Cybersecurity First Principles in this lesson

Abstraction: An abstraction is a representation of an object or concept. It could be something such as a door, a speedometer, or a data structure in computer science. Abstraction decouples the design from the implementation. The gauges in an automobile are an abstraction of the performance of a car. A map is an abstraction of the earth.
Layering: Cyber security uses multiple layers of defense or protecting information. If one layer is defeated the next layer should catch it.
Modularization: The concept of modularity is like building blocks. Each block (or module) can be put in or taken out from a bigger project. Each module has its own separate function that is interchangeable with other modules.
Resource Encapsulation: Encapsulation is an object oriented concept where all data and functions required to use the resource are packaged into a single self-contained component. The goal is to only allow access or manipulation of the resource in the way the designer intended. An example, assume a flag pole is the object. There are fixed methods on how the flag pole is to be used. Put the flag on, take the flag off, raise or lower the flag. Nothing else can be done to the flag pole.

Introduction

This lesson focuses on creativity and innovative design in the context of the rube goldberg machine design. It picks up at the end of the gumdrop bridge and connects to the lift arm to complete the final challenge.

Goals

reinforce design thinking skills
reinforce computational thinking skills
build creative thinking skills
emphasize modular design and prototyping/testing skillsets

Materials Required

general materials (e.g. tape, paper, foil, twine, wire, dominoes, etc )

Prerequisite Lessons

Freestylin

Freestylin is a way of life. Sometimes it is import to forge your own path, to think outside the box, to throw out the playbook, … you get the metaphorical idea..

In this lesson, you will build a series of rube goldberg modules that link to your bridge. Your freestyle challenge can make use of any of the provided materials, but does have a few basic requirements. Those requirements are listed below.

Requirements

Must include at least 25 resources (a resource is a single dominoe, golf ball, piece of paper, etc)
Must physically progress at least three feet. This means your design can’t be too small.
Uses some littlebits to wirelessly transmit data. You can use any bits provided, such as the bluetooth bit or wireless transmitter.
(open requirement 1) - this is a requirement you specify
(open requirement 2) - this is a requirement you specify, it cant be the same as requirement 1

Testing your design

Apply the concepts you’ve learned in the design / computational thinking lesson to evaluate your design. In particular, measure how many resources you used, how far your design traveled, and any other metrics that might be useful for you to use to refine your design. Use your workbook to draw an abstraction of your designs and to keep track of your test results.

Design Goals

Just like with the bridge design lesson, we want to reward creative (and cool) thinking. To encourage innovation, there will be prizes for the following design goals:

most resources used successfully (how many parts your freestyle design uses)
crowd favorite design (you will get to vote on what you think the coolest design is)

Lead Author

Matt Hale

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Emily, Corrie, and Raeanne for experimenting with the bridge design concepts.

License

Nebraska GenCyber
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Lesson content: Copyright (C) Dr. Matthew L. Hale 2019.

This lesson is licensed by the author under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Cybersecurity First Principles in this lesson