News

News@ODU (2021). Cybersecurity Grant Project at ODU Receives Excellence Distinction from Virginia Department of Education, June, 2021, Old Dominion University, https://www.odu.edu/news/2021/6/vde_award

U.S. Department of Education (2020). Innovation and Modernization Program, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, Division of Academic and Technical Education https://cte.ed.gov/grants/innovation-and-modernization-grant-program

News@ODU (2021). ODU Donates 50 Laptops to Local Schools, February, 2021, Old Dominion University, https://www.odu.edu/news/2021/2/collaboration

ODU Donates 50 Laptops to Local Schools

February 11, 2021

laptops-granby

Left to right: Petros Katsioloudis, Murat Kuzlu, Michael Crespo, Vukica Jovanovic, Karl Meister and Deborah Marshall at Granby High School

An Old Dominion University collaboration with the Norfolk Public Schools aims to help students find the path to computer science and cybersecurity.

The donation of 50 laptops ­­- 10 for each of Norfolk’s five high schools – is part of the AP Computer Science Principles and Cybersecurity Pathway for Career and Technical Education (CSPCP) project led by the Batten College of Engineering and Technology and the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies.

The CSPCP was established in fall of 2019 with a $675,000 Department of Education grant to improve Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and align workforce skills with local labor market needs, as well as to increase access to STEM education for underrepresented high school students.

“We have to start taking the fear out of these STEM fields by creating awareness among these unrepresented groups,” Vukica Jovanovic, CSPCP project manager and Batten Fellow and associate professor of engineering technology, said in an earlier article.

“We’re going to achieve this by developing and delivering professional training workshops to CTE high school faculty focused on computer science and cybersecurity and by engaging college students to serve as mentors and role models to the high school students.”

A team of ODU undergraduate and graduate students is developing the educational modules for CTE teachers, bringing visiting speakers to Norfolk Public Schools cybersecurity classes, organizing field trips and code nights, and mentoring high school students.

Deborah Marshall, a CTE teacher in Norfolk and ODU alum, is leading the implementation of the modules and courses.

“Norfolk Public Schools is the first public school system in the Commonwealth of Virginia to have IT fundamentals and cybersecurity fundamentals courses offered in all five public schools in its district,” Marshall said. “This unique opportunity is now available as a career option for any high schooler residing in Norfolk.”

In addition to the educational modules, the laptops have enabled students to participate in STEM organizations, like Girls in Engineering, and to enter cybersecurity and computer science competitions

Norview High School students, led by Karl Meister, Norview CTE teacher and ODU alum, used the laptops to participate in the 2021 “picoCTF” cybersecurity competition.

Granby High School students have used the laptops in after-school programs and for the CyberPatriots and Great Computer Challenge competitions.

“Norfolk Public Schools has been a longtime partner of ODU. The ODU community has children in NPS schools, and many ODU employees are NPS graduates,” Jovanovich said. “It is important to cultivate STEM pathways and fill up the gaps that exist in the local industry that could potentially improve the region’s economy and overall well-being of our region.”

Pierce, Keith (2019). ODU Wins Grant from the U.S. Department of Education for STEM Workforce Training, October 25, 2019, Old Dominion University, https://www.odu.edu/news/2019/10/odu_wins_grant_for_s#.Xm2pCW5FyP8

ODU Wins Grant from the U.S. Department of Education for STEM Workforce Training

October 25, 2019

engineering-student-celar-mentor

ODU Engineering student, Danijela Celar (right) mentors Granby HS student

By Keith Pierce

The Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology and the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies at Old Dominion University have received a $675,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education aimed at supporting Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. The Innovation & Modernization Grant (I&M) is designed to test new ideas by identifying, supporting and evaluating evidence-based strategies for improving CTE programs and ensure workforce skills being taught align with local labor market needs.

The “Computer Science Principles and Cybersecurity Pathway for Career and Technical Education” project supports an ongoing collaboration with Norfolk Public Schools to develop supplemental educational modules with B.S.-level cybersecurity courses at ODU. Led by Vukica Jovanovic, associate professor of engineering technology in the Batten College of Engineering and Technology, the funding will support a pilot program at Granby High School and ultimately expand into four other Norfolk high schools.

Among the key goals of the program are to increase access to STEM education for underrepresented high school students and to demystify computer science and cybersecurity by helping students and families understand the value of this curriculum in a data-driven society.

“We have to start taking the fear out of these STEM fields by creating awareness among these unrepresented groups,” Jovanovic said. “We’re going to achieve this by developing and delivering professional training workshops to CTE high school faculty focused on computer science and cybersecurity and by engaging college students to serve as mentors and role models to the high school students.”

With the high military influence in Hampton Roads, both public- and private-sector computer science and cybersecurity jobs are increasing.

“Jobs requiring workers with high-tech skills, such as computer science and cybersecurity, are constantly being created in our area and beyond, yet employers say they are not able to find competent employees to fill these positions,” Jovanovic said. “The educational modules we develop will not only help high school students have an easier transition from secondary education to postsecondary education, but they will also be well-aligned with industry needs for those students going straight into employment.”

Co-principal investigators on the project include Murat Kuzlu, assistant professor of engineering technology; Honqyi (Michael) Wu, director of ODU’s Center for Cybersecurity Education and Research; Linda Vahala, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; Otilia Popescu, associate professor of engineering technology; and Petros Katsioloudis, professor & chair of STEM education and professional studies in the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies.

“We know that access to high-quality career and technical education options can open up new pathways to success for students,” U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said in a press release. “It’s gratifying to see each of these grantees rethinking education and modernizing workforce training in their communities to ensure students have the skills they need for in-demand, high-paying jobs.”

Because Old Dominion University has been identified as a National Excellence Center for cybersecurity education, the secondary cybersecurity educational pathways could lead to entry into B.S., M.S. or doctoral programs at the University.