Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Day of STEM?

The Day of STEM is a national initiative, designed to raise the National IQ for STEM and CyberScience careers. Inspires the next generation of cyber professionals through an interactive, online cybersecurity awareness program called LifeJourney. This platform will enable students, at scale, to test-drive cyber careers and live a day in the life of the cyber professionals by introducing them to the hard and soft skills needed to become a cybersecurity expert.

What is the cost to participate in the Day of STEM?

There is no cost to students. ??? is sponsoring the Day of STEM for schools, parents, and organizations.

When does the Day of STEM start?

The Day of STEM officially kicks off on November 15, 2015 and will run for one year, through 2016.

What happens after I register?

Once you register for Day of STEM you will receive a confirmation email with some additional details. You will receive another email when the program is ready to begin, containing your registration code and login instructions.

Is there a certain day I need to launch the Day of STEM?

The Day of STEM is cloud-based and can be accessed at any time from November 15th, 2015 to October 31, 2016. It is up to the school, organization, parent, or student, as to when they would like to use the Day of STEM platform. There is no specific day, week or month that the Day of STEM experience needs to be taken.

Will participants receive anything for completing the Day of STEM?

Yes! Each student who completes the Day of STEM receives a personalized Cyber Resume generated at the end of the experience and earns Day of STEM certificate downloaded at the completion of the experience.

Can we directly connect with the ??? Mentors featured on the LifeJourney platform?

The platform is a virtual experience designed to connect users with online guidance and motivational cyber exercise of a real mentor, doing an actual career at the ???. Real-time connection of millions of students with a small set of ??? mentors is impractical; however the value of the guiding experiences of these cyber experts is of immense inspirational value to America’s students.

What grade level does the program target?

The Day of STEM is for students from upper middle school through college. Parents may also use the Day of STEM platform and enjoy learning more about the cybersecurity career opportunities and experiences available to their children.

How can I use the Day of STEM program as a recruitment tool at events?

The Day of STEM program is a powerful marketing mechanism for colleges and others to utilize as a recruitment tool by enabling future candidates the opportunity to run the Day of STEM program at no cost. There are marketing materials available to download on the Day of STEM website that you can display at the event. You would direct them to register on the website.

What is LifeJourney™?

LifeJourney is the technology that facilitates the Day of STEM program. LifeJourney is a cloud-based technology that allows students to test drive their future by living a day in the life of America’s cyber and STEM leaders. The LifeJourney career-simulation platform was designed to inspire and motivate our future generation to explore careers in STEM. We connect mentors from ??? with students, introducing them to new and exciting career paths and opportunities.

When do I need to register?

Pre-registration for Day of STEM opens on October 15, 2015.

How does a student get signed up for the Day of STEM program?

Students, teachers, parents and organizations will visit the Day of STEM website to obtain a code to allow their access to the ??? LifeJourney platform.

How long does it take to go through the Day of STEM experience?

The Day of STEM experience is cloud-based and can be run at a student's convenience. The entire program is approximately 5 hours depending on speed and skill level.

Do I need to have any special technical requirements?

It only takes an Internet connection and a browser to run the platform. The Day of STEM is accessible on Mac or Windows computers and tablets. It can be run in the classroom, at home or anyplace that has an internet connection.

Should only students interested in cyber or technology run A Day of STEM?

No. The Day of STEM is designed to introduce cybersecurity to all students, enabling them to envision future cyber careers that may not have been previously apparent.

What is a ??? LifeJourney™ Mentor?

A LifeJourney™ Mentor is a subject matter expert who guides students on their Day of STEM LifeJourney™ and serve as a cyber role model to the nation for that career. Students experience the journeys of all six (6) ??? LifeJourney mentors, and then select their favorite one, which serves to guide the student along their personal cyber education path. The featured ??? LifeJourney Mentors include a Cyber Linguist, Network Design Engineer, Mission Targeting Analyst, and others.

How much experience should a student have to be able to participate?

The interactive portion of the Day of STEM experience (about the first hour of usage) is common to students of all experience levels and capabilities. The ongoing virtual field trips and cyber exercises that students may select and experience from their Student Dashboard, are grouped into three levels: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. Each student may select the level best-suited to his/her own capabilities, or all three virtual field trips may be taken!

Schools/Teachers FAQs

Do schools have to pay anything?

No. The Day of STEM program provides sponsored schools with access to the program at no cost.

Is the Day of STEM a good way for my school to introduce cybersecurity into our curriculum?

It sure is! The Day of STEM is a great turn-key way to kick-off a cyber program in your school. The Cybersecurity workforce gap continues to grow and it is essential for parents, teachers, administrators, program directors, and others to take the lead on introducing cybersecurity into our nation's classrooms.

How many students get to run "A Day of STEM" in my school/district?

The Day of STEM can be run by all students in a school, with participation usually starting at grade 8. The goal of ??? is to increase cybersecurity awareness and begin to raise the National IQ for cybersecurity. The Day of STEM is just the beginning ... the program will introduce students to new and exciting careers and mentors that they might not otherwise know about.

Will our school receive any type of reporting?

Yes. Teachers running the Day of STEM with their students have detailed reporting capabilities available in their Instructor Dashboard.

How does the Day of STEM help our schools?

Schools get a simple and effective way to add cybersecurity into their classroom when running the Day of STEM in their classrooms. Teachers, administrators, and of course the participating students all acquire a great visibility of the lucrative cyber employment market and the skills and education pathways available to achieve those cyber career futures.

How does a Day of STEM help our parents?

Within the Day of STEM, a personalized Cyber Resume is generated for each student outlining their career interests, personal hard and soft skills, and a recommended set of courses - i.e., a course roadmap - available for them to follow in achieving their dreams. Parents may also participate with their children on their journey in order to gain insight to interests and capabilities, thus enabling them to assist in the course and college major selection process.

Do I need to sign my students up for the Day of STEM?

A teacher just needs to visit the Day of STEM website and click on the "For Teachers" button to start the process. A code will be provided that enables the teacher to set up a LifeJourney Instructor Dashboard. The teacher may then invite his/her students to participate in the DoC by sharing the registration key that associates the students with the teacher's class.

Can I tell other teachers and schools about the program?

Yes, we heartily encourage you to share the Day of STEM program with all your colleagues. This is a national initiative to inspire the next generation of cyber professionals, and by telling your colleagues of this opportunity you will help create a robust pipeline of students who will continue their cyber education pathways and ultimately gain exciting and meaningful employment after graduation.

Do I register my students or do they register themselves?

Once you've registered and received your "Student Registration" key you can distribute it to your students.

Is there something I, as a teacher, can do after my students run the Day of STEM?

Yes. The Day of STEM is just the first step on a journey to learn more about cybersecurity. When complete, teachers may click the "What’s Next" button on the DoC website to have the LifeJourney team contact them to get their students introduced to more Journeys. Such ongoing use of the LifeJourney platform will enable students to meet additional LifeJourney corporate Mentors from companies such as BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Symantec, HP, Exelon, Leidos, Kaspersky Lab, and many others.

What class can the Day of STEM run in?

The Day of STEM platform is designed to connect cybersecurity to what is being taught in the classroom. Classes can include Computer Science, Math, Technology, CTE, Technology and STEM classes, as well as career counseling. Many educators start out by holding a general assembly students running the Day of STEM in order to get the entire school started.

Can I connect the Day of STEM experience to what I teach in my class?

Yes. The Day of STEM platform is designed to connect cybersecurity to what is being taught in the classroom. In this way, teachers of computer science, math, technology, CTE, technology and STEM classes are able to augment and strengthen their existing syllabus material by leveraging the real-world experiences of the ??? LifeJourney Mentors. Actual in situ use of a mentor’s cyber skills, tools and cyber exercises brings to life the otherwise-ordinary topics in these courses, and enables students to better understand the relevance of their education.

Organizations FAQs

How many students in my organization have the ability to participate?

There is no limit. You can include every student who participates in your program. Students in upper middle through college will benefit the most from the program.

What does it mean to become a national program partner?

Becoming a national program partner means that your organization has the opportunity to provide access to the Day of STEM experience for all of your students at no cost. In addition, your organizations logo will be added to the Day of STEM website as an official partner and supporter of preparing our nations youth for the future jobs of tomorrow.

Is there a cost for my organization to participate?

No. ??? is sponsoring the program for students, teachers, parents, and organizations.

We have multiple sites, how do we organize each location?

The registration and implementation process is simple. Each site director will go to the Day of STEM website to register their students. Simply go to the Organization page, click on register, and fill in the number of students you site will be participating. Once you register, you will receive credentials and instructions via email for your students to use as a password to log in.