San Angelo ISD Hosts Cybersecurity Card Game Tournament for 5th Graders
San Angelo ISD Hosts Cybersecurity Card Game Tournament for 5th Graders
The boardroom at the San Angelo ISD Administration Building is filled with the excited sounds of over 90 San Angelo ISD 5th grade students as they engage in a tournament of a cybersecurity based card game called Cyber Threat Protector. Cyber Threat Protector is a fun and engaging way for our younger students to learn about cybersecurity and practice protecting assets from hackers and viruses by utilizing defenses.
"My favorite aspect of this event was witnessing the students' interactions with their peers from other campuses,” said SAISD Digital Innovation Facilitator Brandon Ligon. “They demonstrated exemplary communication skills and sportsmanship, engaging in handshakes, congratulations, and mutual encouragement. Their positive and competitive spirit was truly inspiring."
During the tournament, students are provided an overview of essential cybersecurity information and defense strategies. Students were able to play six 7-minute games against students from across the district and learn basic cybersecurity terminology, reinforce understandings of a network infrastructure, learn about the relationships between cyber-attacks and defense countermeasures, real-world challenges, and facts and historical information connected to the cybersecurity field.
The twelve elementary campuses with the highest points earned by their students at this tournament will go on to participate in Angelo State University’s annual Youth Cybersecurity Workshop and Expo in April and compete again in another Cyber Threat Protector tournament.
SAISD is proud of the ongoing community-wide cybersecurity program being piloted in San Angelo by ASU and the University of Texas at San Antonio's CIAS in partnership with SAISD and the City of San Angelo, and supports students' pursuit of their future-ready goals. SAISD extends appreciation to our own SAISD Difference Makers who help provide impactful and successful STEM learning in our classrooms. To stay up-to-date on San Angelo ISD, please visit the SAISD website at www.saisd.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the Cybersecurity Program
This event is part of the ongoing community-wide cybersecurity program being piloted in San Angelo by ASU and the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security. The program is funded by a $1.67 million grant from the National Security Agency and is designed to help entire communities become more cyber-secure. Once the two-year pilot implementation is complete, the program will be transferable and applicable to communities of any size nationwide.