This Saturday, Scoutlier will be cohosting the Cyber Island Village with AMRoC Fab Lab at B Sides Cyber Security Conference in Tampa, FL. We will be sharing the work we have done in CyberSMART Cities, World, and Universe curricula and the hands on IoT kits we developed with ONR STEM funding. It is will be fun and hands on because learning should be full of wonder, not just tests. To many people at the conference, we will likely be somewhat out of place, but to those that are actually mindfully thinking about cyber security in an IoT connected world, they will recognize Scoutlier is actively Scouting Outliers. Looking for strategic partners willing work really hard to make the world better for everyone, because at our company we are playing Chess, while others in EdTech are playing Checkers.
So imagine my shock, when this morning I came across this excellent blog where the military leaders discuss exactly WHY we need deep science and critical thinking in schools, but never actually say we need it. Likely, because they do not even realize in many schools, it isn't being taught.
In the article, they shared something from one of the books I taught as a high school teacher in Massachusetts, Alas Babylon by Pat Frank. The story follows one man's journey to survive the day after a nuclear fallout, and it is fascinating. Reading it would become the seed of why I moved from English teacher to Computer Science/Robotics and Engineering to eventually running an EdTech company.
So your homework-Today, read the article
Saturday, if you are at B Sides come see us, Room 3704.
Next week sign up for Scoutlier, go to the expert content and start moving through the CyberSMART resources.
Because the reality is, what happened in that book is fully possible today with cyber threats.
And quick plug for doing more Career ConnectED learning in every class, the same science behind a solar flare that creates an electromagnetic pulse that effects the electrical grid and can cut off First Response calls, can be created by insecurities in our grid and hidden to look like a solar flare, ever seen Ocean's Eleven? And in a world where media creates government distrust how would we ever really know what is real and what is fiction? That is why you need to learn science, calculus, and how to critically read realistic science fiction and compare it to nonfiction. THIS is why we built Ai tools in Scoutlier to help classroom teachers and parents know why what they are learning in school is critical for future workforce success.
Because future generations do not need to just memorize facts for tests, they need to know how the basic facts of how the world works are foundational pieces to world wide safety and security.
And when we are all gone, it will be their jobs to sustain it.
