Cybersecurity Teaching

Key Details

This MC carries a workload of 3 ECTS, corresponding to a total study load of 78 hours. The MC consists of a total of 7 online lectures (14 hours). As part of distance learning, participants will work on practical exercises preparing and presenting teaching tools (14 hours). The correctness of distance learning procedures can be verified through online consultations. The MC also includes work on a semester project developed in a group of 2-3 participants (34 hours) and its goal is to design and present a cybersecurity training session. The list of lectures is given below.

The remaining time is allocated to exam preparation (14 hours) and the exam itself (2 hours). The individual lectures logically follow each other:

• L1 – Adult Learning Principles and Effective Methods for Cybersecurity Educators
• L2 – Cybersecurity training and evaluation methods for students
• L3 – Innovative Content Creation with AI and Multimedia Tools for engaged learning
• L4 – Collaborative tools and interactive presenting
• L5 – Understanding the Needs of SMEs – Crisis Communications
• L6 – Practical Cybersecurity Considerations for SMEs
• L7 – Classroom communication, presentation and assessment skills for cybersecurity educators.

MC will be assessed based on three components: weekly tests, a final exam and a semester project. The final exam will be conducted online in the presence of instructors (at least two), with both microphone and camera turned on. The final exam contains 30 questions randomly generated from the MC module question bank. 5 random questions will be selected from each of the first six lectures and corresponding practical exercises.

The test will take place online in the presence of lecturers and with the microphone and camera turned on. The test contributes 60% to the overall exam score. The semester project will be presented in pairs or groups of three, where individual members will present the results of their work and the contribution of individual group members to achieving these results.

Assessment

The semester project defence contributes 20% to the overall exam score, while weekly tests in the first six weeks contribute another 20%. To successfully pass the exam, it is necessary to obtain at least 50% of each part of the exam, i.e., min. 30 points from the final exam and min. 10 points from the semester project and weekly tests.

Subjects covered

Lecture 1 – Adult Learning Principles and Effective Methods for Cybersecurity Educators: This lecture introduces the core principles of pedagogy and adult learning, guiding participants through foundational teaching theories, learner motivation, and lesson planning. It explores the differences between child and adult learners, emphasizing andragogy, acculturation, and motivation. Participants will also learn how to define learning objectives, address diverse learner types, and design effective, engaging lessons.

Lecture 2 – Cybersecurity Training and Evaluation Methods for Students: This lecture presents interactive cybersecurity education methods, like board games, simulations, types of materials, typical infrastructure used for teaching and training, methods used in teaching cybersecurity topics, student-teacher interaction and evaluation tools to modify content to students’ needs and assess learning.

Lecture 3 – Innovative Content Creation with AI and Multimedia Tools for Engaged Learning: This lecture presents different tools for image, audio and video editing and the creation of interactive and asynchronous content and digital material with a focus on learning styles, gamification, motivation and knowledge retainment. It includes the use of AI to create customized learning material.

Lecture 4 – Collaborative Tools and Interactive Presenting: This lecture evaluates various interactive cybersecurity education methods and helps participants in developing engaging and interactive teaching strategies while improving their presentation skills.

Lecture 5 – Understanding the Needs of SMEs – Crisis Communications on a Shoestring: This lecture introduces to SMEs and Their Unique Cybersecurity Challenges, Crisis Communications on a Budget: Key Principles, Internal & External Stakeholder Communications: This lecture is designed to help participants in understand the critical importance of crisis communications for SMEs facing cybersecurity incidents. With limited budgets and minimal internal expertise, SMEs are particularly vulnerable to the reputational and operational consequences of cyber-attacks. This lecture offers participants a practical, hands-on approach to teaching SME owners/managers how to prepare for, manage, and recover from such incidents with limited resources.

Lecture 6 – Practical Cybersecurity Considerations for SMEs: In this lecture participants will learn how to use online tools to uncover high-level issues on web-facing software, how to develop short in-person or hybrid/synchronous courses can be delivered internally or via an intranet — also creating an online asynchronous internal course in bite-sized chunks for time-poor people to continue engaging in upskilling. How to engage with internal resources to turn the weakness (people are an SME’s biggest weakness) into first line of defense. Engaging continuous assessment for asynchronous courses and online commercial resources for phishing simulations.

Lecture 7 – Classroom communication and presentation skills for cybersecurity educators: In this final lecture, participants present their capstone projects—interactive teaching tools, instructional videos, or other educational resources they have developed over the course. Each presentation demonstrates the participant’s ability to apply cybersecurity education methods, integrate appropriate tools, and communicate complex topics effectively to a target audience. The lecture emphasizes peer feedback, reflective discussion, and evaluation based on pedagogical soundness, creativity, and technical accuracy.

Learning objectives

Knowledge – The graduate can:

• describe different materials, delivery methods and infrastructure components used in cybersecurity education

• explain the principles for aligning trainee group requirements with appropriate learning materials and instructional delivery methods.

Skills – The graduate can:

• develop materials for cybersecurity classes

• deploy the infrastructure for delivery of training materials

• create interactive media content for cybersecurity topics

• evaluate education methods and develop teaching strategies

• support SMEs in live incident communication

Competence – The graduate can:

• think creatively and work independently

• plan and organize their own activities

• collaborate effectively within a team

• organize a cybersecurity training

• prove personalized support to trainees

Module leaders

Name: Sara Ricci

Title: Dr.

Organisation: Brno University of Technology