Immersive Cyber-Verse: The State of Immersive Learning Techniques in Cybersecurity Education in Small Colleges

Abstract

In our current predicament of alarming rise of cyberattacks, social engineering attempts and an evolving need for encrypted security, the importance of cybersecurity education and training cannot be overstated. The need to equip the current and future generation of students with all the necessary tools, knowledge and expertise to combat this ever-increasing threat is paramount. Big institutions, including R1, 2 and 3 universities have already been striving to train a cybersecurity trained workforce and providing substantial resources and funds to continue research and exploration of this area. On the other hand, smaller institutions, including private liberal arts colleges, four-year universities and various urban colleges are often grappling with the obstacles of limited funds and the inability of utilizing expensive infrastructure to continue research in niche cybersecurity topics, such as quantum information systems, critical infrastructure systems, etc. This paper provides an overview of the various challenges faced by these smaller institutions in terms of resources for their students for the required cybersecurity training and discusses potential teaching techniques using immersive learning methods of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). The use of these technologies is already being prevalent in imparting student learning in complex and inter-disciplinary cybersecurity topics. This paper aims to identify the challenges associated with the utilization of these technology in smaller higher learning institutions. It further discusses potential strategies to overcome these shortcomings to eventually help these universities to proactively join the commitment of building a cybersecure workforce.