Skip to main content

Adventures in Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Competition

I'm learning alongside my 10 middle school students as they compete in CyberPatriot, the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition sponsored by the Air Force Association and some of the most well-known companies in the US.

My students are so excited to learn and to compete against other middle schools in the US and Canada. Although we didn't make a perfect score today, we had fun today in the computer lab at our local career and tech center. We learned about securing Windows 10, Server 2016 and Ubuntu 14. As we talked through some of their questions about the scenarios, I appreciated these students persistence during our 5 hour competition.

These students are learning how to secure computer systems and gaining life skills in collaboration, cybersecurity and persistence. I can't wait to see where their skills and determination will take them.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Teaching 21st Century Skills

I recently visited http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ . I found a lot of resources regarding what skills students should be taught in order to succeed in the 21st century. There were also several states listed that have initiatives to implement policies and standards that will ensure students are presented with opportunities to learn these skills. I liked the recent news events of businesses partnering with schools to help further the students' education, but I was disappointed that there were not more states or businesses listed. I was also looking for suggestions as to how to implement teaching these skills in my class, and did not find them. Did anyone else find good ideas here?

Construction Zone?

I like using the constructivist theory in my classroom. Over the years, I have taught in several states and subject areas. I found a great “hands-on” or constructionist science curriculum that I could integrate with the one I was required to use. This curriculum is part of the Challenger Center program, http://www.challenger.org/. The point of each activity is to ask the students a key question, give them a materials list, and allow them to create an experiment or artifact that will answer the key question. My students loved this material, and their grades in my science class improved. I was surprised to see that their grades and problem-solving skills also improved in other classes as well. I currently teach computer literacy. I use a modified constructivist method in which I give students information, demonstrate the procedures, and then allow them to practice the skill on their own. This method can work with a technology class, as well as an academic area class. I love all the onli...

Blog Idea for my Classroom

I teach Introduction to Computer Technology in grades 5-8. So using a blog with my classes would be a natural fit. I would have the students blog about ways they use computer technology every day. The students would reply in a post on the blog site. Then, they could return to the blog later to see what the other students had to say in response to their post. In this way, we could have a meaningful class discussion over the internet. This blogging experience would demonstrate to the students the power of a blog and allow them to learn to use a blog.