Abstract:

Teaching basic server technologies like DNS, DHCP, HTTP and mail in both, full time and part time study programs can be difficult, especially when the course consists of face-to-face lessons and distance learning. This paper shows one way to teach server technologies in a part-time study degree program using low price computers and open source software instead of virtual machines. The scenarios are done within one big simulation game that lasts the whole semester. An empirical evaluation of the overall improvement was done within a time range of three years in part-time and full-time courses, also based on the difference between a formerly used way of using virtual machines for at least five years and the use of physical hardware for teaching server systems.

The results of this paper can be used to improve teaching quality and student´s success in regions with limited availability to high level hardware.

Keywords:

Edutainment, distance learning, simulation, servers, low-tech, low-cost.