Jones & Bartlett Learning and Toolwire, a global leader of experiential learning technologies, have collaborated to develop a first-of-its-kind curriculum for IT security training.
As part of its twelve-title Information Systems Security and Assurance (ISSA) Curriculum, JBL partnered with Toolwire to develop the new JBL Virtual Security Cloud Labs. Supporting onsite, online, and hybrid classrooms, this “virtual sandbox” provides students with instant, unscheduled access to 65 virtual lab environments from the convenience of a web-browser and allows students to practice “white hat” hacking on an actual IT infrastructure.
Unlike simulations, the JBL Virtual Security Cloud Labs reproduce the complex challenges of the real-world without putting an institution’s IT assets at risk. As part of a blended solution, these labs are an essential tool for catalyzing key course concepts through hands-on training. This type of engaging experiential learning has been proven to deliver the highest retention among all training methodologies.
What is especially attractive about this program is that students can gain up to 200 hours of hands-on experience as part of a curriculum that is mapped to popular industry certifications, including the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), CompTIA Security +, and Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP). Providing “virtual internships” that give students real-world experience while they are still in school increases student engagement and motivation, which is extremely beneficial to schools seeking to improve retention rates.
In order to create these virtual labs, Jones & Bartlett partnered with Toolwire, which has developed virtual work environments for leading global software and Higher Education clients since 1998. Toolwire hosts, maintains, and provides 24x7x365 support for all of its virtual labs thereby enabling learning institutions to streamline IT infrastructure, manage costs, and provide a more consistent delivery of all labs.
To learn more about the Information Systems Security and Assurance Series and the Virtual Security Cloud Labs, visit www.issaseries.com.
