Cybersecurity Education and Skills: Exploring Students’ Perceptions, Preferences and Performance in a Blended Learning Initiative

Designing a cybersecurity course for a big cohort of students from the different educational background is a challenging job. Examined in this study are the perceptions, preferences and performance of students who have participated in a strategic blended learning initiative aimed at preparing students for their working lives. For this purpose, both self-reported and observational data were collected from 115 students who voluntarily registered for the pilot run of the course. Self-reported data was used to measure students’ preferences as well as perceptions related to satisfaction, engagement, convenience, interaction and views on learning. Observational data measuring students’ performance was directly extracted from the collaborative learning platform on which the course was hosted. The results show that overall students liked the blended design of the course. They were satisfied with the format of the course, they felt engaged, and most of them secured good grades. Moreover, no significant difference in perceptions and preferences were found when controlled for gender, educational discipline, and overall performance, showing that the blended design of the course was accepted across the board.

[1]  Seppo Virtanen.  Increasing the self-study effort of higher education engineering students with an online learning platform , 2008, Int. J. Knowl. Learn..

[2]  Giovanni Vigna.  Teaching Network Security Through Live Exercises , 2003, World Conference on Information Security Education.

[3]  Peter Shea,et al.  Learning presence: Towards a theory of self-efficacy, self-regulation, and the development of a communities of inquiry in online and blended learning environments , 2010, Comput. Educ..

[4]  Doina Logofatu,et al.  Deployment of a blended learning module in statistics for engineering and computer science students , 2017, 2017 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).

[5]  Sampath Kannan,et al.  Approximately Stable, School Optimal, and Student-Truthful Many-to-One Matchings (via Differential Privacy) , 2014, SODA.

[6]  Jouni Isoaho,et al.  Information Security Awareness in Educational Institution: An Analysis of Students' Individual Factors , 2015, 2015 IEEE Trustcom/BigDataSE/ISPA.

[7]  Ali Farooq.  In Quest of information security in higher education institutions : security awareness, concerns and behaviour of students , 2019 .

[8]  Antti Hakkala.  On Security and Privacy for Networked Information Society : Observations and Solutions for Security Engineering and Trust Building in Advanced Societal Processes , 2017 .

[9]  Camille Dickson-Deane,et al.  e-Learning, online learning, and distance learning environments: Are they the same? , 2011, Internet High. Educ..

[10]  Charles D. Dziuban,et al.  Blended Courses as Drivers of Institutional Transformation , 2011 .

[11]  Martina Kuhn,et al.  A new problem based Blended Learning approach in Software Engineering , 2015, 2015 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).

[12]  Hermann Meuth,et al.  Designing a blended-learning Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering for non-traditional students , 2013, 2013 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).

[13]  Ismo Hakala,et al.  Blended learning in master studies in Mathematical Information Technology — Impacts on attendance and learning outcomes , 2011, 2011 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).

[14]  Marko Sarstedt,et al.  Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM): An emerging tool in business research , 2014 .

[15]  W A Fisher,et al.  Changing AIDS-risk behavior. , 1992, Psychological bulletin.

[16]  Eva Martínez-Caro,et al.  Factors affecting students’ satisfaction in engineering disciplines: traditional vs. blended approaches , 2011 .

[17]  Jouni Isoaho,et al.  Observations on Genderwise Differences among University Students in Information Security Awareness , 2015, Int. J. Inf. Secur. Priv..

[18]  B. Means,et al.  The Effectiveness of Online and Blended Learning: A Meta-Analysis of the Empirical Literature , 2013, Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education.

[19]  Ron Owston,et al.  Student perceptions and achievement in a university blended learning strategic initiative , 2013, Internet High. Educ..

[20]  William Yurcik,et al.  Different Approaches in the Teaching of Information Systems Security , 2001 .

[21]  Ali Farooq,et al.  Individual Differences and E-Learning Acceptance among Saudi Students , 2018, 2018 21st Saudi Computer Society National Computer Conference (NCC).

[22]  Robert M. Bernard,et al.  A Meta-Analysis of Three Types of Interaction Treatments in Distance Education , 2009 .

[23]  Charles R. Graham,et al.  Exploring Intensive Longitudinal Measures of Student Engagement in Blended Learning , 2015 .

[24]  Charles R. Graham,et al.  Measuring student engagement in technology-mediated learning: A review , 2015, Comput. Educ..

[25]  Won Kim,et al.  The dark side of the Internet: Attacks, costs and responses , 2011, Inf. Syst..

[26]  Chad J. McGuire,et al.  An Analysis of Student Self-Assessment of Online, Blended, and Face-to-Face Learning Environments: Implications for Sustainable Education Delivery , 2010 .

[27]  Cesar Valderrama,et al.  Shared curriculum at KTH and UPC universities: Blended learning experience at the MSc SELECT programme , 2018, 2018 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON).

[28]  Rossouw von Solms,et al.  From information security to cyber security , 2013, Comput. Secur..

[29]  Jouni Isoaho,et al.  Predicting Students' Security Behavior Using Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model , 2019, SEC.