Design and evaluation of a learning environment to effectively provide network security skills

Information system security and network security are topics of increasing importance in the information society. They are also topics where the adequate education of professionals requires the use of specific laboratory environments where the practical aspects of the discipline may be addressed. However, most approaches currently used are excessively static and lack the flexibility that the education requirements of security professionals demand. In this paper we present NEMESIS, a scenario generation framework for education on system and network security, which is based on virtualization technologies and has been designed to be open, distributed, modular, scalable and flexible. Finally, an example scenario is described and some results validating the benefits of its use in undergraduate computer security courses are shown.La seguridad de redes y sistemas de información es un área de importancia creciente en el ámbito de la sociedad de información. Además, constituye un tema en el que la adecuada formación de profesionales exige el uso de entornos de laboratorio específicos en los que abordar los aspectos prácticas de la disciplina. Sin embargo, la mayoría de las aproximación usadas en la actualidad son excesivamente estáticas y carecen de la flexibilidad que las exigencias de la formación de profesionales de seguridad imponente. En este artículo, presentamos NEMESIS, un entorno para la generación de escenarios para la formación en seguridad de redes y sistemas, basado en tecnologías de virtualización que ha sido diseñado para ser abierto, distribuido, modular, escalable y flexible. Finalmente, se describe un escenario de ejemplo y se muestran resultados que validan los beneficios de su uso en cursos de seguridad informática de grad

Design and evaluation of a learning environment to effectively provide network security skills

Information system security and network security are topics of increasing importance in the information society. They are also topics where the adequate education of professionals requires the use of specific laboratory environments where the practical aspects of the discipline may be addressed. However, most approaches currently used are excessively static and lack the flexibility that the education requirements of security professionals demand. In this paper we present NEMESIS, a scenario generation framework for education on system and network security, which is based on virtualization technologies and has been designed to be open, distributed, modular, scalable and flexible. Finally, an example scenario is described and some results validating the benefits of its use in undergraduate computer security courses are shown.La seguridad de redes y sistemas de información es un área de importancia creciente en el ámbito de la sociedad de información. Además, constituye un tema en el que la adecuada formación de profesionales exige el uso de entornos de laboratorio específicos en los que abordar los aspectos prácticas de la disciplina. Sin embargo, la mayoría de las aproximación usadas en la actualidad son excesivamente estáticas y carecen de la flexibilidad que las exigencias de la formación de profesionales de seguridad imponente. En este artículo, presentamos NEMESIS, un entorno para la generación de escenarios para la formación en seguridad de redes y sistemas, basado en tecnologías de virtualización que ha sido diseñado para ser abierto, distribuido, modular, escalable y flexible. Finalmente, se describe un escenario de ejemplo y se muestran resultados que validan los beneficios de su uso en cursos de seguridad informática de grad

Quality Assessment for E-learning: a Benchmarking Approach (Third edition)

The primary purpose of this manual is to provide a set of benchmarks, quality criteria and notes for guidance against which e-learning programmes and their support systems may be judged. The manual should therefore be seen primarily as a reference tool for the assessment or review of e-learning programmes and the systems which support them. However, the manual should also prove to be useful to staff in institutions concerned with the design, development, teaching, assessment and support of e-learning programmes. It is hoped that course developers, teachers and other stakeholders will see the manual as a useful development and/or improvement tool for incorporation in their own institutional systems of monitoring, evaluation and enhancement

The seamless integration of Web3D technologies with university curricula to engage the changing student cohort

The increasing tendency of many university students to study at least some courses at a distance limits their opportunities for the interactions fundamental to learning. Online learning can assist but relies heavily on text, which is limiting for some students. The popularity of computer games, especially among the younger students, and the emergence of networked games and game-like virtual worlds offers opportunities for enhanced interaction in educational applications. For virtual worlds to be widely adopted in higher education it is desirable to have approaches to design and development that are responsive to needs and limited in their resource requirements. Ideally it should be possible for academics without technical expertise to adapt virtual worlds to support their teaching needs. This project identified Web3D, a technology that is based on the X3D standards and which presents 3D virtual worlds within common web browsers, as an approach worth exploring for educational application. The broad goals of the project were to produce exemplars of Web3D for educational use, together with development tools and associated resources to support non-technical academic adopters, and to promote an Australian community of practice to support broader adoption of Web3D in education. During the first year of the project exemplar applications were developed and tested. The Web3D technology was found to be still in a relatively early stage of development in which the application of standards did not ensure reliable operation in different environments. Moreover, ab initio development of virtual worlds and associated tools proved to be more demanding of resources than anticipated and was judged unlikely in the near future to result in systems that non-technical academics could use with confidence. In the second year the emphasis moved to assisting academics to plan and implement teaching in existing virtual worlds that provided relatively easy to use tools for customizing an environment. A project officer worked with participating academics to support the teaching of significant elements of courses within Second LifeTM. This approach was more successful in producing examples of good practice that could be shared with and emulated by other academics. Trials were also conducted with ExitRealityTM, a new Australian technology that presents virtual worlds in a web browser. Critical factors in the success of the project included providing secure access to networked computers with the necessary capability; negotiating the complexity of working across education, design of virtual worlds, and technical requirements; and supporting participants with professional development in the technology and appropriate pedagogy for the new environments. Major challenges encountered included working with experimental technologies that are evolving rapidly and deploying new networked applications on secure university networks. The project has prepared the way for future expansion in the use of virtual worlds for teaching at USQ and has contributed to the emergence of a national network of tertiary educators interested in the educational applications of virtual worlds

Big data for monitoring educational systems

This report considers “how advances in big data are likely to transform the context and methodology of monitoring educational systems within a long-term perspective (10-30 years) and impact the evidence based policy development in the sector”, big data are “large amounts of different types of data produced with high velocity from a high number of various types of sources.” Five independent experts were commissioned by Ecorys, responding to themes of: students' privacy, educational equity and efficiency, student tracking, assessment and skills. The experts were asked to consider the “macro perspective on governance on educational systems at all levels from primary, secondary education and tertiary – the latter covering all aspects of tertiary from further, to higher, and to VET”, prioritising primary and secondary levels of education