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21 Nov 08
TransTrackerSeventh and eigth graders at Jefferson Elementary School in Erie, PA are getting training in open source intelligence.
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Martina Coccarelli tapped the mouse pad on the laptop, navigating through the Web site in front of her.
Coccarelli, an eighth-grader at Erie's Jefferson Elementary School, was searching for an image of the National Security Agency's logo and had turned to that font of information -- Wikipedia -- for help.
Normally, Coccarelli's teachers might have directed her to another source, but this wasn't just any research project. It was an exercise in intelligence -- specifically, open source intelligence, or information that can be found through publicly accessible channels, including newspaper stories, reference books, and Web sites.
Coccarelli and a group of about 14 other seventh- and eighth-grade students at Jefferson are participating in the Intelligence Technology Initiative, a new after-school program offered through Mercyhurst College, the Erie School District, and the Boys and Girls Club of Erie aimed at "training the a new generation of information technologists."
Intelligence technologists use computer research and information technology skills to support the work of intelligence analysts.
The hourlong course is offered twice weekly at Jefferson and at the Boys and Girls Club, during which time students learn computer competence, communication skills, research methods, Internet awareness and teamwork.
The program is geared toward students who might not be college-bound but who are interested in supportive careers in the intelligence field, said Bob Heibel, founder of the intelligence studies program at Mercyhurst and director of its Institute for Intelligence Studies.
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