Data makes the world go around! As we use more technology, more data is being created, recorded, and used. The next task is understanding what it all means!This resource is part of the Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity Education Resource Collection that contains resources for formal and non-formal agricultural educators working with middle school aged youth. Published as Open Educational Resources, all resources are provided in durable (pdf) and customizable (MS Word) formats. They are hosted on  GoOpenVA in a unique resource collection, Ag Cybersecurity Virginia Tech, at https://goopenva.org/curated-collections/143 and on on Virginia Tech’s stable repository, VTechWorks at https://doi.org/10.21061/cyberbiosecurity

This reference guide is part of the Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity Education Resource Collection that contains resources for formal and non-formal agricultural educators working with middle school aged youth. Published as Open Educational Resources, all resources are provided in durable (pdf) and customizable (MS Word) formats. They are hosted on  GoOpenVA in a unique resource collection, Ag Cybersecurity Virginia Tech, at https://goopenva.org/curated-collections/143 and on on Virginia Tech’s stable repository, VTechWorks at https://doi.org/10.21061/cyberbiosecurity

First of two lessons on agriculatural tends in America. This one looks at the number of farms, average farm size, and amount of land in farms from 1850 through 2012.

Second of two lessons on agriculatural tends in America. This one uses ArcGIS online that follows simple step-by-step directions to create a web map. Students will learn how farm size, average farm output, and type of farming vary across the U.S.

Summary of three-day event in which teachers centered on changing patters of agriculture that involved both classroom instruction and a field experience. Spectific curriculum topics included sustainability, urban agriculture, environmental ethics, and women in agriculture; skills such as formal observation, data collection, landscape analysis, speculation and spatial analysis; and processes such as climate change, economic development, and the Geo-Inquiry process. Contains links to numerous resources.

Provided here for your use, distribution, and remix are three templates produced by Kindred Grey and Anita Walz at the Virginia Tech Newman Library. We ask that you abide by the CC By 4.0 license in which you attribute the creation of the templates to Kindred Grey using the following citation.Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity Template. Kindred Grey. 2023. CC BY 4.0.

Lecture notes on a discussion of climate change and its impact on agriculture as well as overall human health concerns. Climate change is placed in a historical context and speculated on ways in which future human existence may be altered as a result of a changing climate.

This 13-minute video looks at the development of agriculture and writing in the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras of the Stone Age. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 67 of 85]

This 14-minute video lesson considers energy consumption required for tilling land. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 84 of 85]

This 13-minute video lesson ponders how we get calories from the land and the limits of human population density. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 83 of 85]

This activity introduces cybersecurity concerns with technologies commonly used in the livestock industry  in the context of a "clue" style activity in which students act as private investigators looking for a lost racehorse. It can be facilitated in 90 minutes, either in a single session or 4-5 shorter sessions. This activity is part of the Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity Education Resource Collection that contains resources for formal and non-formal agricultural educators working with middle school aged youth. Published as Open Educational Resources, all resources are provided in durable (pdf) and customizable (MS Word) formats. They are hosted on  GoOpenVA in a unique resource collection, Ag Cybersecurity Virginia Tech, at https://goopenva.org/curated-collections/143 and on on Virginia Tech’s stable repository, VTechWorks at https://doi.org/10.21061/cyberbiosecurity

Students learn how the process of soil solarization is used to pasteurize agricultural fields before planting crops. Soil solarization is a pest control technique in agriculture that uses the sun’s radiation to heat the soil and eliminate unwanted pests that could harm the crops. The approach is compared to other pest control methods such as fumigation and herbicide application, highlighting the respective benefits and drawbacks. In preparation for the associated hands-on activity on soil biosolarization, students learn how changing the variables involved in the solarizing process (such as the tarp material, soil water content and addition of organic matter) impacts the technique’s effectiveness. A PowerPoint® presentation and pre/post-quiz is provided.

In this activity, participants plan and conduct a plant growth experiment while considering the role of data quality in automated systems in agriculture. The timing of the activity is highly dependent on the seed variety that you are growing and the level of familiarity that participants already have with basic plant science and scientific investigation concepts, but will likely take several weeks. This activity is part of the Agricultural Cyberbiosecurity Education Resource Collection that contains resources for formal and non-formal agricultural educators working with middle school aged youth. Published as Open Educational Resources, all resources are provided in durable (pdf) and customizable (MS Word) formats. They are hosted on  GoOpenVA in a unique resource collection, Ag Cybersecurity Virginia Tech, at https://goopenva.org/curated-collections/143 and on on Virginia Tech’s stable repository, VTechWorks at https://doi.org/10.21061/cyberbiosecurity

This activity is a field investigation where students find out what makes up soil.

This activity is a field investigation where students find out what makes up soil.

This course looks at all forms that energy exists. It explains how energy is used in: transport, agriculture, industry, commerce and households. It describes how energy is stored using storage systems such as: battery, flywheels, compressed air, chemical energy systems and pumped storage. This course explains the problem of depletion of energy resources. It describes the environmental damage associated with the use of fossil fuels, acid rains, dangers posed by leaded fuels, oil spills, gas leaks and explosions, water pollution caused by poorly managed coal mines, and air pollution. It describes the environmental damage associated with the use of fuelwood, uranium, hydro-power plants and wind. It also explains possible solutions to the energy-related problems.

This course will focus on the emergence and evolution of industrial societies around the world. The student will begin by comparing the legacies of industry in ancient and early modern Europe and Asia and examining the agricultural and commercial advances that laid the groundwork for the Industrial Revolution. The student will then follow the history of industrialization in different parts of the world, taking a close look at the economic, social, and environmental effects of industrialization. This course ultimately examines how industrialization developed, spread across the globe, and shaped everyday life in the modern era. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: identify key ideas and events in the history of industrialization; identify connections between the development of capitalism and the development of modern industry; use analytical tools to evaluate the factors contributing to industrial change in different societies; identify the consequences of industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries in different societies; critique historical interpretations of the causes and effects of industrialization; and analyze and interpret primary source documents describing the process of industrialization and life in industrial societies. (History 363)

Nanotechnology has enormous job growth potential. According to a recent survey by the National Science Foundation, by 2015 the need for technology professionals working in Nanotechnology will increase to 800,000 employers in the US and more than 2 million worldwide.   Learn more about the rapidly emerging field of Nanotechnology at VCU in this Science Matters video.

We hear the word ecosystems in the news and at school but just what are ecosystems? It turns out there are lots of ecosystems. You might even learn you have some inside you! Also in: French | Spanish

As technology becomes ever integrated into our food system and everyday life, our food industry and supply become ever more vulnerable to attack. Cyber attacks continue to threaten large and small companies, government agencies, individuals, and food and agriculture. This module, ‘Securing the Food Industry,’ aims to introduce the idea of cyberbiosecurity through a lecture format along with three case studies allowing students to interact and think through the concepts and materials. This module was built for implementation into college level courses with connection or interest in the food industry, food science, and agriculture as well as and technology courses focused on real world applications.
The lecture starts by introducing the amount of technology in food science and the food industry then transitions into concerns about security. After discussing multiple subtypes of security already integrated into the food industry, cyberbiosecurity is introduced. The term and definition are discussed before the categories of cyber attacks are introduced. The lecture relates these ideas back to the food industry before sharing a few real-life examples of detrimental cyber-attacks. The lecture concludes are explain the impact a cyber attack can cause, who is responsible for preventing and recovering from these attacks, as well as suggested practices to reduce vulnerabilities. Three theoretical but realistic case studies with discussion questions follow the lecture. These studies were written to act as small group discussion starters but could be used for whole class discussion, individual writing assignments, or other applications.
A list of additional resources can be found with the course material. This list provides a small sampling of additional documents which discuss cyberbiosecurity. The resources listed at the end of the lecture are not included in the additional resources document but also provide helpful information in the exploration and understanding of cyberbiosecurity. Food science resources are also included in this document to provide additional background around the food industry portion of this course material.

Securing the Food Industry is an open educational resource (OER). Instructors reviewing, adopting, or adapting the module should indicate their interest at https://forms.gle/orFRGhYs8owBP7gD6.