From Paper to Platform: Evolution of a Novel Learning Environment for Tabletop Exercises

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Švábenský, Valdemar, Vykopal, Jan, Horák, Martin, Hofbauer, Martin, Čeleda, Pavel
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Švábenský, Valdemar
Vykopal, Jan
Horák, Martin
Hofbauer, Martin
Čeleda, Pavel
author_facet Švábenský, Valdemar
Vykopal, Jan
Horák, Martin
Hofbauer, Martin
Čeleda, Pavel
contents For undergraduate students of computing, learning to solve complex practical problems in a team is an essential skill for their future careers. This skill is needed in various fields, such as in cybersecurity and IT governance. Tabletop exercises are an innovative teaching method used in practice for training teams in incident response and evaluation of contingency plans. However, tabletop exercises are not yet widely established in university education. This paper presents data and teaching experience from a cybersecurity course that introduces tabletop exercises in classrooms using a novel technology: INJECT Exercise Platform (IXP), a web-based learning environment for delivering and evaluating the exercises. This technology substantially improves the prior practice, since tabletop exercises worldwide have usually been conducted using pen and paper. Unlike in traditional tabletop exercises, which are difficult to evaluate manually, IXP provides insights into students' behavior and learning based on automated analysis of interaction data. We demonstrate IXP's capabilities and evolution by comparing exercise sessions hosted throughout three years at different stages of the platform's readiness. The analysis of student data is supplemented by the discussion of the lessons learned from employing IXP in computing education contexts. The data analytics enabled a detailed comparison of the teams' performance and behavior. Instructors who consider innovating their classes with tabletop exercises may use IXP and benefit from the insights in this paper.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_10988
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle From Paper to Platform: Evolution of a Novel Learning Environment for Tabletop Exercises
Švábenský, Valdemar
Vykopal, Jan
Horák, Martin
Hofbauer, Martin
Čeleda, Pavel
Computers and Society
Cryptography and Security
K.3
For undergraduate students of computing, learning to solve complex practical problems in a team is an essential skill for their future careers. This skill is needed in various fields, such as in cybersecurity and IT governance. Tabletop exercises are an innovative teaching method used in practice for training teams in incident response and evaluation of contingency plans. However, tabletop exercises are not yet widely established in university education. This paper presents data and teaching experience from a cybersecurity course that introduces tabletop exercises in classrooms using a novel technology: INJECT Exercise Platform (IXP), a web-based learning environment for delivering and evaluating the exercises. This technology substantially improves the prior practice, since tabletop exercises worldwide have usually been conducted using pen and paper. Unlike in traditional tabletop exercises, which are difficult to evaluate manually, IXP provides insights into students' behavior and learning based on automated analysis of interaction data. We demonstrate IXP's capabilities and evolution by comparing exercise sessions hosted throughout three years at different stages of the platform's readiness. The analysis of student data is supplemented by the discussion of the lessons learned from employing IXP in computing education contexts. The data analytics enabled a detailed comparison of the teams' performance and behavior. Instructors who consider innovating their classes with tabletop exercises may use IXP and benefit from the insights in this paper.
title From Paper to Platform: Evolution of a Novel Learning Environment for Tabletop Exercises
topic Computers and Society
Cryptography and Security
K.3
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.10988