vLabs

Enhance the student experience with vLabs™ from Element K Press

Offer Your Students Hands-On Experience in a Risk-Free Environment

 

Virtual Labs (vLabs™) from Element K Press offer an asynchronous, web-based learning environment that enables students to connect directly with live equipment or virtual machines in a real, risk-free environment. These courses immerse students in the software environment, providing a high degree of interactivity to reinforce basic skills and the ability to repeat lessons as necessary. vLabs build experience without risking damage to your equipment or infrastructure.

vLab
 

Proverbial wisdom tells us that there is no substitute for real experience. When it comes to providing a rich and compelling interaction with a technology, letting students experiment with an application can truly make the sale or drive home key learning points. vLabs enable users to go beyond a static demonstration or simulation. Students can make mistakes and experiment in a real environment, gaining practical experience by working with a technology first hand.

 
vLabs are a combination of multi-tiered software environments and at-the-ready server-side and technology applications which support an overlay of structured training design. vLabs are readily accessible through Element K Press' learning platform anytime, anywhere. vLabs can be used to enliven and complement other training modalities and also serve as an effective pre-sales demonstration tool. In addition, associated benefits of vLabs, such as eliminating the risk to client-side infrastructure and reducing overall costs offer added value.
 

These standalone vLab products offer individual delivery of asynchronous exercises in a single, self-contained solution. Each access is separate and can be scheduled at any time. vLabs are currently available for:

 
CompTIACisco
  
  • A+
  • Network+
  • Security+
  • Linux+ Powered by LPI
  • ROUTE
  • ICND1
  • ICND2
  • CCNAX
 

For additional information on commonly asked questions about Cisco Learning Labs, please download the FAQ document here. 

 

vLab Content

 
As a powerhouse of innovation for nearly 30 years in the training and development industry, Element K Press has been leading the market with innovations in content delivery. As the first online learning provider to offer vLabs as part of an integrated learning solution, Element K Press has placed emphasis on delivering training modules based on real-world applications and issues. Our vLab content is created by a team of world-renowned network experts, all of who are vendor certified as instructors and/or consultants in their fields. Suggested approaches, sample solutions and lab assessment tools provide differing levels of support to students at every step of the learning process
 

Lab exercises within a vLab contain the following parts:

 

 Scenario

 

Suggested Approach

 

Sample Solution

 

Check Results

A case-based exercise comprised of four sections:

Assignment: Gives a brief description of the lab exercise that must be performed during the session.

Story: Presents the challenge to set the scene for the exercise.

Notes/Conditions: Presents network details that offer hints on how to solve the problem presented in the lab.

Network Diagram: Illustrates network hardware related to the lab exercise, thereby providing a visual description of the equipment used in the scenario.

 This section provides students with a list of steps they can take as they attempt to meet the lab’s objectives. No solutions are provided. Rather, it offers hints that create a roadmap to help students arrive at the appropriate problem resolution.  Detailed sequence of tasks to solve each step in the Suggested Approach section is recommended.  The Check Results mentoring option offers students a self-assessment feature. The student is either presented with a completed file for cross comparison or a sub-task that would demonstrate successful completion of the original exercise.
 
 

Discover the Benefits of vLabs from Element K Press

 
 Students
 
Instructors/SMEs
 
Organizations
 
 
 
 
 
  • Ability to go beyond a static demonstration or simulation & gain practical experience by working with a technology first-hand in a live environment.
  • Safe and secure environment with full control to experiment.
  • Anytime, any place individual access. Only need access to an Internet connection and a browser.
  • Ability to invite any third party into the virtual environment for assistance via asynchronous shadowing.
  • Bookmarking allows for multi-tasking.
  • Extended lab time allows for students of all skill levels to go through a lab at their own pace.          
 
  • Build student experience without risking damage to your equipment or infrastructure.
  • Offer a value-added marketplace differentiator.
  • Provide students a rich and compelling interaction with technology.
  • Enliven and compliment your other training modalities.
 
  • Cost savings associated with travel, administration and capital purchases.
  • Opportunity to focus on core aspects / objectives of organization.
  • Ability to ensure that students have achieved mastery on custom application(s) or on specific IT skills.
 
 
 
 

From a student’s perspective, the benefits of hands-on personal training offered by traditional labs are clear. Lab modules provide targeted technology training that is invaluable. However, potential costs/risks of setting up servers and software for novice users to train with are often enough to dissuade most organizations from investing in such a solution.

 

In a vLab, students have all the advantages of traditional labs, operating in a dedicated environment to fully experience and reinforce hard skills they have acquired. They are free to explore, make mistakes, and engage their skills without risk to critical and costly equipment. In addition, there are no setup/maintenance costs from the organization’s perspective. If students get stuck at any point in the lab, not only do they have access to online content with suggested approaches to accomplish the lab objective, but they can restore individual systems within the virtual environment on their own without the time-consuming and dangerous rework necessary on actual systems.

 
 
 

vLabs from Element K Press: Performance-based skills building…anytime, anywhere.

 
Contact your Element K Press Account Manager today at 1-800-478-7788 for more information.