海角社区

When a comprehensive research university operates a K-12 laboratory school on its flagship campus and there鈥檚 a 750,000-strong workforce gap for cybersecurity professionals in the U.S., graduate students and high school students come together for some unusual approaches to learning鈥攁nd tastes.

It鈥檚 Wednesday morning and AP Computer Science class is underway at the University Lab School. At one end of the classroom, 海角社区 graduate students are setting up a presentation to explain hashing algorithms, which are used to disguise passwords in computer memory. At the other end, a blender whirrs with frozen berries and mango.

鈥淲e鈥檙e making up recipes that are like passwords,鈥� said Olivia Sterling, a University Lab School student from Baton Rouge. 鈥淭hen we taste the smoothies and try to guess each other鈥檚 鈥榩assword.鈥欌��

Sterling already speaks four languages: English, French, Spanish and Mandarin. She鈥檚 now also learning how to speak cybersecurity, using terms like 鈥渁bstraction,鈥� which is part of today鈥檚 lesson plan. When computer users enter a password, they don鈥檛 necessarily know how the computer recognizes a correct from incorrect password, or where this knowledge is stored鈥攖hat technical detail is an abstraction, which malicious hackers can exploit to steal passwords. Similarly, Sterling makes sure no one from the other team is looking when her team selects their preferred mix of fruit and jots down their secret recipe on a piece of paper, which goes into a classmate鈥檚 pocket.

鈥淚 never considered cybersecurity for college or as a career prior to this class. As a matter of fact, computer science was the last thing on my list,鈥� Sterling said. 鈥淣ow, I鈥檓 intrigued. I enjoy going to this class weekly because I know it will be a fun hour. Honestly, it keeps me going throughout the week.鈥�

Next, it鈥檚 time to guess the recipes, or passwords.

鈥淥ne cup of mixed berries?鈥�

鈥淣辞.鈥�

鈥淣one at all?鈥�

鈥淭here were two.鈥�

While the teams would have had an easy time guessing the recipes if the fruit had remained whole, the blender, like a hashing algorithm, makes the game a good bit harder.

鈥淭hree cups of strawberries.鈥�

鈥淣o. One and a half.鈥�

鈥淣o way!鈥�

The ultimate lesson here, of course, is that passwords are a lot harder to crack if they contain a lot of different and surprising ingredients鈥攊ncluding salt鈥攁nd are hashed.

The smoothie guessing game was developed as a cybersecurity lesson by 海角社区 graduate students as part of a new course this fall semester, called Cyber for Good. Taught by Ibrahim 鈥淎be鈥� Baggili, professor in the division of computer science and engineering in the 海角社区 College of Engineering, the class is based on cybersecurity first principles established by the National Security Agency. Baggili and 海角社区 graduate students are developing hands-on activities around these first principles, including interactive escape rooms and hands-on lockpicking.

At the end of the semester, all of the lesson plans will be open-sourced. This means the cybersecurity learning activities will be made publicly available, for free, to serve as a model for other schools looking to integrate cybersecurity into their curricula.

LaSean Salmon from Metairie, Louisiana, is an 海角社区 cybersecurity student supported by the National Science Foundation鈥檚 Scholarship for Service program who chose to take Cyber for Good this semester to give others a chance to engage with cybersecurity before college鈥攁 chance she herself did not get.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 exposed to cybersecurity until I came to 海角社区, while it would have been cool to learn about it in high school,鈥� said Salmon, who was one of the first students to celebrate 海角社区鈥檚 prestigious designation by the National Security Agency as a Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations last year. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad these students get that chance, and to me, it鈥檚 really rewarding to help them learn hard concepts in a field I鈥檓 so passionate about.鈥�

Salmon is now developing detailed lessons plans to teach advanced topics like mobile forensics and network security to the high schoolers later this semester.

鈥淚t鈥檚 such a fun opportunity to teach what you love to younger minds and flesh out some really difficult concepts,鈥� Salmon said.

The collaboration between 海角社区 and the University Laboratory School would not have been possible without the full support of ULS Instructor of IB Physics, Robotics and AP Computer Science Brian Simpson and ULS Director Kevin George.

鈥淭his unique opportunity represents what is possible when collaboration is the norm among colleagues,鈥� George said. 鈥淚t furthers our mission to serve as a demonstration space and to be a beacon of innovation in education.鈥�

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e doing here is grasping the potential inherent in direct collaboration with the lab school on our campus,鈥� Baggili said. 鈥淭he initiative also aligns seamlessly with the strategic institutional drive, led by President Tate, to establish cybersecurity as a central pillar within 海角社区 to cultivate a robust pipeline of cybersecurity experts to meet a pressing national demand.鈥�

海角社区 College of Human Sciences & Education Dean Roland Mitchell appreciates the collaborative nature of the course.

鈥満＝巧缜� students are so fortunate to have not one, but two living/learning laboratories right here on our campus鈥攖he University Laboratory School and the Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool,鈥� Mitchell said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such an awesome, symbiotic relationship where our birth-to-grade-twelve students can have exceptional growth, learning and developmental experiences provided by our flagship researchers and their students, while simultaneously enriching the scholarship and research prowess for 海角社区 students.鈥�

Sterling enjoys having college students in the classroom.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very different, in a good way,鈥� Sterling said. 鈥淚t makes the classroom environment more easy-going and relaxed.鈥�

About the University Laboratory School

The University Laboratory School was established by the 海角社区 College of Education, now known as the 海角社区 College of Human Sciences & Education, and has operated under its auspices for nearly 100 years. This coeducational school exists as an independent system to provide training opportunities for pre- and in-service teachers and to serve as a demonstration and educational research center. The school is located on the main campus of 海角社区 in Baton Rouge.

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About CHSE

The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division of 海角社区. The college is comprised of the School of Education, the School of Information Studies, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development, the School of Social Work and the University Laboratory School. These combined schools offer eight undergraduate degree programs, 18 graduate programs, and seven online graduate degree and certificate programs, enrolling more than 1,900 undergraduate and 1,120 graduate students. The college is committed to achieving the highest standards in teaching, research and service and is committed to improving quality of life across the lifespan.

Visit the College of Human Sciences & Education website.