Near-Viral Videos to Start Students on Cybersecurity Career Paths

The need abides

Millions of unfilled jobs around the world. An urgent national security problem. Schools, companies, and families all under a steady threat of online attack or exploitation from unexpected directions. Cybersecurity sits at the center of all these issues, generating headlines and headaches every day.

Rapid, challenging change afoot

Cybersecurity is also an opportunity, though, as a career option for students from almost any background with almost any set of interests. And in fact, K-12 cybersecurity education is evolving quickly towards becoming a formal, classroom-based learning activity. But the getting-started piece for the preponderance of educators without much of a comfort level in the field is still extremely difficult.

So, this month, first comes a quick review of some of the developments underlying the budding maturation of cybersecurity as an area of formal secondary learning. Then the fun-and-games options, as we serve up a carefully curated playlist of videos, “Introducing Cybersecurity,” designed to help educators showcase to students what the field is about and how they can find a place in it. Whether feeling hesitant, hurried, harried, or even helpless, educators and counselors of all kinds will find something at their level to make cybersecurity a relatable, viable study and career pathway for their students.

Pieces of a puzzle

In terms of standards, curriculum content, and even teacher training, the infrastructure needed to make cybersecurity a fully fleshed-out part of formal K-12 education is taking shape quickly. Cyber.org put out a fully conceived set of “K-12 Cybersecurity Learning Standards” earlier this year. This effort expanded significantly upon the treatment cybersecurity received as part of the computer science learning standards developed the Computer Science Teachers Association, in which “cybersecurity” is classified as a “subconcept.”

TeachCyber, in partnership with the National Cryptologic Foundation, has developed a terrific, comprehensive set of high school curriculum guidelines and is in the midst of a project to develop and make available a sequence of courses. Numerous high schools across the country have developed their own, one-off programs, as well, sometimes connected to national programs like CyberPatriot.

First-of-its-kind teacher training

Teacher training in cybersecurity is starting to move from concept to reality. The first credential program for teaching cybersecurity in high school is revving up with the summer 2022 launch of the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy. A 12-credit hour sequence of courses running at 10 post-secondary schools in nine states, the program will prepare 90 teachers to offer a high school cybersecurity course in the first cohort of participants.

Based on the TeachCyber guidelines, this effort should help move K-12 cybersecurity education towards a more standardized body of knowledge for building courses and pathways into the field. Any teachers interested in applying for the program can register to get program updates. The application window will open in December.

And the capstone event of the K-12 cybersecurity education year is taking place in early December, the NICE K-12 Cybersecurity Education Conference. Registration is open now for the all-virtual event, which features stimulating session content, networking opportunities unique in the field, and a bounty of immediately usable, cutting-edge resources available for download.

First step is a doozy

To make effective use of such technical materials as these, though, educators would need to bring a certain level of knowledge and comfort regarding cybersecurity that is almost certainly not widespread. The videos we have gathered in our “Introducing Cybersecurity” playlist can serve to spark interest and accelerate the growth of confidence among educators looking for an angle of approach into presenting the field to students.

The videos fall into a rough sequence of categories:

  1. What people mean by “cybersecurity” as both an individual effort and possible career path.

  2. Next comes a series about what people, especially early in their careers, actually do in their jobs.

  3. Finally, how to prepare for work in the field, such as topics or attitudes or experiences that can help students make informed choices about if and how to go for a career in cybersecurity.

  4. In addition, a couple of videos walk K-12 educators through steps to take towards developing a high-school level class of their own in cybersecurity.

The videos feature almost exclusively members of Generation Z, young adults who have clearly grown up consuming and making YouTube videos. The vocabulary and mannerisms of video performance come naturally and engagingly to them – their on-screen personas should resonate with secondary school students. And they come from all different backgrounds, showcasing a diversity in experience and perspective that tech-heavy fields like cybersecurity need to nurture.

Coming soon, a new edition!

Our own Cyber Career Awareness Program, CyberCAP, makes for a nice, introductory complement to videos like these. It provides students and educators a ready reference point for digging in more deeply on the observations and experiences put forth in the videos. And, in fact, we are just about to release an updated version of all three books that make up the program: the Cybersecurity Career Guide, Student Workbook, and Teacher’s Guide. Stay tuned for more information soon about availability.

And, finally

Have you found any good videos to teach kids about cybersecurity? Thousands of videos get made and pitched to professionals, whether career-changers, early-stage workers, or those eyeing advancement. Many fewer take a K-12 education angle. We thought these examples fit the bill, and, if nothing else, they are fun and short and can be squeezed into any nooks and crannies of the school day that crop up.