Join us at CSTA 2021 for an introduction to the Teaching Security lessons!

July 14, 2021

1:00–2:30 p.m. EDT / 10:00–11:30 a.m. PDT

Part of the CSTA Annual Conference

Workshop #W17

The “Teaching Security” lessons introduce the broad ideas of cybersecurity through threat modeling and the human-centered nature of authentication. Through model lessons, workshop participants will learn how to begin developing the “security mindset” in CS students at all levels. (No previous cybersecurity experience is required.)

The lessons were designed to meet the cybersecurity learning objectives in the AP Computer Science Principles framework, but they are appropriate for any high school computer science class or program (including dedicated cybersecurity classes). Our lessons are prepared by subject-matter experts and include many unplugged activities.

This interactive workshop shares tips and strategies for teaching students at many different levels to develop a security mindset and awareness of cybersecurity.

Why teach cybersecurity? Daily headlines about data breaches and ransomware attacks demonstrate that we can’t ignore the security risks inherent to our highly networked lives. Cybersecurity is a growing job field; even for students who don’t go on to pursue cybersecurity careers, it is crucial to have some level of security awareness. Until very recently, young people usually weren’t introduced to the intrigue and opportunity of cybersecurity until advanced undergraduate CS courses. But the real-world implications and applied nature of the topic lends itself well to catching the interest of a diverse group of students in CS at a younger age.

Presenters: Buffie Holley (Albemarle High School), Dan Garcia (University of California, Berkeley), and Julia Bernd (International Computer Science Institute)

Contact us with questions: contact@teachingsecurity.org