WAR GAMES: SIMULATION VS. VIRTUAL MACHINES IN CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION
Issues in Information Systems · 2016
The use of both simulations and virtual environments have been used in education for many years.This study examines the results of the use of these techniques in a cybersecurity course.Four graduate-level course sections were used two examine the effectiveness of simulations versus virtual machines (VM) in learning a number of different cybersecurity topics.Two sections used simulation while the other two used VM.Course content and learning objectives for all four sections were the same.Student performance was assessed using the same rubrics and standards for all students.Results show that students working in virtual environments consistently achieved a higher degree of mastery of the cybersecurity concepts than their counterparts who used simulations.Students also reported greater degrees of trust and enjoyment in the VM course sections.