Informatics Colloquium 21.9. Insights Gained from Evaluating MUNI's Cybercompass Course with Computer Science Undergraduates
Informatics Colloquium21.9. 2021, 14:00 lecture hall D2
Dr.-Ing. Lydia Kraus, ÚVT MU
Insights Gained from Evaluating MUNI's Cybercompass Course with Computer Science Undergraduates
Abstract: As cyber threats endanger everyone from basic users to computing professionals, spreading cybersecurity awareness becomes more and more critical. Therefore, a dedicated team at MUNI designed an “everyday” cybersecurity course that is freely available online for students, employees, and the general public. The course, named Cybercompass, aims to raise awareness about essential cybersecurity topics. It offers simple actionable steps that anyone can use to implement defensive countermeasures. In spring this year, we evaluated how students perceive the course and whether it impacts their security behavior. We administered the course to 138 undergraduates in computer science. They completed the course as a part of their graded homework and filled out a questionnaire after each lesson. Statistical analysis of the questionnaire responses revealed that the students valued the course highly. They reported new learning, changes in their perspectives, and transfer to practice. At the same time, they suggested suitable improvements to the course. Based on the results, we have distilled specific insights that will help MUNI's course designers to improve the course and that will help security educators outside MUNI to design similar courses.
Dr.-Ing. Lydia Kraus, ÚVT MU
Insights Gained from Evaluating MUNI's Cybercompass Course with Computer Science Undergraduates
Abstract: As cyber threats endanger everyone from basic users to computing professionals, spreading cybersecurity awareness becomes more and more critical. Therefore, a dedicated team at MUNI designed an “everyday” cybersecurity course that is freely available online for students, employees, and the general public. The course, named Cybercompass, aims to raise awareness about essential cybersecurity topics. It offers simple actionable steps that anyone can use to implement defensive countermeasures. In spring this year, we evaluated how students perceive the course and whether it impacts their security behavior. We administered the course to 138 undergraduates in computer science. They completed the course as a part of their graded homework and filled out a questionnaire after each lesson. Statistical analysis of the questionnaire responses revealed that the students valued the course highly. They reported new learning, changes in their perspectives, and transfer to practice. At the same time, they suggested suitable improvements to the course. Based on the results, we have distilled specific insights that will help MUNI's course designers to improve the course and that will help security educators outside MUNI to design similar courses.