How to Prepare Middle Schoolers to Save the Internet

Eric Iversen

First, can the internet be saved?

These two things about the internet are unfortunately true at the same time:

  1. More people are falling victim to more online crime all the time.

  2. Not enough people are available to do the work we need to do to make our lives online safer.

Indeed, examining the “seedy underbelly” of the internet brings to light startling, demoralizing facts, such as: $6 trillion in damage attributed to cybercrime this year alone, almost 60 percent of Americans harmed in some way, 33 billion accounts suffering data breaches. Meanwhile, in the United States we trundle along with over 700,000 job openings in cybersecurity, consistently able to fill just under two-thirds of all jobs in the field.

The basic plan

In the simplest terms, solving this problem means two other things need to be true at the same time: Individual internet users become better at protecting their data when they share it online, and we as a country do better at getting young people interested in and prepared for careers in cybersecurity.

What we mean by “data care”

For the past couple of years, we have put a great deal of effort into exactly these areas. The overarching framework that has organized these efforts at connecting individual online safety learning to career awareness and education goes by the term “data care.” This framework puts individuals front and center in efforts to protect online data, based on the idea that individuals have both an interest and ability to participate to a much greater degree in protecting data online than is currently the case. Supported generously by Gula Tech Adventures and in partnership with the National Cryptologic Foundation, we have developed and published a series of books, all putting forth data care principles and practices designed for particular audiences:

Free books here

In conjunction with these collaborating organizations, we are delighted to offer free copies of these last two books, the Outsmart Cyberthreats Teacher’s Guide and Student Workbook, to all our readers. See below for how to download your copies.

The Table of Contents for the Outsmart Cyberthreats Teacher’s Guide shows how learning activities relate to the larger topics treated in each of the four parts of the main text.

Please provide your contact information below. When you click the button, you will be redirected to a page where you can download copies of both publications.

The basic message of Outsmart Cyberthreats is how far and wide personal data can travel online, whether we agree to it or not, and what students can do to better protect themselves and their data along the way. In both the main text and the companion, classroom-oriented volumes, students learn the telltale signs of online risks and threats, associated with both legal and criminal uses of their personal data.

Kids address real-world scenarios to get a grip on how companies gather and use their data.

Learning activities extend the content featured in all four parts of Outsmart Cyberthreats: A Day in the Life of Your Phone; How Things Go Wrong Online … ; Control Your Risk Online; and Explore a Future in Cybersecurity. As they go through the learning activities associated with each part, they gain understanding of topics like:

  • How protective measures can succeed and fail at keeping online data out of the wrong hands.

  • How to identify and resist the tricks and tools of online scam artists.

  • How individual behaviors – like password management – can bolster their online security profile.

Safer online, and a career direction, to boot

Taken as a whole, the Outsmart Cyberthreats program adds up to an insider’s view of cybersecurity. It puts kids in a position to keep themselves safer online, to be sure, but it also connects their behaviors and learning to a pathway into a cybersecurity career. By learning to act and think like a cybersecurity professional in their own interest, students can take their first steps towards doing the same thing in other people’s interest. They get a glimpse of exactly what a career in cybersecurity is all about.

A big part of the learning experience puts kids in the position of doing “real-world” cybersecurity activities, giving them a sense of what actual work in the field might feel like.

And, finally

You are invited to download full copies of both the Teacher’s Guide and Student Workbook and review the entire learning program for free. Just enter your contact information in the form above. If you or any other educators you know end up considering them for use in the classroom, we will be happy to help with adding copies of the main text to the package. Please be in touch with any questions.

Eric Iversen is VP for Learning and Communications at Start Engineering. He has written and spoken widely on STEM education and related careers. You can write to him about this topic, especially when he gets stuff wrong, at eiversen@start-engineering.com. 

You can also follow along on Twitter @StartEnginNow.

Our newest book is Outsmart Cyberthreats. It teaches middle schoolers about online security and points them towards meaningful, rewarding career pathways.

The award-winning 2nd edition of Cybersecurity Career Guide shows high schoolers what cybersecurity is all about and how they can find the career in the field that’s right for them. Now with an updated Student Workbook and new Teacher’s Guide for classroom or afterschool use!

To showcase STEM career options, pair our cybersecurity books with the updated 3rd edition of our Engineering Career Guide.

We’ve also got appealing, fun engineering posters and engaging books for PreK-2 and K-5.

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