Through a new research grant, Michigan State University researchers from several departments in the College of Communication Arts & Sciences and the College of Engineering are on a mission to make teens – and the Internet – safer.

Microsoft Research has provided a $50,000 grant to study local high schoolers’ computer safety and to create and evaluate curriculum to improve online safety for teens and first-year college students.

Professors Nora Rifon, an expert in the area of human behavior and decision-making in the Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Retailing, and Robert LaRose, an expert in the social effects of the Internet from the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media, are the lead investigators of the project. 

Rifon credits her relationship with the state of Michigan, particularly the Attorney General's Office, for bringing the idea to fruition. She has worked with the Attorney General's Office since 2000. In addition to working on informational security and privacy issues, Rifon has served as an expert witness for the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division.

“My work with the state showed a need for more information and policy on online privacy. Computer safety is a serious issue today and tomorrow. Today’s teens are tomorrow’s adults; we need to understand how they use and perceive online environments to help protect themselves now and as adults. A well-developed high school curriculum is the first step to help our youth protect themselves,” Rifon said.

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox says this work is extremely valuable.

"My ID theft team, like professor Rifon and Marty Pohl at Holt High School, recognized that teens are particularly vulnerable to losing control of their personal information as they prepare to graduate and leave their families to live on their own," Cox said. 

"Requests for personal information will bombard every young adult, so it's essential that they know how they can reduce the risk of having their information misused. It is very important for young adults to both learn and adopt safe information practices."

Working directly with the Holt School District and freshmen classes at MSU, the project will involve discovering what young people think about their risks and abilities to protect themselves online. MSU researchers will examine factors that help determine their knowledge, confidence and behaviors related to computer safety.

Rifon and co-principal investigator LaRose will use their i-safety model to create online courseware based on the information they gather and offer prototypes to use in Holt computer classes and on MSU’s campus.

Their model was developed and tested with funding from a grant from the National Science Foundation and the curriculum is a direct extension of that work. Richard Enbody of the College of Engineering will develop interactive software that will make it possible to tailor the online lessons to individual students based on their safety needs and abilities. 

The researchers will study the impacts of the prototype being used in the classroom.

“The prototype will directly affect one local school district, but the curriculum will soon be available to all districts interested in computer safety,” Rifon said.

LaRose stresses that the project fits into a long-term goal for the college.

“The MSU component will be our contribution to a growing national movement to improve the information and communication technology literacy of college students,” LaRose said.

The proposal was subjected to a rigorous peer-review process by Microsoft security experts and was one of 15 selected from 114 submissions for funding in the Microsoft Research External Research & Programs, Trustworthy Computing Curriculum 2006 Request for Proposals.

“Microsoft is committed to investing in innovative research throughout the academic community to advance the state-of-the-art in computing,” said John Spencer, Microsoft program manager.

“Our goal in funding projects such as the computer safety course at Michigan State University is to continue to drive innovation and to create a safer computing environment for everyone,” he said.