AnExperience Report on Using a Cyberlearning Environment for Cybersecurity Courses
Conference
Buckley, I, Carbunar, B, Sotomayor, JP et al. (2025). AnExperience Report on Using a Cyberlearning Environment for Cybersecurity Courses
. 10.18260/1-2--57614
Buckley, I, Carbunar, B, Sotomayor, JP et al. (2025). AnExperience Report on Using a Cyberlearning Environment for Cybersecurity Courses
. 10.18260/1-2--57614
The increasing cyber threats to online systems have resulted in the need for a more inclusive ap proach to educating the broader population on preventative measures to reduce the impact of these threats. It is estimated that the cybercrime cost to the world will be $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. No longer can cybersecurity courses be specialized courses in university curricula, but some of these courses need to become core courses for all students. These courses should not only be tailored for university and college students but also be required to thread the curricula, starting in elementary schools. This paper describes our experiences conducting a collaborative cybersecurity project to increase access to undergraduate cybersecurity education. The project was funded by the NSF and Cyber Florida. The project was a collaboration between two Florida public universities. One univer sity is a large urban Hispanic-Serving Institution. We describe how the Software Engineering and Programming Cyberlearning Environment (SEP-CyLE), in conjunction with other cybersecurity systems, was used to develop basic cybersecurity materials, labs, and activities for undergradu ate students and instructors. SEP-CyLE motivates students to learn in an interactive environment where they can provide feedback to their peers while employing three learning and engagement strategies (LESs). These LESs include collaborative learning, gamification, and social interac tion. We present the objectives of the project, describe how the objectives were met, briefly describe SEP-CyLE, and provide data showing students’ interactions with SEP-CyLE. The data retrieved from SEP-CyLE provides insight into how the learning environment was used, students’ perfor mance on the learning objects, and the impact of the LESs on students’ overall performance in an introductory cybersecurity course.
