A cyber-aware, cyber-secure, cyber-prepared citizenry: Learning in Place in the Heartland
The University of Nebraska at Omaha is hosting a newly funded pilot project thanks to support from the Office of Naval Research which expands upon the existing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) training program - NE STEM 4U - to support a cyber-aware, cyber-secure, and cyber-prepared citizenry. This pilot project will leverage the infrastructure of NE STEM 4U to generate novel cyber-related lessons that will ultimately serve as the seedlings for a forest of outreach and engagement opportunities from the STEM Teaching, Research, and Inquiry-based Learning (TRAIL) Center, across the country focusing on supporting military installations and to include the general public.
As a result of this project, middle school students will be engaged in cybersecurity content via hands-on programming twice weekly throughout the school year. This will include access to a series of illustrated cartoons (with short videos and a lesson plan booklet available in web-based and print format) that will make cybersecurity information relatable, age-appropriate, and impactful to students. The PI, Dr. Christine Cutucache said, “kids are carrying computers in their pockets, mostly unsupervised—it’s all of our duty to ensure that the skills of cybersecurity are offered for multiple generations simultaneously and to provide engaged programming using scaffolded learning.” By instilling cyber security awareness, students will automatically be engaged in STEM topics. Cutucache elaborated, “for students that love technology, these comics and lesson plans can be a hook to cyber and other areas of STEM.”
These cyber security outreach activities will take place in schools designated as high-need. In addition, the program will seek to instill a sense of pride and opportunity in students through active exposure to military personnel and increase their likelihood of choosing education pathways that will prepare them to serve the United States Navy in cyber-related capacities. This pilot phase will begin in Nebraska in year 1 and will set the stage for the expansion phase of replication within the Heartland in year 2, and finally the replication phase of scaling more widely across the U.S in year 3 and beyond.
This project aims to cultivate cyber-aware, cyber-secure, and cyber-prepared youth and families, with the ultimate goal of building an expanded Cyber-STEM literate citizenry. Its deliverables and proof of concept will have national impact to meet that goal and strengthen the broader STEM workforce.