Taisha Dormil's ID Portfolio

Navigation links: ETAP 623 Fall 2026 Design Project Agenda | Cybersecurity Awareness in the Classroom

About Me

My name is Taisha Dormil. I am originally from Haiti, but I currently live on Long Island, New York. I received my bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2022, and I am currently enrolled in the CDIT master’s program at the University at Albany. After graduating from college, I began working as a cybersecurity consultant at an accounting firm.

Recently, I have developed an interest in educating adolescents and adults. I look forward to growing as an educator and expanding my knowledge throughout my time in the CDIT program. I am interested in creating learning experiences that connect cybersecurity knowledge to situations students may encounter when using technology in their everyday lives.

My Topic and Purpose

After working in cybersecurity, I became more aware of how often people encounter cybersecurity risks in their everyday lives. Individuals use technology for school, communication, social media, entertainment, and many other activities. However, knowing how to use technology does not always mean knowing how to use it safely. Some individuals may receive suspicious messages, share personal information online, create weak passwords, or click unfamiliar links without fully understanding the risks involved. These everyday situations made me interested in how cybersecurity education can better prepare individuals to make safer and more informed decisions online.

For this mini-course, I want to help participants make cybersecurity practical and relevant for their students. The mini-course will align with the New York State K–12 Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards, with a focus on cybersecurity. Participants will explore instructional strategies for teaching important cybersecurity concepts through realistic situations that students may encounter in their daily lives. Rather than presenting cybersecurity as a collection of technical terms, this mini-course will help participants create age-appropriate, standards-aligned learning experiences where students can analyze situations, identify potential risks, select appropriate safeguards, make informed decisions, and explain their reasoning.

Scope of Learning Outcomes and Content

This mini-course will help participants develop the knowledge and instructional skills needed to teach cybersecurity concepts to K–12 students in practical and age-appropriate ways. The course will align with the New York State K–12 Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards, with a focus on cybersecurity. Participants will explore digital privacy and personal information, digital safeguards, account and device protection, responsible digital decision making, cryptography, and responses to cybersecurity threats.

The course will move beyond learning cybersecurity definitions. Participants will analyze realistic situations, identify risks, select appropriate safeguards, and consider how these concepts can be taught to students. By the end of the mini-course, participants will apply their knowledge to create an age-appropriate, standards-aligned cybersecurity learning experience that encourages students to make informed decisions and explain their reasoning.

Needs Assessment

The Educational Problem or Opportunity

Technology is an important part of students' academic and personal lives. Students use digital devices and online platforms for learning, communication, entertainment, and social interaction. However, frequent technology use does not automatically mean that students know how to recognize cybersecurity risks or protect themselves online. Students may encounter suspicious messages, requests for personal information, weak account security, scams, malware, and other digital threats.

The New York State Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards identify cybersecurity as an important area of student learning. The standards address protecting information, using safeguards, understanding cryptography, and responding appropriately to security concerns. This creates an opportunity for educators to provide instruction that prepares students to make safer and more informed digital decisions.

Learners Involved

The primary learners for this mini-course are K–12 educators who want to incorporate cybersecurity concepts into their instruction. Participants may have different levels of cybersecurity knowledge and teaching experience, so advanced technical knowledge will not be required.

Because participants may teach different grade levels, they will consider how cybersecurity content can be adapted to students' age, prior knowledge, and learning needs. Participants will build their cybersecurity knowledge while learning how to translate these concepts into appropriate classroom instruction.

Analysis of Gaps

The current situation is that educators are expected to address computer science and digital fluency standards, including cybersecurity, but they may have different levels of preparation for teaching this content. Knowing cybersecurity terminology alone does not prepare an educator to turn the standards into meaningful classroom instruction.

The ideal situation is for educators to understand the cybersecurity concepts within the standards and be able to design instruction that allows students to apply them. The gap is therefore between knowing cybersecurity concepts and being able to teach those concepts. Participants need opportunities to connect cybersecurity knowledge, student needs, standards, and instructional practice.

Existing Efforts to Address This Gap

NYSED provides the Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards and resources to support implementation. Other organizations, including CISA and CYBER.ORG, provide cybersecurity resources covering areas such as phishing, passwords, authentication, online safety, and other security practices.

Although these resources provide useful cybersecurity content, educators still need to determine how to select appropriate material, adapt it for their students, and connect it to the standard. This mini-course will focus on helping participants make those instructional decisions.

Intent Statement

The intent of Cybersecurity in the Classroom: Preparing K–12 Students for Everyday Digital Threats is to help participants develop the knowledge and instructional skills needed to create practical, age-appropriate, and standards-aligned cybersecurity instruction. Participants will learn cybersecurity concepts and apply them through realistic scenarios and instructional design activities. By the end of the course, participants will create a cybersecurity learning experience that connects the New York State standards to digital situations students may encounter in their everyday lives.

Analysis of the Learner and Context

The learners for this mini-course are K–12 classroom teachers in New York State who want to teach cybersecurity concepts to their students. Participants may teach different grade levels and subject areas. No previous cybersecurity training or advanced technical knowledge is required.

Participants will bring their own teaching experience and knowledge of their students. They will use this experience to determine how cybersecurity concepts and activities can be adapted to the age, prior knowledge, and digital experiences of the students they teach.

The mini-course will be completed online and independently. Participants will need access to an internet-connected device to review course materials and complete activities. Throughout the course, they will apply what they learn to their own classroom context and develop instruction appropriate for the students they currently teach.

Performance-Based Objectives

After completing this mini-course, learners will be able to:

Identify and explain cybersecurity concepts related to digital privacy, personal information, digital safeguards, responsible digital decision making, cryptography, and cybersecurity threats.
- Attitude-Focused Objective: Justify the importance of cybersecurity education in K–12 classrooms by explaining how cybersecurity awareness supports students' digital safety, privacy, responsible technology use, and informed decision-making.
Analyze realistic digital scenarios to identify potential cybersecurity risks and determine appropriate safeguards or responses.
Connect cybersecurity concepts and instructional activities to relevant New York State K–12 Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards.
Evaluate and adapt cybersecurity activities based on students' age, prior knowledge, and digital experiences.
Create an age-appropriate, standards-aligned cybersecurity lesson plan in which students identify risks, make informed decisions, and explain their reasoning.

Task and Content Analysis

Unit 1: Protecting Digital Privacy, Accounts, and Devices

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

Identify personal information, digital accounts, and devices that require protection.
Explain privacy risks and common cybersecurity safeguards.
Analyze realistic scenarios involving information sharing and weak security practices.
Recommend appropriate safeguards and age-appropriate strategies for teaching digital privacy and security.

Unit 2: Making Safe and Responsible Digital Decisions

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

Identify risks associated with online communication and digital interactions.
Evaluate the consequences of different online decisions.
Justify safer choices in realistic digital situations.
Develop age-appropriate activities that promote responsible digital decision-making.

Unit 3: Understanding How Cryptography Protects Digital Information

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

Explain the purposes of encryption and decryption in protecting information.
Distinguish between encrypted and unencrypted information.
Apply a basic cryptographic method to encode and decode messages.
Adapt a cryptography activity for an appropriate K–12 grade level.

Unit 4: Designing a Standards-Aligned Cybersecurity Lesson

By the end of this unit learners will be able to:

Recognize warning signs of phishing, scams, and unusual device behavior.
Analyze cybersecurity threats and justify appropriate responses.
Align cybersecurity instruction with relevant New York State K–12 Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards.
Design an age-appropriate, standards-aligned cybersecurity lesson plan that incorporates concepts from the mini-course.

Curriculum Map

References and Resources

Austin, G. (Ed.). (2020). Cyber security education: Principles and policies. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367822576

Code.org. (n.d.-a). Crack a Caesar cipher! [Interactive activity]. https://studio.code.org/courses/hoc-encryption/units/1/lessons/1/levels/1

Code.org. (n.d.-b). Hour of Code: Simple encryption [Interactive lesson]. https://studio.code.org/courses/hoc-encryption/units/1

Common Sense Education. (n.d.). Digital citizenship curriculum. https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship

Common Sense Education. (2018). Our online tracks [Lesson plan]. https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/lesson/our-online-tracks

Common Sense Education. (2019). Being aware of what you share [Lesson plan]. https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/lesson/being-aware-of-what-you-share

Common Sense Education. (2020). The power of digital footprints [Lesson plan]. https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/lesson/the-power-of-digital-footprints

Common Sense Education. (n.d.). That's private! (Updated) [Lesson plan]. https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-literacy/thats-private

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. (n.d.-a). Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. https://www.cisa.gov/

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. (n.d.-b). Cybersecurity awareness month. https://www.cisa.gov/cybersecurity-awareness-month

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. (n.d.-c). Cybersecurity for K–12 teachers. National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies. https://niccs.cisa.gov/audience/cybersecurity-k-12-teachers

CYBER.ORG. (2021). K–12 cybersecurity learning standards. https://cyber.org/k-12-cybersecurity-learning-standards

Larson, M. B., & Lockee, B. B. (2020). Streamlined ID: A practical guide to instructional design (2nd ed.). Routledge.

New York State Education Department. (2020). New York State K–12 computer science and digital fluency learning standards. https://www.nysed.gov/standards-instruction/computer-science-and-digital-fluency

New York State Education Department. (n.d.). Standards and instruction. https://www.nysed.gov/standards-instruction

U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). K–12 cybersecurity. https://www.ed.gov/teaching-and-administration/safe-learning-environments/school-safety-and-security/k-12-cybersecurity