Fulfills Step 2 of GSUSA Junior Cybersecurity Investigator badge requirements.
Info Needed for badge requirements: Software updates are like giving your computer armor to protect it from bad guys called hackers. These hackers try to sneak into your computer to steal information or cause trouble. Updates fix problems that hackers might use to get inside, and they add new tools to keep your computer strong and safe.
Items Needed:
- Paper
- Pens or pencils
- Two poster boards (one for each team of scouts)
- Two color copies of VTK Emoji Versions 1 and 2
Instructions:
- Show scouts the Emoji Version 1.0 grid.
- Each scout gets paper and a pen or pencil to write a message using only emojis from this grid.
- Scouts exchange their emoji messages with one another and read them out loud.
- Divide scouts into two teams.
- Team 1 receives Emoji Version 1.0 (16 characters).
- Team 2 receives Emoji Version 2.0 (25 characters).
- Each team writes a message using the emoji codes listed under the characters on their grid. The goal is to use as many emojis as possible in their message.
- Teams exchange poster boards and decode the other team’s message using their own grid.
- Team 1 will encounter characters they can’t decode, as these emojis don’t exist on their Emoji Version 1.0 grid.
- Discuss the experience: What was easy or hard about translating the messages? Why couldn’t Team 1 decode some characters from the updated grid? Explain why apps like emoji keyboards receive regular updates. Updates add new characters (like emojis) but also improve speed, functionality, and security.
The Badge Archive 