Professional Development

CSTA Launches Cybersecurity Professional Development Program for Teachers

• By Leila Meyer
• 05/02/16

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.