CSTA Launches Cybersecurity Professional Development Program for Teachers
The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) has launched the Cyber Teacher Certificate professional development program designed to train teachers in cybersecurity education.
According to a statistical research survey commissioned by Raytheon,
approximately one in four millennials is interested in a career in
cybersecurity. However, the survey also "revealed inadequate technology
education, which inhibits young adults from getting interested in and
pursuing careers in computer science, including cybersecurity."
The
CSTA hopes to increase opportunities for cybersecurity education in
high schools with the introduction of its new Cyber Teacher
Certificate. The online program offers eight hours of continuing
education units (CEUs), including a six-hour online adaptive learning
course in the "Fundamentals of Cyber."
The CSTA is running the program in collaboration with LifeJourney,
a cloud-based platform for STEM and cybersecurity career simulation and
exploration. The Cyber Teacher Certificate is designed to work in
tandem with LifeJourney's NSA Day of Cyber,
an online, interactive, self-guided, fully automated cybersecurity
mentorship experience for teachers to run with students in the
classroom, according to information on LifeJourney's site.
"Teachers
are the most influential element in shaping and guiding a student's
educational path," said Mark Nelson, executive director of the CSTA, in
a news release. "That is why the Cyber Teacher Certificate program will
be a force multiplier for creating the cyber generation. With this
program we're letting teachers tap into students' rising interest in
cybersecurity and increasing their future opportunities for high-paying
and in-demand cyber careers."
Further information about the Cyber Teacher Certificate program can be found on LifeJourney's site.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].