Adapting Cybersecurity Teacher Training Camp to Virtual Learning

Over the past couple of years, many summer camps have found it necessary to transition their face-to-face programs into online experiences. When adapting it, it is critical to consider how to best ensure an educational experience similar to preceding programs. This raises two primary questions: what pedagogical tools and methods are supported in an online format that replicate the teachings in a face-to-face experience; and second, how to best maintain the efficacy of the program. We define efficacy as a combination of two measures: first, whether the camp matches the sponsor, GenCyber’s, mission of promoting the education of cybersecurity to K-12 students and teachers; and second, whether the camp maintains a high level of participation and reported interest. We evaluated our efficacy by analyzing the report provided by the official GenCyber team as well as by recording hours of participant activity, polling participants on a daily basis, and following up after the program with an additional questionnaire. We determined that the camp was effective due to near-unanimous daily approval, strong interest in repeating the camp, and a significant amount of real-world student exposure to cybersecurity topics. Approximately 65% of the twenty teachers who participated in the camp immediately implemented cybersecurity principles in their respective fields, ranging from subjects in science and mathematics to career education and ROTC. Our result shows that 950 K-12 students exposure to cybersecurity subjects within their course subjects in the first semester after the camp and 800 of those are not in the computer science course subjects.