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."
Gloss