The Impact of Virtual Laboratories on Active Learning and Engagement in Cybersecurity Distance Education
<|reference_start|>The Impact of Virtual Laboratories on Active Learning and Engagement in Cybersecurity Distance Education: Virtual Laboratories (V Labs) have in the recent past become part and parcel of remote teaching in practical hands-on approaches, particularly in Cybersecurity distance courses. Their potential is meant to assist learners with hands-on practical laboratory exercises irrespective of geographical location. Nevertheless, adopting V Labs in didactic approaches in higher education has seen both merits and demerits. Based on this premise, this study investigates the impact of V Labs on Active Learning (AL) and engagement in cybersecurity distance education. A survey with a limited number of learners and educators who have had an experience with cybersecurity distance courses that leveraged V Labs in their practical Lab assignment, was conducted at Blekinge Tekniska H\"ogskola, Sweden, to assess the impact of V Labs on AL and engagement in Cybersecurity Distance Education. 29% and 73% of the learners and educators, respectively responded to the survey administered remotely and with good internal consistency of questionnaires based on the Cronbalch Alpha; the results showed that learners and educators had a positive perception of using V Labs to enhance AL in cybersecurity distance education. The key concentration of the study was on AL and engagement and problem-solving abilities when V Labs are used. Both the learners and educators found the V Labs to be engaging, interactive, and effective in improving their understanding of cybersecurity concepts.<|reference_end|>
@article{kebande2024the,
    title={The Impact of Virtual Laboratories on Active Learning and Engagement in
  Cybersecurity Distance Education},
    author={Victor R. Kebande},
    journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.04952},
    year={2024},
    archivePrefix={arXiv},
    eprint={2404.04952},
    primaryClass={cs.CY}
}