A series of workshops provide students with the information and skills necessary to navigate the professional pipeline in the vast fields of CyberSecurity and Information Assurance, as well as, other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The Annual Careers in CyberSecurity for Girls Summit, presents a cyber crime scenario, and the elite all girl CSI teams use a variety of clues to solve it, while also learning about the plethora of career options in CyberSecurity from women in business and government throughout the state.
Despite the gains of the last twenty years in the representation of women in STEM fields, their numbers still lag behind their male counterparts. Researchers have found that until third grade an equal number of boys and girls show interest and feel confident in learning science and technology. However, these numbers continuously decrease for girls throughout middle school and into high school. Various explanations for the significant decrease in girls’ interest in science and technology through their school years have been posed. Cool Careers in CyberSecurity Workshops sponsored by CyberWatch draws on research that that indicates recruiting and retaining girls to the science and technology fields should include targeted programs to educate women and minorities about STEM career choices. Many women and minorities have had limited exposure to computing in grade school and high school, especially if they come from lower-income households and communities. A new National Research Council report indicates that general Information and Technology Fluency skills and concepts will also be needed by all citizens if they are to be competitive in the modern world. Curricula should provide early exposure to real-world examples of the content of interest connected to careers. Enrichment programs should emphasize team projects and diverse real-world examples of technology applied in content areas. Curricular material that addresses major societal and/or environmental problems has been shown to attract women to the discipline. Mentoring and role models in the career choices has also shown success in recruitment and retention.
History
The first in a series of Cool Careers in CyberSecurity Workshops was held at the University of Maryland on Friday April 21, 2006. The workshop provided participants with a full day of speakers, hands-on activities and campus site visits. 30 middle school girls had the opportunity to learn from women from companies and agencies throughout the state about what it takes to be a true success in the field. Attention was given to issues for women from underrepresented groups.
The CyberWatch K12 Division continues to offer small workshops for individual schools/school districts, but has also expanded to offer an Annual Cool Careers in CyberSecurity Workshop for Girls Summit. At the Summit, a Cyber Crime Scenario is presented to the girls. The attendees are broken up in to small CSI teams of 10 and rotate around different “cyber tables” to gather clues to solve the cyber crime. Each table has a different activity led by a women professional in the field. The girls use the first part of each rotation to gather a clue, and the remainder of the time is used to learn more about the career and how each representative entered the field. Girls find out more about the education skills needed, likes and dislikes and salary range. Activities have included: cryptography, assembling a computer, steganography, penetration testing and cell phone forensics.
Save the Date: 2011 Cool Careers in Cybersecurity Summit
October 18 - Applied Physics Lab
Despite the gains of the last twenty years in the representation of women in STEM fields, their numbers still lag behind their male counterparts. Researchers have found that until third grade an equal number of boys and girls show interest and feel confident in learning science and technology. However, these numbers continuously decrease for girls throughout middle school and into high school. Various explanations for the significant decrease in girls’ interest in science and technology through their school years have been posed. Cool Careers in CyberSecurity Workshops sponsored by CyberWatch draws on research that that indicates recruiting and retaining girls to the science and technology fields should include targeted programs to educate women and minorities about STEM career choices. Many women and minorities have had limited exposure to computing in grade school and high school, especially if they come from lower-income households and communities. A new National Research Council report indicates that general Information and Technology Fluency skills and concepts will also be needed by all citizens if they are to be competitive in the modern world. Curricula should provide early exposure to real-world examples of the content of interest connected to careers. Enrichment programs should emphasize team projects and diverse real-world examples of technology applied in content areas. Curricular material that addresses major societal and/or environmental problems has been shown to attract women to the discipline. Mentoring and role models in the career choices has also shown success in recruitment and retention.
History
The first in a series of Cool Careers in CyberSecurity Workshops was held at the University of Maryland on Friday April 21, 2006. The workshop provided participants with a full day of speakers, hands-on activities and campus site visits. 30 middle school girls had the opportunity to learn from women from companies and agencies throughout the state about what it takes to be a true success in the field. Attention was given to issues for women from underrepresented groups.
The CyberWatch K12 Division continues to offer small workshops for individual schools/school districts, but has also expanded to offer an Annual Cool Careers in CyberSecurity Workshop for Girls Summit. At the Summit, a Cyber Crime Scenario is presented to the girls. The attendees are broken up in to small CSI teams of 10 and rotate around different “cyber tables” to gather clues to solve the cyber crime. Each table has a different activity led by a women professional in the field. The girls use the first part of each rotation to gather a clue, and the remainder of the time is used to learn more about the career and how each representative entered the field. Girls find out more about the education skills needed, likes and dislikes and salary range. Activities have included: cryptography, assembling a computer, steganography, penetration testing and cell phone forensics.
Save the Date: 2011 Cool Careers in Cybersecurity Summit
October 18 - Applied Physics Lab
- Workshop
- Information and Security Technologies
