Visible to the public Digital Simulation in the Virtual World: Its Effect in the Knowledge and Attitude of Students Towards Cybersecurity

TitleDigital Simulation in the Virtual World: Its Effect in the Knowledge and Attitude of Students Towards Cybersecurity
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsFlores, P.
Conference Name2019 Sixth HCT Information Technology Trends (ITT)
Date PublishedNov. 2019
PublisherIEEE
ISBN Number978-1-7281-5061-1
Keywordscomputer aided instruction, Computer crime, computer science education, cyber physical systems, cybersecurity, cybersecurity attitude, cybersecurity education, cybersecurity knowledge, digital simulation, Digital Simulations, E-learning, Education, Educational institutions, Instruments, invasive software, Malware, online scam, password, password usage, phishing, privacy, pubcrawl, Social Engineering, student experience, teaching, text analysis, text-based environment, user experience, Virtual Learning Environment, Virtual Learning Environments, virtual reality, virtual world, virtual world lessons, VLE
Abstract

The search for alternative delivery modes to teaching has been one of the pressing concerns of numerous educational institutions. One key innovation to improve teaching and learning is e-learning which has undergone enormous improvements. From its focus on text-based environment, it has evolved into Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) which provide more stimulating and immersive experiences among learners and educators. An example of VLEs is the virtual world which is an emerging educational platform among universities worldwide. One very interesting topic that can be taught using the virtual world is cybersecurity. Simulating cybersecurity in the virtual world may give a realistic experience to students which can be hardly achieved by classroom teaching. To date, there are quite a number of studies focused on cybersecurity awareness and cybersecurity behavior. But none has focused looking into the effect of digital simulation in the virtual world, as a new educational platform, in the cybersecurity attitude of the students. It is in this regard that this study has been conducted by designing simulation in the virtual world lessons that teaches the five aspects of cybersecurity namely; malware, phishing, social engineering, password usage and online scam, which are the most common cybersecurity issues. The study sought to examine the effect of this digital simulation design in the cybersecurity knowledge and attitude of the students. The result of the study ascertains that students exposed under simulation in the virtual world have a greater positive change in cybersecurity knowledge and attitude than their counterparts.

URLhttps://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9075068
DOI10.1109/ITT48889.2019.9075068
Citation Keyflores_digital_2019