JagWaRz Junior: Cyber Security Education for Young Adolescents

Abstract

Currently there are few methodologies for introducing cyber security to young adolescents. This area of research will examine the importance of teaching cyber security at an early age as well as the significance of introducing cyber security through the use of digital game based learning. Within this study, cyber security will be taught to a sample of young adolescents through the use of a capture the flag style game, JagWaRz Junior. The effectiveness of JagWaRz Junior will be quantitatively measured through a pretest and posttest presented to the participants. Overall, this game will encompass ways to handle many of the risks that come with Internet usage at an early age. These risks include but are not limited to cyber bullying, pornography, online predators, personal privacy, and password protection. The results of this study will contribute to our understanding of the effectiveness of digital game based pedagogic learning.