In this episode, Marcus Painter, Director of Social Media and Community Engagement sits down with Jessica Tickle and Karen Hirschy to talk about the importance of Cybersecurity Education in our high schools. This episode is all about learning, as our expert PLTW teachers will discuss everything from fundamental Cybersecurity information, all the way through its immense impact on today’s college and career-ready PLTW classrooms.

Takeaways:

• Cybersecurity education is a vital piece of a well-rounded, career-ready high school curriculum.
• Cybersecurity teaches students complex, problem-based thinking strategies, along with numerous transferable skills that translate into academic and professional success.
• Expert PLTW teachers help remove the “stigma” that some may hold towards the term “hacker”.
• Overview of teaching and learning with PLTW’s Cybersecurity course, within the Computer Science Pathway.
• Teachers/District leaders become interested in expanding their PLTW offerings to include a PLTW Cybersecurity course.

Host: 

Marcus Painter, Director of Social Media & Community Engagement

Guests:

Jessica Tickle, PLTW Engineering and Cybersecurity Instructor at Shawnee Mission School District for Academic Achievement.

Karen Hirschy, PLTW Computer Science and Cybersecurity Instructor at Homestead High School in the Southwest Allen County School District in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Resources:

What’s the role of ethical security hacking in keeping data safe? How can our personal information be used in social engineering? Students need to know—and they’ll uncover the answers in lessons from the PLTW Cybersecurity course: https://www.pltw.org/high-school-cybersecurity-curriculum

Higher-order skills are integral to authentic cybersecurity work. Understanding how systems work, keeping spaces safe, and ensuring everyone knows how to protect their PPI is just the start. See what else matters: https://www.pltw.org/blog/cybersecurity-education-high-school-students 

KC STEM Alliance increases access to STEM education and readiness for a complex cyberworld—see what they’re doing and how it’s impacting communities: https://www.pltw.org/hubfs/PLTW_Brand/KCSTEMAlliance_CaseStudy.pdf

Basic computing skills aren’t enough anymore—and every student needs to be ready for a changing digital economy: https://www.pltw.org/computer-science-foundations-curriculum

Keeping information safe from hackers is everyone’s responsibility. Do your district’s career pathways integrate cybersecurity in practical, career-specific ways? This webinar will teach you how: https://home.edweb.net/webinar/cte20260827/

Can you build computational thinking and coding skills without sitting in front of a screen? With the Rosie’s Runtime activity, even PreK students can! Get it free here: https://www.pltw.org/rosies-runtime