allows students to think like a real cybersecurity professional.

“ He’ s doing a really good job walking us through capture the flag. He has us run through them. He gives us time to work on the assignment ourselves and see if we can figure it out. And if we can’ t, he eventually walks us through and shows us what to do. He has a student come up and show how they did it to exhibit how there are many possible ways to get to the answer,” said Fry.

“ We’ re really pushing for me as a teacher to guide students, but for them to think critically and analyze what they’ re doing and test 99 different solutions that don’ t work to find the one that does. I think that’ s what makes this class fun for them. It’ s almost like a puzzle,” added Perhac.

“ I think it’ s the most important aspect. It’ s important for them to

work through processes and there being trial and error to see what works and what doesn’ t. I think the more that they’ re making mistakes, the more they’ re learning.”

Perhac said these student-led, problem-solving oriented activities have grown students’ interest and opened their eyes to how engaging and interesting cybersecurity can be. But even for students that don’ t find that cybersecurity is their chosen career pathway, the course acts as a useful guide to the dangers of the internet and potential vulnerabilities to sharing information.

“ I definitely think it’ s really helpful to bring awareness to cybersecurity and how to protect your data because our generation likes to put everything online. I think a lot of kids my age might not understand the dangers out there on the internet, but this class will help give students a

better idea of those dangers and how to protect yourself,” said Blanton.

As the class evolves, Perhac is hopeful to add next steps, potentially looking at Cybersecurity 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B classes, if there’ s enough interest. For those students, this program could put them in a uniquely-qualified position to enter the workforce. `

“ Employers really want to see what you can do. They want to see portfolios, rather than just a degree. They want to see that you can do what you were taught,” said Perhac.“ So what we’ re pushing for is to build a program where students can aim for entry-level jobs right out of high school. We want to try to expedite that process and get them right into work— if that’ s what they want— so that they’ re ahead of the curve.”

GATEWAY SCHOOL DISTRICT

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