Capitol Cyber Sleuths Program

The following enrollment and selection requirements apply:

• Selection limited to teachers from middle and high schools in Maryland. 

• Teachers will be provided access to the application link and assistance with applying if needed. 

• A diverse application review committee will assess all applications.  

• All teachers will have an equal chance to participate in the program regardless of race, ethnicity, special needs, gender, or religious beliefs. 

• The program will focus on the goal of diversity (racial, economic and social) as a part of its selection criteria.   

• The estimated number of teachers for enrollment in the program is 50.  

• A waitlist for the program is available. 

Note: Teachers will be required to obtain a letter of support from their respective school administrator after selection to the program. Entrance into the Summer Program will be dependent on the teacher's successful completion of all assignments prior to the second Zoom meeting of the Pre-Program Retreat (see detailed information below). 

Participation in the Capitol Cyber Sleuths program will have the following benefits:

• Hybrid learning opportunity for a combination of convenient, online access, hands-on technical experience, and in-person networking. 

• Learning from professionals in the field with Capitol Tech’s finest professors of practice and leaders in cyber industries, as well as provided resources and materials to develop a strong understanding of fundamental concepts. 

• Access to an established community of interest (COI) focused on cybersecurity content, best practices, pedagogy, resources, and advice on starting and sustaining cybersecurity education at your institution, available during and after participation in the program. 

Teacher applicants who are accepted into this program will receive a stipend of $1,000 upon successful completion of the program. 

Tuesday, July 11 2023, 2-3 pm (Zoom)

The following curriculum is focused on building and developing the Capitol Cyber Sleuths Cybersecurity First Concepts and First Principles where teachers will learn computer forensics topics and perform activities to demonstrate how evidentiary data can be retrieved from digital media. 

The expected format for the two-week Summer Program will be virtual, half-day sessions (see below for a detailed schedule outline). 

Note: All courses and materials are subject to change. 

Sample Capitol Cyber Sleuths First Principles and Cybersecurity Concepts Curriculum

The Pre-Program Retreat will be conducted in a hybrid manner utilizing Zoom and Canvas to deliver content and assessments over a 4-week period, with two Saturday Zoom sessions scheduled with four weeks of asynchronous assignments in between. The required readings and hands-on assignments will include, but are not limited to, an introduction to the first principles, basic computing concepts such as TCP/IP networking, UNIX operating system command-line interface (CLI), basic cybersecurity concepts. Teachers will be required to take a pre- and post-test to assess their knowledge of these basic topics. Teachers will be required to complete all assignments prior to the second Zoom meeting to gain entrance into the Summer Program.  

“GenCyber Forensic Challenge Using Open-Source Tools”

WEEK 1

WEEK 2 

The Post-Program Retreat will be conducted virtually utilizing Zoom and Canvas to deliver content and assessments over a 2-week period. Teachers will be asked to present their developed lessons and assessment data to their fellow teachers and camp staff. These lessons should have been developed and actually delivered to their students. These lessons and assessments will be uploaded to Canvas for sharing with fellow teachers. Exemplary lessons will be selected and recorded via Zoom as a part of the after-camp reflections and assessments. The Program Office will provide these exemplary lessons for possible distribution via approved channels such as CLARK, CARD, and National Cryptologic Museum Foundation (NCMF) high school outreach programs. The end-of-camp assessments will be discussed with the teachers as part of focused feedback and reflection sessions. Teachers will also reflect on lessons learned from attending local and national cybersecurity-related events such as BSIDES (Northern Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland), Cyber Maryland, and Maryland Computer Science Teachers Association-sponsored events.   

To meet the program's goals, each participant will be assessed to determine their understanding of the materials and adjustments will be made accordingly to enhance the overall learning experience.  

The following formative assessment strategies will be used:   

• Quizzes 

• Strategic questions 

• “Think-Pair-Share" 

• Exit/Admit Tickets 

• One-minute papers 

• Additional assessments as determined 

Upon completion of the program, the teacher participants of the program will be able to... 

1. Educate their students about cybersecurity and the career opportunities in the field. 

2. Explain cybersecurity ethics, data hiding, and other first concepts and first principles. 

3. Recognize cyber hacking and high-tech crimes. 

4. Know what cybersecurity is and its basic components. 

5. Identify online network security threats and solutions. 

Along with printed and online materials, a technology kit with the following items will be provided to participants:  

• Raspberry Pi 

• The Sleuth Kit/Autopsy Forensics Tool 

• Flash drive