Evaluating the Impact of a Multimodal Cybersecurity Education Approach on High School Student Cybersecurity Learning

Abstract Introduction: The need for cybersecurity is growing as we become more dependent on digital tools and programs to run our daily lives, including the sharing and storing of personal data. According to research reports, a successful security awareness program is one of the critical milestones in boosting and bolstering cybersecurity [1]. The rise in cyberattacks shows that the conventional methods of education and awareness still need to be improved to develop the required cybersecurity competencies [2]. This project aims to increase the understanding and abilities of high school students in cyber security. The primary goal of this project is to give students a complete understanding of cybersecurity by using an interactive visualization tool, explaining cybersecurity through lectures, lab/experimental sessions, and smartphone app development exercises. To improve high school students' understanding of cybersecurity, Purdue University Northwest and the University of Toledo conducted a week-long summer camp, collected relevant data, and analyzed the results to see the impact. Goal and Objective: This project aims to expand high school student's knowledge about cybersecurity. Therefore, we offered a free summer camp whose main goal was to educate high school students on the necessity of cybersecurity and the many cyberattacks they can encounter daily, like phishing, scareware, and ransomware. The morning sessions began with a straightforward explanation of cybersecurity principles, followed by interactive lab sessions in the afternoon. Through these lab sessions, students also understood how phishing, scareware, and ransomware operate in the real world. Students learned how cyber-attacks might occur through this. Utilizing MIT App Inventor, students also learned how to design applications. To accomplish the goals of our study, we completed a survey that included 6 pre- and 6 post-surveys, which we then distributed to the students. Our survey findings show that the summer camp successfully taught cybersecurity to students irrespective of gender, race, or previous background in the domain. Research Methodology and Activities: We engaged the students in several activities to help them learn about cybersecurity, such as (i) Interactive visualization tool, (ii) MIT App Inventor (for smartphone app development), (iii) Lecture sessions with thorough explanations, (iv) lab/hands-on sessions, and (v) exposure to various types of malware. The interactive visualization tool was created using the Unity gaming engine, a platform for game-based programming [3]. Students gained practical knowledge using this application in cryptography, malware, network security, and web security. A quiz is included in each module to assess the student's knowledge of the content. In MIT App Inventor, the elements of an app are represented as blocks, and an app is created by arranging the blocks in the correct order. So, the students don't need any technical knowledge. The research questions used during the summer camp are listed below. 1. What curriculum components are most effective in teaching the content? a. What are the characteristics of each module that interest students? b. Can these characteristics be employed to make other modules more interesting? 2. How effective are interactive animated visualization modules more interesting? a. Are the unique differences based on gender and/or race? b. Does student perception of cybersecurity concepts improve? References: [1]. Y. Peker, L. Ray. Online Cybersecurity Awareness Modules for college and High school Students. [2]. H. Qusa, J. Tarazi. Cyber-Hero: A Gamification framework for Cyber Security Awareness for High School Students. [3]. Unity.(2022)Unity scenes. Available: https://docs.unity3d.com/2022.1/Documentation/Manual/CreatingScenes.html Accessed: November 7 2022.