afa cybercamps

AFA CYBERCAMPS SUMMER 2020 REPORT

CYBERPATRIOT National Youth Cyber Education Program

CYBERPATRIOT

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Purpose This report synopsizes the summer 2020 season of AFA CyberCamps. It provides camp participant demographics, effectiveness, and quality as reported in post-camp surveys of participants and instructors. This report also tabulates recommendations for improvement received from participants and instructors. Each of these recommendations will be evaluated by AFA’s CyberPatriot Program Office for possible incorporation into future CyberCamp seasons.

AFA CyberCamps

The non-profit Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot Program Office has since 2014 operated week-long CyberCamps as part of its mission to inspire young men and young women to pursue education and careers in STEM fields. The popularity of AFA CyberCamps has been strong. From a modest pilot program of just three locations in 2014, the program registered over 300 camp locations for the summer of 2020.

2020 Camp Highlights

Despite the restrictions and uncertainty caused

by COVID-19, the 2020 CyberCamp season

saw a record numbers of camps hosted and

students participating.

To collect data on the 2020 CyberCamps,

student participants were asked to complete a

pre- and post-camp survey. Instructors were

asked to complete a post-camp survey only.

Completion of the surveys was strongly

encouraged, though not required.

Pictured: Students participating in an Advanced Camp the week

of July 13-17. Photo courtesy of Fort Gordon Cyber District.

324

83

160

260299

346

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Standard Camps:

Standard camps are designed to provide introductory cybersecurity skills to students with little or no

prior cybersecurity training. Any student with even the slightest interest in computers can successfully

attend a Standard Camp. In 2020, 181 Standard Camps were hosted across the country with an

estimated 81% of camps were held virtually. Based on the feedback received:

• 35% female participation

• 93% of instructors rated the camp “Effective” or “Very Effective.”

• 91% of instructors indicated they would likely recommend AFA CyberCamps to a colleague (or

host another camp)

• 85% of students rated their camp experience as “Good” or “Excellent”

• Student knowledge increased at least one full point across all topics covered during the week

Advanced Camps:

Advanced camps are designed to build on the skills learned in a prior standard camp or to further

develop skills learned from participation in CyberPatriot’s National Youth Cyber Defense Competition .

Students are expected to have a basic background in cybersecurity in order to successfully complete

an Advanced Camp. In 2020, 126 Standard Camps were hosted across the country with an estimated

72% of camps were held virtually. Based on the feedback received:

• 32% female participation

• 76% of instructors rated the camp “Effective” or “Very Effective.”

• 96% of instructors indicated they would likely recommend AFA CyberCamps to a colleague (or

host another camp)

• 89% of students rated their camp experience as “Good” or “Excellent”

• Student knowledge increased at least one full point across all topics covered during the week

Standard Camps

Camp Demographics

Camp Type

Due to COVID-19, the majority of camps were

held virtually (58 instructor respondents).

School Type of Attendees

Of the 1,268 student respondents, 72% of

standard camp attendees are enrolled in public

schools.

Gender

Of the 1,268 student respondents, 35% of the

participants are female.

Grade / Age

Of the 1,268 student respondents, 60% are

students in 8th, 9th, or 10th grade. The age range

of respondents is 10-18 years old, with the most

common age range being 13-15.

Prefer not to

say1%

Other1%

Female35%

Male63%

0 100 200 300

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

11th

12th

Home10%

Private/ Parochial

9%

Charter/ Magnet

6%

Vocational0%Other

3%Public72%

Virtual81%

In-Person

19%

Camp Effectiveness

Knowledge Improvement Assessment

To measure the educational effectiveness of

the camp, we asked the instructors, “Overall,

how would you rate the effectiveness of this

camp in improving students' knowledge of

cybersecurity?” They rated on a scale of 1-5,

with a rating of 1 being “Not Effective at All”

and a rating of 5 being “Very Effective.”

Of the 58 instructor respondents, 93% rated

the camp “Effective” or “Very Effective.”

Both before and after the camp, students were asked to rate their knowledge of specific topics on a

scale of 1-5, with a rating of 1 being “No Knowledge” and a rating of 5 being “Expert Knowledge.” The

average pre-and post-camp knowledge ratings show a full point increase in knowledge across every

topic after completing the camp.

General Camp Ratings

To measure the overall camp experience, students (407 respondents) and instructors (58 respondents)

were asked how likely they would be to recommend an AFA CyberCamp to a friend or colleague. In

total:

67% of students would recommend to a friend 91% of instructors would recommend to a colleague

0 13

24

30

1Not Effective

At All

2 3 4 5Very

Effective

20 29

84

132 142

1Very

Unlikely

2Unlikely

3Maybe

4Likely

5Very Likely

1 04

11

42

1Very

Unlikely

2Unlikely

3Maybe

4Likely

5Very Likely

2.52.8

3.12.8

2.1

1.5 1.6

3.94.2 4.1

3.7 3.83.4 3.3

0

1

2

3

4

5

Cyber Ethics Password Hygiene Online Safety How ComputersWork

Windows 10Security

Ubuntu Security Linux Commands

Pre-Camp Post-Camp

In total, 85% of student

respondents gave “Good” or

“Excellent” ratings to their camp

experience and would likely

recommend to a friend.

(1=Very Poor, 5=Excellent)

Takeaways – What needs improvement

General Recommendations

• Instructor Resources

o Include speaker notes in slide decks for ease of presentation

o Larger screenshots of slides in instructor guide

o Recommendation of smaller camp groups (or additional assistants) to encourage more

1-on-1 attention from instructors

• Curriculum

o Add lesson to discuss types of security actions and how to interpret instructions

o Reevaluate pace

o Schedule time for guest speakers from industry

o Additional teambuilding and student workbook activities. More quizzes

o Additional hands-on activities for Windows Demo Image (Sharing Folders/Audit

Logs/etc.)

o Inclusion of forensic question in Demo Image

o Inclusion of Read-me file for the Ubuntu Demo Image

o Inclusion of Linux commands in student workbook (cheat sheet)

• Technical Resources

o Increase the RAM memory on modules to limit technical issues

o Host images in a cloud environment

o Offer Live/Chat tech support

Virtual Camp Recommendations


o Allow the instructors to modify the content slightly for better delivery to the students

o Videos of the activities that can be referred to by students who struggle to keep pace

and need help

• Curriculum

o Inclusion of more interactive resources that can be used in a virtual setting

o Digital class prevented students from switching roles in the competition

o Increased instruction on unzipping and opening VMs at home (for middle school

students)


o Computer resources are too demanding -- Lack of compatible home computers causes

limited enrollment

4

9

59

158

177

1

2

3

4

5

Student CyberCampExperience Rating

o Use cloud environment or cyber ranges (where images are under the control of the

instructors) to provide flexibility and minimize requirement of heavy computer resources

for the students

o Use of “cyber ranges.” (virtual machines hosted online)

o Find optimal delivery platform (Zoom vs. Teams vs. WebEx, etc.)

Comments

“I really enjoyed and learned a lot from this camp. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to

participate”

“This was truly an excellent camp and I learned a lot. I feel that the instructional materials were

excellent. Since I am on the West Coast, I had to wake up at 5:15 AM every morning for this camp and

I still believe that this was the highlight of my summer.”

“Assistance was OUTSTANDING!! Whenever I called or emailed AFA CyberPatriot, somebody was

right there to help...thanks. JOB WELL DONE!!”

“The instructional materials were some of the best I have seen.”

Advanced Camps

Camp Demographics

Camp Type

Due to of COVID-19, the majority of camps

were held virtually. (25 instructor respondents)

School Type of Attendees

Of the 517 student respondents, 65% of

advanced camp attendees are enrolled in public

schools.

Gender

Of the 517 student respondents, 32% of the

participants are female.

Grade / Age

Of the 517 student respondents, 75% are high

school students (grades 9-12). The age range

of respondents is 10-18 years old, with the

majority of students between the ages of 14-17.

Prefer not to

say2%

Other0%

Female32%

Male66%

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

11th

12th

Virtual72%

In-Person

28%

Home14%

Private/ Parochial

13%

Charter/ Magnet

4%

Vocational0%

Other4%

Public65%

Camp Effectiveness

Knowledge Improvement Assessment

To measure the educational effectiveness of the

camp, we asked the instructors, “Overall, how would

you rate the effectiveness of this camp in improving

students' knowledge of cybersecurity?” They rated

on a scale of 1-5, with a rating of 1 being “Not

Effective at All” and a rating of 5 being “Very

Effective.”

Of the 25 instructor respondents, 76% rated the

camp “Effective” or “Very Effective.”

Both before and after the camp, students were asked to rate their knowledge of specific topics on a

scale of 1-5, with a rating of 1 being “No Knowledge” and a rating of 5 being “Expert Knowledge.” The

average pre-and post-camp knowledge ratings show a full point increase in knowledge across every

topic after completing the camp.

General Camp Ratings

To measure the overall camp experience, students (222 respondents) and instructors (25 respondents)

were asked how likely they would be to you recommend an AFA CyberCamp to a friend or colleague. In

total:

74% of students would recommend to a friend 96% of instructors would recommend to a colleague

2.72.4

1.82.1 2.2 2.2 2.0 2.0 1.9

2.3 2.5

2.0

2.7

3.8 3.63.4 3.2 3.4

3.2 3.2 3.2 3.23.6 3.5 3.4 3.5

0

1

2

3

4

5

GraphicalUtilities

CommandLine

SysinternalsSuite

Init Systems AdvancedCommand

Line

Partitionsand FileSystems

Processesand

ScheduledTasks

SecurityPolicies and

PAM

UbuntuNetworking

IPNetworking

Routers andNetworkingEquipment

TCP/IP NetworkConnections

Pre-Camp Post-Camp

0 1 0

9

15

1Very

Unlikely

2Unlikely

3Maybe

4Likely

5Very Likely

0 0

6

910

1Not

EffectiveAt All

2 3 4 5Very

Effective

7 7

44

70

94

1Very

Unlikely

2Unlikely

3Maybe

4Likely

5Very Likely

In total, 89% of student

respondents gave “Good” or

“Excellent” ratings to their camp

experience and would likely

recommend to a friend.

(1=Very Poor, 5=Excellent)

Takeaways – What needs improvement

General Recommendations


o Larger screenshots of slides in instructor guide

o Add step by step instructions / answer key in student workbook

• Curriculum

o Update materials – some content is outdated (icacls, ifconfig, etc.)

o Additional interactive games, videos, and Kahoot! quizzes (consider using “QUIZIZZ”)

o Inclusion of glossary of terms, acronyms and key commands for Windows 10 and

Ubuntu

o Linux lesson is too rushed

o Competition timing -- use competition image after completion of that lesson

o Cisco curriculum needs improvement (called “useless”)

Add a lesson on converting decimal to binary for subnetting

Add a lesson on the TCP/IP Stack

Create more meaningful and useful Packet Tracer exercises


o Advanced images too difficult compared to what is taught

o Host images in a cloud environment

o Offer Live/Chat tech support

Virtual Camp Recommendations

• Add “Camp Day #0” for preparing computers and training students on VMs

• Use Canvas LMS platform for materials to guide instruction and assess student’s engagement

and learning

• Find the right teleconference platform (Zoom, Google Classroom, Discord app, etc.)

Comments:

“Thank you so much to the amazing CyberCamp instructors! I learned a tremendous amount and plan

to start a CyberPatriot team at my high school.”

4

1

18

89

110

1

2

3

4

5

Student CyberCampExperience Rating

CyberPatriot is the Air Force Association’s

National Youth Cyber Education Program.

For additional information, visit

www.uscyberpatriot.org

afa cybercamps

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