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- Cyber Connections
- B'More Secure GenCyber Spring Conference
The 2022–2023 B’More Secure GenCyber Train the Trainer program is a year-long professional learning opportunity for middle and high school educators in Maryland public schools. The B’More Secure GenCyber program will build teacher capacity to integrate cybersecurity concepts into their courses and engage their students in learning about careers and post-secondary opportunities in cybersecurity. We are particularly interested in increasing interest in cybersecurity among students traditionally underrepresented in cyber careers and fields of study (e.g. African America, Hispanic).
The program is open to secondary teachers of any subject with little to no cybersecurity content knowledge (novice track) as well as teachers with existing cybersecurity knowledge and teaching experience who want to continue to build their skills (experienced track).
Teachers who successfully complete the B’More Secure GenCyber program will receive a $1,200 stipend (must be U.S. citizen or permanent resident), a new Chromebook (which is theirs to keep), 3 CPD credits and AU credits (Baltimore City teachers).
Learn more.
Participants who successfully complete all components of the B’More Secure GenCyber program will earn 3 CPD credits and $1,200 stipend ($600 after summer and $600 in May 2023). Baltimore City teachers can elect to forego the stipend and earn 3 AU credits (available May 2023). Successful program completion includes:
- Attending all-person meetings (five days in Summer 2022 and one day in May 2023)
- Attending four GenCyber webinars (~1 hour/each during 2022-2023 school year)
- Submitting Classroom Implementation Project plans
- Implementing cyber lessons in classroom with students
- Submitting reflection on lesson implementation
The B’More Secure GenCyber summer program will take place June 27 – July 1, 2022. Each day will begin at 8:30 am and end at 5:00 pm. There will be optional evening sessions June 27-June 30. Breakfast will be provided each morning beginning at 7:45 am and we encourage all participants to join us!
Sessions will begin promptly at 8:30 am each morning.
Optional evening sessions
Monday – Raspberry Pi Projects
No, we’re not going to be eating pie (but there will be snacks!). Join us to learn how Raspberry Pi devices can be used to engage students in learning about cyber. Participants will be split up into teams and given a simple project to complete. Each team will have an opportunity to showcase their project. Raspberry Pi’s are going to be made available as a loaner kit during the 2022-2023 school year, so you’ll be able to use these devices with your students.
Tuesday – Capture the Flag (CTF) Bingo
Based on jeopardy style CTF, participants will be split up into teams and given a bingo card with different challenges from different categories. If a team correctly solves a challenge on their bingo card, they will get a stamp. First to five in a row wins. This is a great way to build your cyber knowledge in a friendly, engaging way that will translate well to a classroom activity.
Wednesday – Cryptography Wheel of Fortune
In this Wheel of Fortune inspired game, participants will be split up into teams and given an encrypted word or phrase to try and decipher. The wheel will be spun by each team to give out a hint. The team will then have one minute to try and guess the word before the next team is allowed to spin and guess. The first team to solve the cipher gets points. To discourage participants from simply trying to guess letters, there will be a point penalty for only guessing letters rather than the full phrase. Cryptography is a great way to engage students of all ages in learning about the importance of cyber security.
Thursday – Cyber Defense Competition
Ever wonder what a Cyber Defense Competition is like? Join us and see! Teams will be given a Windows machine that they will have to “harden” (secure) using various techniques. The challenges/techniques will be pulled from CyberPatriot training modules.
Friday – Go home!
Relax and impress your friends and family with your cybersecurity knowledge! ☺
Summer Camp Location
The summer camp will be held at 7800 York Road,Towson MD 21252. The name of the building is 7800 York Road (or 7800 YR).
Parking
Daily Commuters
Parking is available in Glen Parking Garage in a “Core” or “Visitor” spot (NOT a faculty/staff spot). View an interactive map of Towson’s campus. All daily commuters must follow these directions to register their car with parking services. You only need to register your vehicle one time (it will cover parking for the whole week). It can be done at any time prior to June 27, and we encourage participants to do this early. We suggest parking on the 4th floor of the Glen Garage. There you’ll find lots of spaces as well as an outdoor bridge that will lead you directly to the 7800 York Building. We will have check-in tables on the 3rd floor of the Glen Garage. And yes, the bridge on the FOURTH floor of the parking lot will take you to the THIRD floor of the 7800 YR building.
On-campus Residents:
Parking near Douglass House is available in the West Village Garage in a ‘WVG- Resident Permit Required’ spot (NOT a faculty/staff spot). View an interactive map of Towson’s campus. All participants must register their cars BEFORE parking. Overnight guests must follow these directions to register their vehicle (do not use the instructions given for the daily commuters). You only need to register your vehicle one time (it will cover parking for the whole week). This can be done at any time prior to June 27, and we encourage participants to do this early. Overnight guests are welcome to move their car to the Glen Garage each day. When in the Glen Garage park in a “Core” or “Visitor” spot (NOT a faculty/staff spot). We suggest parking on the 4th floor of the Glen Garage. There you’ll find lots of spaces as well as an outdoor bridge that will lead you directly to the 7800 York Building. We will have check-in tables on the 3rd floor of the Glen Garage. And yes, the bridge on the FOURTH floor of the parking lot will take you to the THIRD floor of the 7800 YR building.
Overnight Accommodations
Participants who requested housing have been assigned to the Douglass House. You will park in the West Village garage and walk to Douglass House. View a campus map. Each participant will have their own room and own bathroom. Check-in will begin after 3 pm on Sunday, July 26. Dinner will not be provided Sunday evening, but there are many options within walking and driving distance of campus.
Food
Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be provided every day for all participants.
COVID Guidance
We will be following the policies of the Towson University campus with respect to COVID safety. Please notify camp staff at gencyber@towson.edu immediately (and do not attend sessions) if you test positive for COVID.
Attendance Policy
Participants will be asked to sign-in at the beginning of each day and sign out at the end of each day. These records are necessary for our funding and accreditation partners.
We understand that emergencies can arise and we want to be as flexible as possible with participants with respect to attendance. However, our funding agency and accreditation partners (MSDE and Baltimore City) require a certain number of in-person learning hours. Our attendance policy requires that participants attend and actively participate in all in-person summer sessions. Participants who experience a medical emergency and miss in-person summer learning may remain eligible for stipends, CPD, and AU credits, provided they engage in all make-up work activities. Participants must email gencyber@towson.edu as soon as possible if they will be absent. Absences must be due to unforeseen medical issues and course facilitators reserve the right to request documentation from a medical advisor.
Information and instructions regarding make-up work for specific days will be posted here no later than July 10 and will be due no later than July 31. Note that the make-up for each day will take the same amount of time as the original in-person programming.
Stipends and CPD Credits
Participants who successfully complete the program will earn a $1,200 stipend (or three AU credits) and three CPD credits. The stipend will be processed in two payments. The first payment of $600 will be processed in August, 2022 upon submission of the cybersecurity modules developed as part of the Classroom Implementation Plan. The second payment of $600 will be processed in May, 2023 after completing all other required assignments and attending final session. Signed CPD forms and AU credits will also be distributed in May, 2023 (participants must complete the entire program to receive CPD and AU credits, no partial credit can be given). Chromebooks will remain the property of participants after the program ends.
Summer Camp Curriculum
Use the links below to access the resources from each session of the summer camp. Links will be added on each day of the workshop.
Missing your colleagues? Browse the pictures from our Summer Camp!
Resource Folders
Participant Upload Folder
Use this folder to upload any resources you want to share with the group. Browse this folder for ideas your colleagues have shared!
B’MORE Secure GenCyber Program Resource Folder
This folder is provided by program staff. Check out this folder for additional resources that the B’More Secure GenCyber program TAs have put together for us. You can’t upload to this file, so if you have something to share, use the Participant Resource folder linked above.
Websites
The goal of the B’More Secure GenCyber professional development program is to prepare educators to effectively teach about cybersecurity and encourage students historically excluded from cybersecurity fields to consider a future career in cybersecurity. The Classroom Implementation Project (CIP) will provide an opportunity for educators to infuse what they learn during summer camp into their classroom teaching during the 2022-2023 school year.
Educators will begin to develop their CIP during the summer camp and will continue to work on it throughout the 2022-2023 school year. The CIP includes the following components:
- The development of cyber-focused module(s)
- Peer-review of a colleague’s module (and implementation of feedback you receive from a colleague into your module)
- Implementation of lesson(s) in the module(s) with at least one class during 2022-2023 school year
- Reflections on module implementation
Click here for Project Instructions and Due Dates
As part of the B’More Secure GenCyber Professional Learning Program, you will be required to complete a variety of assignments. Assignments will include lesson development, attending webinars, virtual meetings with colleagues, etc. We will provide information about all of the assignments in a variety of ways, including during in-person sessions and via email announcements.
In order to help you keep track of the assignments so that you are able to successfully complete the program, we have created a ‘living’ checklist. Every time a new assignment is announced (either in-person or via email) we will make to add it to this checklist. If you’re ever in doubt of what has been assigned and when it’s due- just use the link below for the most recent checklist.
Meet the B’More Secure GenCyber Team
Course Designers
Aisha Ali-Gombe, Lead Instructor
Willie Sanders, K-12 Pedagogical Content Expert
Mary Stapleton, Program Director
Course Instructors
Teaching Assistants
Anjita Bhandari
Hi, my name is Anitra Bhandari. I am a senior majoring in Computer Science with a software engineering track. I am a part of the software engineering club, Nepalese Student Association, and South Asian Student Association clubs at Towson University. Currently, I am working on campus as an assistant researcher.
Kordell Hutchins
Hello! My name is Kordell Hutchins and I am a recent Cyber Operations grad from Towson University. I’ve accepted a position in Capital One’s Cyber Development program. Some notables are that I was the President of Towson University’s Cyber Defense Club for two years, I helped Baltimore City IT department during the Baltimore ransomware attacks of May 2019, and participated in many national cyber competitions like National Cyber League, CCDC, CPTC and more. I am also know by the CS department for my research I’ve participated in which are: IoT research, Android Malware Analysis, and C2 development. I’m happy to participate as a TA in GenCyber 2022 because I want to further help grow interests in Cyber Security by teaching and engaging others.
Mary Grace Lucas
Mary Grace Lucas is a senior at Towson majoring in Computer and Mathematical Sciences Secondary Education. She’s currently working at SecurEd, an organization whose products house cybersecurity resources and curriculum (CLARK), as a curriculum editor.
Makayla St Cyr
My name is Makayla St. Cyr. I am going to be a senior at Towson in the fall. I am majoring in Computer Science with a Software Engineering track. I work as an IoT Research Assistant with Dr. Ali-Gombe. I enjoy problem solving and debugging and I am looking forward to working with everyone during this camp!
Zakiya Talley
I am a recent graduate from Towson University with a Bachelors in Information Technology and a track in Network Security. I’ve recently accepted a position with Dell Technologies as a Security Incident Response Advisor. I am also a Research Assistant with the University building IoT devices. Previously, I was the Vice President of the Cyber Defense Club here at Towson as well as a participant and leader in multiple cybersecurity competitions including Cyber Patriot in high school and the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition in college. In my free time I enjoy cooking, working out, playing video games and reading.
How to contact us
The best way to reach any of the B’More Secure GenCyber facilitators, instructors or TA’s is by emailing gencyber@towson.edu. We will be monitoring this email daily (and in real time during the summer workshop days).
Cyber Connections presentations are customizable in content and length. GenCyber teachers can indicate the type of content they’d like in the presentation, such as information on cyber security careers or a short cyber security activity. GenCyber teachers can also choose the length of the session; our speakers can prepare a 15-, 30-, 45-, or 60-minute presentation. You can learn more about the Cyber Connections Fellows here.
Complete the Cyber Connections Request Form at least 2 weeks in advance of when you hope to have a speaker join your class(es). If you think 2 weeks is too limiting we can add this sentence: We understand that sometimes you may have a last minute opening in your schedule; we will do our best to schedule requests for sessions with less than 2 weeks notice but cannot guarantee availability.
Watch the March (link coming soon) webinar or reach out to Kara Berger (kberger@towson.edu).
The final in-person session of the inaugural 2022-2023 cohort of the B’More Secure GenCyber program is designed as a day-long conference where participants will share their reflections on the program, network and learn more about teaching about cybersecurity in Maryland.
The event will be held on Saturday, May 13 from 10:00 – 3:00 pm in the new Cyber Center on TU’s main campus. Agenda, directions and parking instructions will be posted here by May 1.