Episode 73

Unlocking Cyber Potential: The Power of Collaboration in K-12 Cyber Education

In this episode, Laurie Salvail, Ph.D., Executive Director of CYBER.ORG, joins me to discuss the importance of cybersecurity education for K-12 students. Primarily funded by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), CYBER.ORG is a powerful and free resource available to K-12 students and educators in the United States. CYBER.ORG’s Range, a cloud-based virtual environment, empowers K-12 students with real-world cybersecurity skills in a secure platform.

Action Items and Discussion Highlights

To inquire about professional development opportunities and resources for your school, contact CYBER.ORG at info@cyber.org or through the website.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is one of the main funders of CYBER.ORG.
CYBER.ORG offers no-cost professional development for teachers and caregivers across the US.
Currently, over 35,000 teachers have access to CYBER.ORG content and other resources.
Resources at Cyber.Org are available to all schools -- public, private, and homeschools.
If a child is old enough to receive some type of technology, then they are old enough to learn how to use it.
For cybersecurity education and training to be effective, they should be delivered in a fun, interactive, and immersive manner.
Encourage industry professionals in your network to volunteer at local schools, speak to students about their cybersecurity-related careers, and help promote awareness about the field.

Time Stamps

00:02 -- Introduction

00:49 -- Guest's Professional Highlights

02:41 -- About Cyber.Org

06:08 -- Vulnerability of youth to different forms of cyber attacks

07:22 -- Gaining access to Cyber.Org resources

08:34 -- Gaps in cyber education from K-12

13:36 -- How early should kids be exposed to cybersecurity awareness programs?

15:21 -- Cybersecurity is everyone's business

17:13 -- Should cybersecurity education be part of the K-12 core curriculum as early as possible?

22:35 -- Many schools have their own cybersecurity curriculum and cybersecurity program. So, where do cyber.org resources fit in for these schools?

28:26 -- How can listeners, as well as their organizations, help the cause of K-12 cybersecurity education?

Memorable Laurie Salvail Quotes/Statements

"A big part of who we are, though, is that we do grant writing to make our resources available completely free of charge for any school district teacher; we will never charge the user for anything at all."

"We are very thankful to receive funding from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). They're one of our main funders right now, allowing us to create these resources for students across the US.

"We are able to offer no-cost professional development for our teachers and caregivers across the US."

"If you want to teach a student about cybersecurity, come to cyber.org, and we've got free resources for you to dive into and learn how to have those conversations where we're exciting our children."

"We have over 35,000 teachers right now that have access to our content."

"Cybersecurity is an important topic for all students at all grade levels. There's an age-appropriate way to do it at those levels, and we're here to help, so spreading that message is really important."

"Resources at Cyber.Org are available to all schools, public, private, and homeschool families."

"Every school is unique, and every school is different, and we hop on a call with each school to say, what will work in your building, what do your students need? What do they already know? So we can develop a tailored plan for each school based on what courses will be useful and how we can roll that out based on their long-term goal."

"If a child is old enough to receive some type of technology, then they are old enough to learn how to use it."

"We have done everything we possibly can to make our resources teacher-friendly and something that really will help you be the cool teacher on campus and just be fun to talk about with your students."

"School has to be fun. Learning should be fun. It should be a part of our life, and it should make sense, and it shouldn't be something I'm just doing because I was told to do it, and the Cyber.Org Range helps with that."

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Connect with Dr. Chatterjee on these platforms:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dchatte/

Website: https://dchatte.com/

Cybersecurity Readiness Book: https://www.amazon.com/Cybersecurity-Readiness-Holistic-High-Performance-Approach/dp/1071837338

https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/cybersecurity-readiness/book275712

Latest Publications:

"Getting Cybersecurity Right,” California Management Review — Insights, July 8, 2024.

Published in USA Today — “Dave Chatterjee Drops the Cybersecurity Jargon, Encouraging Proactiveness Rather than Reactiveness,” April 8, 2024

Preventing Security Breaches Must Start at the Top

Mission Critical --How the American Cancer Society successfully and securely migrated to the cloud amid the pandemic

Latest Webinars & Podcasts with Dr. Chatterjee as the Guest

Cybersecurity Readiness: Essential Actions For CXOs, August 12, 2024