A distributed laboratory architecture for game based learning in cybersecurity and critical infrastructures

This paper shows a design based on distributed architectures for a remote laboratory to learn cybersecurity and infrastructure protection systems. Distributed architectures, especially those supported by virtualization and cloud computing, along with other emerging technologies such as Game-based Learning (GBL), currently are a hot trend in educational and professional fields. Around this idea, a key is the concept of educational piece as meaning an element of instructional design where is including a suitable game. Therefore, each piece is characterized. These points among others allow us to plan the game-based lab design and to determine most appropriate time for each learning activity. Eventually, a game-piece-based architecture is able to deploy a kind of laboratories on cybersecurity and critical infrastructures, but that can be generalized for educational activities in other fields. This method provides a coherent reasoning to learning objectives and enough flexibility within a teaching program. In order to get a consistent and effective overcome, a laboratory implementation requires nowadays communication systems, hosts, some virtualization or cloud services, particularly for remote learning, but even for improving the traditional computer classrooms.