| NSF Org: |
DGE Division Of Graduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 17, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 17, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1821794 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Ambareen Siraj
asiraj@nsf.gov (703)292-8182 DGE Division Of Graduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $299,998.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $299,998.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
550 S COLLEGE AVE NEWARK DE US 19713-1324 (302)831-2136 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
DE US 19716-2553 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Secure &Trustworthy Cyberspace |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
Children ages 8-12 spend an increasingly large amount of time online consuming digital media on computers, tablets and smartphones. Educating children at an early age of the dangers that exist online is critical for safeguarding against such dangers and helping children become responsible digital citizens. This project will develop and implement a promising approach to cybersecurity education that utilizes interactive stories to advance children's learning of online safety, privacy and security. The project will deliver these stories on a social robot, which can autonomously interact with students through a set of rules. The use of social robots as learning companions will provide students with an interactive experience and will promote greater engagement and interest in cybersecurity.
There are four goals driving this work: (1) iteratively design a collection of interactive stories addressing key cybersecurity concepts; (2) prototype the stories on a social robot; (3) increase student knowledge of key cybersecurity concepts, understanding of the importance of cybersecurity, and potential interest in cybersecurity careers; and (4) create instruments for monitoring project goals and participant outcomes. The work will be situated in schools and community-based organizations, serving a diverse population, including students who are traditionally underrepresented in computing. Ongoing research as well as formative and summative evaluation will help identify insights and lessons learned for advancing cybersecurity education and broadening student participation in computing. Given the wide attention on cybersecurity in the workforce, this work will serve as a model for promoting changes in K-12 education in a manner that supports students' learning by using cutting edge technologies.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This project developed and implemented a promising approach to cybersecurity education that utilized interactive stories to advance children's (grades 3-5) learning of online safety, privacy, and security using a social robot. As part of this work, a set of three interactive stories and associated lesson plans addressing key cybersecurity stories were developed and prototyped on a social robot. The stories and lesson plans were designed and piloted in collaboration with practicing elementary teachers. All stories were aligned with standards from the Computer Science Teachers’ Association, including safety, privacy, and security. The first story, Little Red Riding Hood, adapted the well-known fairy tale about a girl and a sly wolf to introduce students to the importance of protecting personal information through the use of passwords. The second story, Captain Cyber, showed a scenario of a strange game login screen to help students learn about phishing. The last story, Stranger Danger, showcased an example of a chat section in a game to teach students about the danger of sharing private information online. Each story is accompanied by a lesson plan co-developed by a teacher and the research team. A study focusing on student knowledge of cybersecurity concepts, following the implementation of the stories and associated lesson plans, was conducted with a group of 55 4th grade students across three different schools. Implementation occurred over a 3-week period. Using a pre-post single group design and a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, the study examined student learning outcomes around cybersecurity concepts and their views on learning about cybersecurity with social robots. Perceptions of the social validity and feasibility of using social robots in the classroom were also reported. Findings from research are reported in a set of proceedings. Given the wide attention on cybersecurity, this work will serve as a model for promoting changes in K-12 education in a manner that supports student learning and engagemient by using cutting edge technologies.
Last Modified: 01/10/2023
Modified by: Chrystalla Mouza
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