CI-TEAM Implementation Project: Virtual Tools for Expanding the Cyber Horizon (VTECH)

该项目名为虚拟工具，用于扩展网络地平线，或VTech，旨在培养一支科学和工程劳动力，以使用和保护国家的网络基础设施。为此，拟议的项目将利用NSF资助的虚拟网络工程实验室(VNEL)：学生使用他们的网络浏览器在受控的高保真环境中远程操纵设备并进行明确的问题解决练习。与传统的面对面或现场实验室教学相比，VNEL使教学能够有效地分布在不同的地理区域，从而接触到更多的学生，包括传统上代表性较低的学生。此外，这种真实的环境已经被证明可以降低成本，增加大学生对设施的使用。拟议项目的办法是利用虚拟协作加强和提供教学。该项目的合作伙伴是教育心理学、计算机科学和高级电信与学习技术学院、德克萨斯工程推广服务(TEEX)和德尔玛社区学院。该项目将结合VNEL的技术创新、教育工作者的教学专长、一名有代表性的拉美裔社区学院的参与以及Teex的实施和传播经验。项目目标和预期成果包括：1.培训一年级4所社区三级学院和二年级11所社区三级学院的教师、教师、学生、技术领袖和小企业主，以便向学生和小企业主实施和提供具有教育意义的健全和可持续的网络安全和网络基础设施课程。在15所院校中，有3所是历史上的黑人学院或大学(HBCU)，其余12所是西班牙裔服务院校(HSI)。通过开发研究、评估和修订的实施周期，提供对VNEL教学的持续改进。开发和应用新的工程技术，以支持VNEL的可扩展性，为大量学生和机构提供丰富和高保真的体验式学习。支持在第二年之后可持续地提供VNEL服务，并扩大全国交付的规模。

This project, Virtual Tools for Expanding the Cyber Horizon, or VTECH, aims to prepare a science and engineering workforce to use and protect the nation's cyberinfrastructure. To this end, the proposed project will leverage the NSF-funded Virtual Network Engineering Laboratory (VNEL): Students remotely manipulate equipment and conduct well-defined problem-solving exercises in a controlled, high fidelity environment via the Internet using their web browsers. VNEL enables instruction to be efficiently and effectively distributed across geographic regions, thereby reaching greater numbers of students, including traditionally underrepresented students than would be possible through traditional face-to-face or on-site laboratory instruction. Moreover, this authentic environment has already been shown to reduce costs and increase facility use among university students. The approach for the proposed project is to enhance and deliver instruction using virtual collaboration. The partners for the project are the departments of Education Psychology, Computer Science and the Academy for Advanced Telecommunications and Learning Technologies, the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), and Del Mar Community College. The project will combine the technological innovation of the VNEL, the pedagogical expertise of educators, the participation of a representative Hispanic serving community college and the implementation and dissemination experience of TEEX. Project objectives and expected outcomes include the following:1. Train teachers, instructors, students, technical leaders and small business owners in 4 community tier-three colleges in Year 1 and 11 community tier-three colleges in Year 2 to implement and deliver educationally sound and sustainable cyber security and cyberinfrastructure courses to students and small business owners. Of the 15 institutions, three are Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCU) and the remaining 12 are Hispanic serving institutions (HSI).2. Provide for continuous improvement of VNEL instruction through implementation cycles of development research, evaluation, and revision.3. Develop and apply novel engineering technologies to support the scalability of the VNEL toward rich and high-fidelity experiential learning for large numbers of students and institutions.4. Enable sustainable offering of VNEL service beyond Year 2 and broaden the scale for national delivery.