Teachers gain skills in cybersecurity

For the second year in a row, the University of North Georgia (UNG) welcomed middle and high school educators for a five-day academy training them how to teach cybersecurity. The Advancing GenCyber Education for North Georgia Teachers (AGENTs) of Change event was held June 27-July 1 on UNG's Dahlonega Campus.

National Security Agency (NSA) and National Science Foundation (NSF) grants totaling $265,000 supported AGENTs of Change and UNG's sixth GenCyber Warrior Academy, which was June 5-11 for 40 high school students.

This year's teacher academy, which had 20 participants, included monthly pre-camp activities starting in January and will also provide monthly professional development through October. During the camp, teachers could choose their lessons based on their cyber comfort level.

Another new element was an expanded group of K-12 teachers assisting UNG faculty and staff with the instruction, with five this year after there was only one in 2021. Those new instructors included Autumn Sutton from Buford High School and Jon Lillie from Alliance Academy for Innovation, who were participants in UNG's inaugural cyber academy for teachers. This change was made thanks to feedback from the 2021 academy participants.

"Professors know their content really well, but they've never taught it in a K-12 classroom before," Dr. Lindsay Linsky, UNG associate professor of education and teaching lead of AGENTs of of Change, said. "These teachers are helping translate the cyber information to how it can be taught in a K-12 classroom, and they're doing a great job."

GenCyber AGENTs of Change participants are our real cybersecurity education force multiplier. They'll impact thousands more students than we can reach directly.

Dr. Bryson Payne

UNG professor of computer science

"This year's teachers learned how to perform and how to teach ethical hacking, forensics, and reverse engineering. Thanks to the GenCyber grant funding from the NSA and NSF, these teachers will reach between 2,000 and 3,000 middle and high school students this school year with hands-on, real-world cybersecurity lessons and exercises," Dr. Bryson Payne, professor of computer science and coordinator of student cyber programs and principal investigator for the NSA grants, said. "GenCyber AGENTs of Change participants are our real cybersecurity education force multiplier. They'll impact thousands more students than we can reach directly."

Stacy Wright, a science, technology, engineering and mathematics teacher at Creekside Christian Academy in McDonough, Georgia, attended AGENTS of Change for the second year in a row.

Josel Layno, a network engineer from Cherokee Central School in Cherokee, North Carolina, attended AGENTs of Change to help his school launch cyber education efforts. His daughter attended the GenCyber Warrior Academy three weeks earlier.

"This helps me to be structured in how I approach cybersecurity," Layno said. "It assists our school in knowing how to present it to students."