Contact Us

Cybersecurity Education and Research

Computer Science Department

Dept. 3315, 1000 E. University ave

Laramie, WY 82071

Email: mike.borowczak@uwyo.edu

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Outreach

The CEDAR Center is committed to bringing Computer Science education to the Wyoming community. Our members understand the benefits of knowing basic Computer Science concepts can have in today's technological world and want to enable Wyoming's teachers, students, and parents to enjoy those same benefits. Below are some of the initiatives that the CEDAR Center is involved with.

To get more details about upcoming outreach events and training please check out our main outreach page.


National Science Foundation logo

The CEDAR Outreach team is proud to collaborate with our College of Education cohorts on the WySLICE initiative. Through funding from the NSF, WySLICE aims to provide teachers with the necessary trainings and course materials to effectively introduce Computer Science topics into their classrooms. The Wyoming Department of Education has implemented their Boot Up Wyoming 2022 program which sets the deadline of having Computer Science standards in every high school curriculum by the start of the 2022-23 school year. The WySLICE program was created in order to help administrators and teachers meet this requirement.

 

microbit stacked logo

The CEDAR Outreach team has developed multiple different educational activities which make use of the micro:bit development board. This board features input buttons, and LED matrix display for output, as well as several sensors that demonstrate to students how electrical sensors interect with the physical world. In order to program these boards, students use a graphical, block-based programming language available in any modern web browser to create and test programs to be uploaded onto the boards. At a very low price-point (~$18) these boards are very cost-efficient for K-12 educators while providing a slew of capabilities to introduce students to computer science. 

Here are some of the activities that members of the Outreach team have created:

  • Fitness Tracker: Project that uses one micro:bit to record accelerometer data from a student walking and running and send it over the radio to a receiving micro:bit. The receiving board then transmits the data onto a computer where a program plots the activity levels measured. This project helps students understand the concepts behind the many fitness trackers that are present in society as well as the fundamentals of using the X-Y-Z axis to measure activity in the physical world.
  • Beacon Hide-and-Seek: An activity that involves a lot of running around and searching. Multiple micro:bits are programmed to send out signals on specific radio channels and students are tasked with programming a receiver that will help them locate the beacons. Students are taught the basics of radio communication and shown how to display a nearby beacon's signal strength using the LED matrix. This project teaches students the basics of radio communications using the micro:bit and how radios are used in their everyday world.
  • Micro:bot: A project that allows students to program a remote control as well as the on-board controller for a two-wheeled robot. Students create the onboard controller to receive certain radio commands and then based on the command, turn the wheels the appropriate way. This project teaches students the basics of remote controlling technology as well as basic robotics programming. Outreach team members then also display the necessity of security by hijacking control of students robots using their own hidden controllers. After hijacking the students robots they are then shown how to add rudimentary access controls to their robots and remote controls.

 

Find out more about micro:bits here.


TEALS Logo depicting a linked list

TEALS is a Microsoft Philanthropy program whose goal is to bring computer science education into high schools across the nation. Computer Scientists from academia and industry are brought in as co-teachers to both instruct students on the topics but also to give the teachers their own understanding so that they may take over full instruction. By doing this, students are not only taught computer science but teachers are also learning the topics they need to successfully teach their students for many years into the future.

 

GenCyber Logo

"The GenCyber program provides summer cybersecurity camp experiences for students and teachers at the K-12 level. The goals of the program are to increase interest in cybersecurity careers and diversity in the cybersecurity workforce of the nation, help all students understand correct and safe on-line behavior and how they can be good digital citizens, and improve teaching methods for delivery of cybersecurity content in K-12 curricula." - GenCyber Website

The CEDAR Center has been hosting the Wyoming GenCyber summer camps for K12 students the past two years. During these camps students, parents, and teachers are taught about basic cybersecurity concepts through hands on, interactive activities at no cost. These activities ranged from creating hand-made ceasar ciphers to programming secure remote controls for 4-wheeled robots using micro:bits. Click here to access some of the micro:bit activities created for the summer camps. 

News

GenCyber 2021

January 14, 2022 ‖ High school students from around the state gathered virtually and in person to participate in different cybersecurity-related learning activities thought up by our members.

Software Bootcamp

January 14, 2022 ‖ The Software Bootcamp that was part of a collaboration between the Wyoming Innovation Network, TriHydro, and Cardiff University has come to a successful close. After two weeks of development, students presented TriHydro representatives with demonstrations of their completed solutions.

WySTACK 2021

January 14, 2022 ‖ The CEDAR group, in conjunction with three other research groups in the Computer Science Department, had the pleasure of helping with the "Wyoming Supporting Teachers and Computing Knowledge" (WySTACK) summer research experience. This camp helped expose high school STEM teachers to computer science research projects and curriculum development opportunities to improve STEM education throughout the Wyoming high school education system.

Hour of Code at Beitel

January 14, 2022 ‖ CEDAR members help teachers, parents, and student learn to program for the worldwide Hour of Code initiative at Beitel Elementary School.

GenCyber Camp

January 14, 2022 ‖ Members of the CEDAR center host the second installment of the GenCyber Camp for students in Wyoming.

Open House 2019

January 14, 2022 ‖ CEDAR is having an open house on Friday, May 3rd from 11:30am to 2:30 pm in Engineering 4086. Swing by and chat with current and past members of the lab to find out what we have been working on and any projects you might be interested in working on. There will be free Jimmy Johns sandwiches for anyone who lets us give our 5-minute lab pitch to them.

CEDAR hosts GenCyber

January 14, 2022 ‖ CEDAR Lab hosts first GenCyber classes in Wyoming.

Contact Us

Cybersecurity Education and Research

Computer Science Department

Dept. 3315, 1000 E. University ave

Laramie, WY 82071

Email: mike.borowczak@uwyo.edu

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