By Barbara Leader

Louisiana Tech University wants to give residents of northern Louisiana an opportunity to be leaders in the field of cyberspace.

An outreach effort to train teachers and provide students with hands-on experiences is being made possible through a $951,000 U.S. Department of Education Grant recently received by the university for cyberspace education.

The program, called Cyber K-12, will provide professional development opportunities for teachers throughout northern Louisiana and provide those teachers with insights into the nation’s cyber challenges.

The project will build on a partnership between the university and the Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier City.

Cyber K-12 and Cyber Discovery Camp, a component of the program, will present an interdisciplinary approach to cyber education, providing students and teachers an introduction to the technological, social, political and historical aspects of the field.

“National leaders have emphasized the great importance in protecting the U.S. from cyber attacks,” Tech Vice President Les Guice said. “This grant will leverage other investments and initiatives under way in North Louisiana to position our region as a national resource for cyber research and a highly skilled cyber work force.”

In addition to providing opportunities locally, officials at Louisiana Tech believe that by working with the Cyber Innovation Center and the Consortium for Education Research and Technology of North Louisiana, programs like Cyber K-12 will be replicated throughout the nation.

“Cyber K-12 and the Cyber Discovery Summer Camp initiatives engage students,” CIC vice president G.B. Cazes said in a news release about the grant.

“They provide a mechanism for teachers to partner and mentor with students to explore new worlds. We’re still teaching science, math and engineering concepts; we’re just doing it in a much more fun and dynamic way.”