Evaluating virtual laboratory platforms for supporting on-line information security courses

Distance education had existed for a long time, then it has undergone a renaissance with the advent of computers and the Internet. Distance education relied on physically delivered material and assessments to students, who work offline at home. More recently, online learning or e-learning introduced virtual classrooms, assessments, online tests and transformed the classroom an into interactive online classroom. Despite the large number of online degrees offered, face-to-face remained the dominant mode and e-learning was just used to complement the classroom. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact higher education, and online learning is a forgone conclusion. However, the digital divide hindered the disadvantaged schools and students efforts to transition to online learning. As the pandemic continues to change the education landscape, many challenges arise and prevent student from realising the full potential of e-learning. One of those is the access to physical labs in science, engineering, and computer science programs. This study evaluates practical solutions for virtual labs to be used in teaching information security and ethical hacking. The course ran over five semesters, and 164 students were surveyed. The survey measured perceptions, enjoyment, experiences and attitudes towards virtual labs, and the results were supporting adoption and acceptance of virtual labs.