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© 1963–2012 IEEE.Contribution: A novel approach to remote instruction in 802.11 technology is described using the virtual lab technology. Background: Lab–based education has been a staple of computing education for decades. By interacting with the technology, students are able to gain a much greater understanding of the subject through hands–on activities. Recently, virtual labs have provided a mechanism to allow both co–located and online students access to these lab environments without the time, space, and monetary constraints of traditional labs. Computer networking and security is one area where virtual labs provide a highly useful testbed for learning security concepts. One problem is implementing virtual educational labs pertaining to 802.11 technologies given the inherently physical location–based nature of the wireless medium. Intended Outcomes: This article builds on work by others by developing and testing a new hybrid physical/virtual lab to enable students to learn concepts pertaining to 802.11 networking technologies remotely in a virtual lab setting. Application Design: The virtual lab environment uses the ESXi virtualization technology coupled with arrays of USB 802.11 adapters to enable the use of 802.11 technologies remotely. Findings: The experimental results show the proposed system to be as effective as a traditional physical lab environment with regards to usefulness, ease of use, satisfaction, self–efficacy, and exercise completion time.
