Good day to you,

While we are on the verge of a technology takeover and the world in itself is absorbed in the myriad of technology products, devices, gadgets, enhancements and whatever else you see fit to call it, our educational institutions are not providing enough training and awareness on these things at a higher level.

We are seriously underestimating the levels of knowledge and ability that our youths have developed and it is time that we start nurturing them for the greater good of our future. The future belongs to our children and if we sit back and wait for them to get into higher areas of education then we have wasted the time to cultivate the mind in managing, securing and utilizing today’s technology better for tomorrow.

Giving access to these technological enhancements without giving education and awareness as to what they are, why they are being used, how to use them effectively and the dangers of not properly securing what is on them will only lead to a future of greater exposure, risks and the removal of privacy and ethics. Giving unlimited/unmonitored access to the internet to our children is not a healthy situation to neither encourage nor endorse. The mind is young and eager to learn and without the proper guidance can be easily led astray by what is seen and found on the internet.

One must consider the implications of having more technology in a converged world without the proper understanding of its values and use when our youths are always looking for additional things to do as their creative minds opens up to absorb the world that is now in front of them. Yet, unchecked, the unlimited access spurns the mind into many new and exciting things that can and result in good or bad. How we decide to curtail that is simply a matter of how the access and resources are provided and with what level of guidance (if any). We must embrace the future where technology is the center of everything, delivering every critical layer of our infrastructure and its use and this information is critical for all to have and know.

So how important is the future of our children and giving them the right education?

Our ENGAGED ~ENabling Greater Awareness, Growth and Educational Development~ initiative has been actively working with schools system in training and education the parent leaders, teachers and school officials in these areas of technology and the severity of understanding why it is critical to embrace today for a successful and secure future tomorrow. Through our ENGAGED initiative we are adopting educational institutions to help bring these technological training, education and awareness programs into the school and a part of the curriculum. It is through the support of industry groups, corporate companies and political leaders that this initiative will foster the needed training, education and awareness for our youths.

In most of the sessions we have conducted where parents, teachers, students and children are involved, the parents and teachers are far less knowledgeable about these technology and security issues than the children. While parents and teachers run around every day in doing their jobs and working full time schedules, the children are left interacting with the internet and its vast network of resources that spans across the globe. This opens them to many risks and dangers that may also affect the parents, the home and other family members. It is time people take these issues more seriously and focus on providing more education and awareness on them.

TITSSN will continue to do what it can in elevating the levels of visibility and support for more technology and IT Security education and awareness programs, training and initiatives in our lower and middle schools.

Thank you and have a great day,

~Brett A. Scudder~