Teaching Cyber-Education through Simulation and Games
by Timothy King
This paper outlines the nature of a digital media literacy crisis we find ourselves decades into. It contextualizes the challenges cybersecurity education faces in terms of the many digital mediums that it operates in and will reveal two examples of effective, practical cybersecurity education explored in an action research context, much of it happening through school libraries who remain a key to resolving the digital skills crisis.
Terminology and Definitions
Digital Media Literacy (Media Smarts, n.d.): Digital media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and engage with digital media critically and effectively, building on traditional media literacy while incorporating new concepts specific to digital technologies, with the goal of empowering individuals to navigate and participate responsibly in the digital world.
Digital Divide (NDIA, 2024): the gap between those who have affordable access to technology, skills, and support to effectively engage online and those who do not.
Cybersecurity & Cyber Attacks (Cisco, 2024): cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. Cyberattacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users via ransomware; or interrupting normal business processes through networked digital systems.
Cybersecurity Education (Canadian Center for Cyber Security, 2024): a multifaceted approach to building knowledge and skills in cyber defense for individual online safety, protection of national discourse and security of critical infrastructure. User error from digital illiteracy is the cause of a vast majority of successful cyber-attacks and education is essential in prevention.
Canadian Cyber Network speaker bio: Timothy King CNN Speaker Bio Information.docx
One of the things being in a district level role I miss is doing long-form engagement with my students on a topic. This paper has gotten me thinking about what I could do around my district with CyberTitan and build skills out. It would definitely be interesting to explore. If you're willing to go to Newfoundland would you be willing to come to Northern British Columbia? I can see about getting multiple districts on board.
ReplyDeleteCybersecurity is a much needed topic for both students and educators and not enough educators understand the basics or rely on outdated thoughts on what 'security' means thinking that hackers have to be local or at their computer, when the reality (as seen last week with PowerSchool) is completely different.
What really resonates with me, as I've learned from osmosis near your side, is how the development of foundational digital skills is driven in your organization through industry. Yet literacy teaching is not partnered with industry, per se. If we are going to see the integration of cybersecurity in our curriculum, and close the digital divide, I believe that we need to return to one of those foundational reasons for public school: labour. We also know that cybersecurity, like many other areas of skilled labour, is suffering from major gaps in diversity, inclusivity and equity. Can school libraries and public libraries be the place where those conversations happen? I think if we look at Jonelle St. Aubyn's action research on Human Libraries that we can. If we look at the work of Leigh Cassell and others at the Digital Human Library, I think we can. Let's keep thinking about how to create forums for these collaborations to generate.
ReplyDeleteSTEM isn't accessible to all, but cyber particularly so (some of the lowest gender diversity of any STEM field).
DeleteWhen my girls where the first to go to CyberTitan nationals we got all sorts of static: https://temkblog.blogspot.com/2019/05/privilege-masquerading-as-superiority.html
Trying to even get that team feeling like they belonged was filled with systemic attempts to do otherwise.
Libraries are where I first laid hands on the technology that would become a career. Those spaces are essential in introducing emerging digital literacies like cyber - for everyone!
Tim,
ReplyDeleteI'm reading this while receiving emails from my school board this week about the data breach of a certain program (PS) used by hundreds of school boards in North America. To say that your paper is timely is an understatement!
Your statement on page 2 makes my media literacy heart flutter: "Tackling digital media without understanding the mediums it operates in is a struggle in the same way that teaching someone to read who has no understanding of vocabulary and spelling would be." The AML would say "this is clearly a case of THROUGH and ABOUT - we need to teach both!".
Your question: "But how do you engage students with no cyber experience whatsoever in such a short timespan?" that leads into your Newfoundland anecdote reminds me of a workshop I saw while at the IMLRS conference this summer in Portugal - "Digital Nutritionists: Media Literacy for Primary Students in Hong Kong by Donna Chu (Hong Kong)". Like you, she had a very short window of time to be able to reach the students. Like you, she used games and simulations to get her message across quickly, concisely and with student engagement.
Thanks for sharing the scores from your Newfoundland experiment, as well as your surprises. It's impressive that since your visit, the region/district has sent CyberTitan teams to competitions. That's a testimony to the impact!
Working with Leigh sounds like a dream, and I love how you were able to scaffold this to elementary students. (Wait, could someone enlarge that photo on page 8 and get the passwords? I'm trying to think cybersecurity in my own inexperienced, primitive way!)
Your "beta-test" mental set-up is brilliant, and you are right; we should use that prerogative more often!
Congratulations on the Serious Games Conference Award! (I was sorely tempted to attend but my summer schedule from 2024 wouldn't permit it.)
No questions from me as yet, but I look forward to chatting with you and you giving me a kick in the butt to get this kind of thing going in my school. (I need to introduce you to a new colleague of mine who would be all over this like bears to honey!)
Diana
My pedagogical approach to cyber-skill development has intensified as I've seen passive/performative cybersafety material being trotted out by school boards (and ECNO) that does nothing to engage or actually teach complex digital literacies like cyber. I made the pyramid graphic for this paper because of the ongoing frustrations I feel around the systemic and very intentional ignorance education clings to when it comes to building genuine cyber resilience. All while depending on these systems for their day to day operations.
DeleteKnow what caused the PS breach? A user clicked on a phishing email and gave away their credentials: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/powerschool-hack-exposes-student-teacher-data-from-k-12-districts/ Millions of students and their family's very private details (you know what can be found in the notes on there) are out on the darkweb because we don't take cyber skills seriously.
You won't hear anything about this from any of the school boards because rather than follow best practices (not that OntEd has any cyber experts) sharing details so everyone can firm up their defenses, they prefer to duck and hide and hope no one notices.
CyberPatriot doesn't understand Canadian apathy towards CyberTitan. Per capita they have 5x the participation rates we do. I guess it's easier to play victim than it is to take on this monster, which is a real shame because I've seen genuine skills being built from scratch in a single day - and most kids are hungry for this kind of literacy.