Press Release: 2017 New Directions in IT Education Faculty Grant Winner Announcement

ST.PAUL, MN — Congratulations to the 2017 New Directions in IT Education Faculty Grant (NDiIT) winners. Minnesota State IT Center of Excellence provides grants for the exploration and development of dynamic information technology curriculum throughout the Minnesota State system.

Minnesota State IT Center of Excellence is proud to announce the 2017 New Directions in IT Education Faculty Development Grant winners, whose proposed projects impact the areas of cybersecurity and data analytics.

Competency-based collaborative curriculum development in Cybersecurity

• Members: Tirthankar Ghosh, St. Cloud State University; Faisal Kaleem, Metropolitan State University; Justin Opatrny, Minneapolis Community and Technical College; Tim Preuss, Minnesota Community and Technical College; Valarie McLain, Lake Superior College.
• Purpose: To develop the foundations necessary to design a competency-based curriculum in Cybersecurity based on the NIST NICE framework.
• Shared Resources: Two universities and three two-year colleges will be involved in this project and will work with regional employers to map employment skills to course outcomes.

SAS Data Analytics Faculty Training Workshop

• Members: Rajeev Bukralia, MSU, Mankato; Firasat Khan, Metropolitan State University
• The purpose of this initiative is to organize a data analytics workshop for faculty in the Minnesota State college and university system. The workshop will be led by an SAS instructor and provide a professional development opportunity for faculty interested in data analytics.
• Shared Resources: All Minnesota State colleges and universities are invited to join the training. Additional online training modules or webinars may be added.

Data Analytics Case-Based Modules

• Members: Andrew Chen, MSU Moorhead; Firasat Khan, Metro State University; Dalia Sulieman,Metro State University; Sang-Phil Kim, Winona State University; Lawrence P. Schrenk, Winona State University; Anup Parajuli, Lake Superior College; Rajeev Bukralia, MSU Mankato; Robert Rick, Bemidji State University;  Jared Eberhard, Winona State University; Nina Marhamati, Winona State  University; Hannah Leverentz,  Winona  State  University; Mehdi Hashemi,  Normandale Community College

• Purpose: To develop reference competency-based case-based modules about data analytics for use in data courses. This includes developing resources (case and modules), developing curriculum, and faculty development.
• Shared Resources: People and all case modules will be available to any Minnesota State faculty member for use in their courses

MySecurityLab Modules

• Members: Amos Olagunju, St. Cloud State University; Ben Franske, Inver Hills Community College; Joseph Silman, St. Cloud Technical and Community College Community Leaders: Al Van Court, US Bank and James Ahrens, IBM
• Purpose: The purpose of this project is to design and implement a graphical user interface, self-paced learning tool for administering technical security controls in stand-alone and network systems. College students and employees in organizations would be able to use the tool called “MySecurityLab” to master elements of modulus arithmetic, number theory, applied cryptography, DevOps tools, and other technical security controls.
• Shared Resources: MySecurityLab will be available on D2L and from a Web Site at SCSU for Download. The tool will be a standalone software similar to interactive Minitab or SAS or SPSS. We can also Win Zip the software and make it available via the Web site of Minnesota State IT Center for Excellence.

Mobile App Development

• Members: Sam Espana, Central Lakes College; Allen Benusa, Ridgewater College; and Chris Morgan Pine Tech
• Purpose: To enhance the Mobile App Curriculum to include mobile security. The main objective is to share secure software development curriculum and establish an Industry Board for Mobile App Programs.
• Shared Resources: Students would be allowed to take courses at multiple colleges.

Some funding will go towards faculty development aimed at enhancing the skills of faculty who in turn will present learnings to other faculty members at the 2018 New Directions in IT Education Conference.

Information and guidelines are available on the Minnesota State IT Center of Excellence website or by contacting Dr. Janice Aanenson, Director, Academic Initiatives, Minnesota State IT Center of Excellence, 1380 Energy Lane, Suite 104, St. Paul, MN 55108; Phone (612) 659-7221; email: janice.aanenson@metrostate.edu.