. then build lessons/speakers around that.
* talk about career paths? this always sounded so boring to me, but i think it would not necessarily have to be.
* of course talk about what you know best, security, maybe introduce whatever you think is important there -- the most common types of attacks would be cool, maybe demo, etc. OWASP.
* rdbms basics, sql, nosql.
* navigating the command line and either vi/m or emacs. need to know 20 basic commands, ssh (not telnet anymore), just enough to not be scared of it all.
* RPA/automation tools - if that's even possible to demo.
* integration-type tools like Zapier - that can be thought of in the context of automation, but not necessarily RPA. i don't even know what RPA is.
* cloud providers - aws, azure, etc. create an account maybe? maybe possible w/o using credit card. set up a simple script/app/mvp.
* what is scrum/agile and why do 50% of all developers rightfully despise it?
* intro to devops/ci/cd.
* intro to qa and basic qa tools - selenium, celery, browserstack, etc.
* intro to indiehackers site/pod, techcrunch.
* which certifications should they pursue based on x/y/z?
* what is ai/ml, and how does it apply to the world, ie. is it going to put most devs (and everyone) out of a job? prob.
* what about less-technical roles that are good for MIS folks, like project/product mgmt, etc.? how to get there?
those are specific-ish examples, but i think they could be useful to englighten and get folks interested, and maybe even help a few become better-engaged citizens.