©2009 Skytap, Inc. All rights reserved.
TableofContents
1. Today’sTrainingDeliveryChallenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. VirtualClassrooms:ReinventingtheTraditionalLearningEnvironment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
3. TheMissingComponent:Hands-OnLearning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
4. TheSolution:SkytapVirtualLab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4.1 ClassroomSet-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4.2 ClassDelivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.3 ClassroomReuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5. SkytapBenefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1. Today’sTrainingDeliveryChallenges
Thechallengesfacingtrainingorganizationscontin-
uetogrow .Companiesneedtoprovidesoftwareand
technicaltrainingforemployees,butareunderin-
creasedbudgetpressuretoreduceper-seattraining
costs and eliminate travel expenses . Furthermore,
training attendees areunder pressure to continue
theirregularworkfunctionsandoftendonothave
theluxurytoblockoutentiredaysontheirsched-
ule toattend training .Toaddress thesepressures,
we’veseenmanytrainingorganizationslooktoon-
lineanddistancelearningtosolvecostandlocation
challenges .
However, implementing effective distance learn-
ing and reducing costs is not simple . Emulating a
complex software application typically requires a
trainingenvironmentwithmultiplemachinespre-
configuredwithnumerouscomponents .Inaddition,
makingaclassroomenvironmentavailableoverthe
Webrequiresvirtuallabmanagementsoftwareand
aspecialized IT infrastructure .Finally,administra-
tionandmaintenanceof remote classroomequip-
mentrequiresfull-time,skilledtechnicalstaff that
istoocostlyformostorganizations .
1 WhitePaper»ReinventingtheVirtualClassroom:DeliveringHands-OnTrainingwithVirtualLabs
©2009 Skytap, Inc. All rights reserved.
ReinventingtheVirtualClassroom:DeliveringHands-OnTrainingwithVirtualLabs
Thequestion thenbecomescan trainingorganiza-
tionswithlimitedresourcestakeatraditionalclass-
room environment online and achieve the same
learning outcomes? And simultaneously, can they
reduceequipmentandadministrationcostsforboth
traditional and virtual training? This is the chal-
lengethiswhitepaperwillexplore .
2. VirtualClassrooms:Reinventingthe TraditionalLearningEnvironment
Theprovenapproachtoeffectivetechnicaltraining
hastraditionallybeenInstructorLedTraining(ILT) .
Inthismodel,aninstructorlectures,presentsslides
anddemosonaprojector,drawsonthewhiteboard
tohelpexplainconcepts,andinstructsstudentsto
practiceusing the conceptspresentedby complet-
inghands-onlabsusingthecomputersintheclass-
room .Thestudents,all inthesamephysicalclass-
roomwith the instructor,eachhaveacomputer in
frontofthemforlabpurposeswherethesoftware
hasbeenpre-installed .Whenstudentsneedlabas-
sistancetheinstructoristheretoclarifyinstructions
andoffertechnicalassistance .
2 WhitePaper»ReinventingtheVirtualClassroom:DeliveringHands-OnTrainingwithVirtualLabs
©2009 Skytap, Inc. All rights reserved.
Taking all the various components of this rich
technicallearningenvironmentonlinehasbeenan
elusive but continuously pursued goal . Web con-
ferencing and online collaboration tools (such as
WebEx or Microsoft Live Meeting) offer the voice
conferencing and presentation tools necessary to
deliver the slide/lecture, discussion and white-
boardingcomponentsremotely .Withessentiallyall
learnersnowhavingaccesstonetworkbandwidth
speeds of DSL or better, the user experience of
using these tools has improved . Live video of the
instructorcanusuallybeincludedaswell,improv-
ingstudentengagement,andVoiceOver IP(VOIP)
technologycanalsobeusedfor thephoneconfer-
encingcomponent,furtherreducingcosts .
3. TheMissingComponent:Hands-OnLearning
Noticeably absent from the online version of our
idealtechnicaltrainingexperienceisthehands-on
labcomponent .Aftergoingoverconcepts(through
slide/lecture/demo/discussion)theeffectiveonline
course should make the learning practical by en-
abling students to “learn by doing .” No lesser an
authority than Confucius once said, “I hear and I
forget,IseeandIremember,IdoandIunderstand” .
Technicaltrainingwithoutthehands-onlabcompo-
nenttooeasilybecomesapassiveexperiencesimi-
lartowatchingtelevision .Thestudentisleftinob-
servationmode .Nomatterhowgoodthepresenter
orthedemo,thelearnernevergetshands-onprac-
tice with the software and as a result knowledge
retention rates suffer and skills are not learned .
Relegated to the role of viewer, the students tune
out or ‘change the channel’ by accepting easily
available distractions (such as email, web brows-
ing,workcolleagues,etc .)whichtheinstructorwill
likelynotevenbeawareof .
Introducing a lab component changes this equa-
tion and helps the instructor engage the students
andallowthemtopracticeusingthesoftwarebeing
taught .Toaddthisneededcomponenttoourvirtual
training,weneedanenablingtoolwhichstudents
canusetoapplytheconceptslearnedandsynthe-
sizeconceptualinformationintopracticalskills .
Manytrainingorganizationshavenotdiscoveredor
implementedsuchatool,insteadsimplyleavingthe
lab component out of their online course offering
all together . Alternatively, some organizations try
todistributetheirsoftwaredirectlytothestudents
to install on their local machines . Unfortunately
theseapproachesarenoteffectiveforachievingthe
desiredlearningoutcomes .
3 WhitePaper»ReinventingtheVirtualClassroom:DeliveringHands-OnTrainingwithVirtualLabs
©2009 Skytap, Inc. All rights reserved.
Fig.1Skytap’sVirtualLabSolution
4. TheSolution:SkytapVirtualLab
Skytap Virtual Lab provides a powerful and flex-
ible classroom environment accessible to instruc-
torsandstudentsovertheInternet .Justinthesame
way that aWebEx solution is available online for
presentation and audio conferencing, Skytap is
availableonlineforhands-onlabsandexercises .
Skytap isbasedonanewtechnologycalled ‘cloud
computing’ which makes computing resources
available on demand . As a result, Skytap training
customers have access to a large, shared pool of
virtualmachineswhichcanbeaccessedwhenever
theyarerequired .Computingresourcesarecharged
forbythehour,whichmeansatrainingorganization
can align classroom lab costs to student demand
andno longerhave topay forunderutilizedclass-
roomequipment .
Skytap’s has a powerful, self-service labmanager
application which enables instructors and lab
administratorstosetupandteardownlabenviron-
ments inminutes insteadofmanually configuring
labs .Furthermore,ITadministrationisdramatically
reducedbecauseSkytapisafullymanaged,hosted
service . Let’s explorehowSkytap isusedduringa
typicaltrainingclass .
4 WhitePaper»ReinventingtheVirtualClassroom:DeliveringHands-OnTrainingwithVirtualLabs
4.1 ClassroomSet-Up
Aninstructorcancreateaclassroomtosuithisorher
specificcourseneedsandpowerthemachinesonin
amatterofminutes .BysimplyloggingintoSkytap’s
Webinterface,aclassroomenvironmentcanbecre-
ated using server and client machine ‘templates’ .
These templates can simply be images captured
from traditional training machines and uploaded
toSkytap,ortheycanbecreatedfromscratchusing
anyofthenumerousoperatingsystemsinSkytap’s
public library including Windows clients (e .g .
WindowsXP),WindowsServerandLinuxvariants .
Each classroom (or ‘configuration’) resides on its
ownprivatenetwork .Instructorshaveahighdegree
of control over the network settings in the class-
room,includingtheabilitytochangethehostname
©2009 Skytap, Inc. All rights reserved.
Fig.2CreatingaClassroomLabfromaPre-Built‘Template’
ofavirtualmachine,usestaticIPaddresseswithina
virtualsubnet,mapnetworkdriveswithinthesub-
net,runtheirownDNSorWINSserverswithinthe
subnet andmore . Internet access from the virtual
machinescanbeturnedonoroff .
Duringclassthereisoftenaneedtoprovidestudents
withlabfiles .Inpreparationforthis,aninstructor
willtypicallydownloadmaterialstoasharefolder
onasingleservermachineinthevirtualclassroom
towhichthestudentmachinesaremapped .Inthis
waytheinstructorcaneasilysharethesoftwarein-
stallersandlabfilesrequiredforaparticularcourse
withallstudents .
Toprepareforacourseinwhichthelabsbuildupon
eachother,instructorscancreateasnapshotofthe
virtualmachines at the end of each lab . During a
5 WhitePaper»ReinventingtheVirtualClassroom:DeliveringHands-OnTrainingwithVirtualLabs
4.2 ClassDelivery
Duringclassdelivery,eachstudentaccesseshisor
her dedicated virtualmachine desktop via Skytap
Remote Access, a standard web browser running
a Java applet, or via a Remote Desktop Protocol
(RDP) client .A student is sent auniqueWebURL
with the class registration email to access their
machine .Witha“fullscreen”viewoftheDesktop,
the studentmay soon forget that the labs are not
running on their local machine . In addition, the
instructor will have a cess to some very helpful
featuresincluding:
• ThumbnailView-theinstructorcanseethumb-
nail views of each student machine desktop from
a single web page . This allows the instructor to
easily monitor student progress during labs .
class, thisenables the instructor tohelpastudent
whohad troubleonaprevious lab to continueon
tothenextlabbyprovidingasnapshotofavirtual
machinewithpriorexercisescompleted .
Before a class, instructorswill invariablywant to
control what students can access and when they
can access it . Skytap provides full access control
settings .Abestpracticeisfortheinstructortocon-
figure Skytap settings specifying the hours when
amachineisavailabletostudentsandwhetheror
notthestudentcanpoweronthemachine .Because
machines can be accessed from anywhere, the
instructormay decide to allow students to access
machinesevenduringnon-classroomhours .
©2009 Skytap, Inc. All rights reserved.
Fig.3Instructor‘Over-the-Shoulder’ViewforMonitoringProgressandAssistingStudents
Fig.4StudentsAccessVirtualMachinesUsingaWebBrowseroraRemoteDesktopClient
6 WhitePaper»ReinventingtheVirtualClassroom:DeliveringHands-OnTrainingwithVirtualLabs
Instructorsfindthisfeatureveryusefulsinceitgives
themsomeinsightintowhatstudentsaredoingdur-
ingassignedlabs .
• OvertheShoulder–Instructorscanmonitorstu-
dentprogressand ifastudentrequestsassistance
during a lab, the instructor can easily access the
student’sdesktopandassist .Boththestudentand
the instructorwill see the sameviewof thedesk-
top simultaneously .Unlikewithweb conferencing
tools, there is no need to “share the desktop” or
grantpresenterprivilegesbackandforth .Thisfea-
tureincombinationwithanaudioconferencingtool
providesalabtroubleshootingcapabilityasgoodas
if thestudentandthe instructorwere in thesame
roomtogether .
©2009 Skytap, Inc. All rights reserved.
• AddHardwareResources–ifavirtualmachine
requiresadditionalmemoryorprocessingpowerfor
a particular lab, the instructor can easily increase
the amount of RAM or CPU dedicated to thema-
chine,evenduringclass .
OneofpowerfulfeaturesavailablewithinSkytapis
theabilitytocreatevirtualmachine‘snapshots’ .Us-
ingthesnapshot featurethe instructorcan ‘savea
copyofamachine’atanytime .Thisfeatureprovides
theabilityfortheinstructor’ssupportstafftounob-
trusivelyhelptheinstructortroubleshootastudent’s
labissueonaclonedcopyofthemachinewhilethe
studentcancontinueontootherlabs .Oncetheso-
lutionisdiscoveredontheclone,thesupportstaff
candiscretelycommunicatethefixtotheinstructor
who can then knowledgably instruct the student
howcorrecttheissue .
7 WhitePaper»ReinventingtheVirtualClassroom:DeliveringHands-OnTrainingwithVirtualLabs
©2009 Skytap, Inc. All rights reserved.
Anotheruseofsnapshotsistorevertamachineback
toanearlierstate .Forexample,theinstructorcould
snapshotmachinesbeforealabthatdemonstrates
an irreversiblesoftwareerror . In thiswayyoucan
allowstudentsbroaderleewaytoexperiment .
4.3 ClassroomReuse
Onceasetofclasslabshasbeencreated,theycanbe
savedbackintotheSkytaplibraryasa‘template’of
theclassroomandeasilydeployedforfuturetrain-
ingsessions .Templatescanbecustomizedandan
instructormayfindthattheyliketoadjustthestan-
dard training templates used by their colleagues
tobettersupporttheirpersonaltrainingapproach .
Rather make these adjustments to each machine
in the classroom every time a new classroom is
created,theinstructorcanmakethesechangesonce,
snapshotthesechanges,andthenusethesnapshot
as their new template each subsequent time they
teachtheclass .
Atemplatecanbecreatedasjustonemachineoran
entireclassroomofmachines .Skytaphaspowerful
automation and deployment capabilities, so once
atemplatehasbeencreated,anewclassroomcan
bedeployedthroughtheWebinterfaceinjustafew
minutes,savinghoursofmanualset-uptime .
5. SkytapBenefits
Skytapprovides compellingbenefits forany train-
ingorganizationwithahands-onlabcomponentin
theirclasses .Thebenefitstypicallycitedbytraining
organizationsinclude:
Self-ServiceControlandProductivity
Instructorshaveself-serviceaccesstocreateclass-
roomenvironmentsondemand .Unlikemanytradi-
tionaltraininglabvendorsthereisnoneedtosend
anemailtoacquireaccesstomachinesoraddnew
machinestoaclassroom .Instructorshaveagreater
sense of control since they can add, delete, copy,
modify, and power on and off machines on their
own .Theuserinterfaceiseasytolearnandsimple
touse .
CostSavings
Mosttraditionaltrainingvendorschargebytheday
sothatwhetheryouaccessmachinesfor5minutes
or24hoursyoupaythefullprice .Furthermore,ma-
chinestypicallyhavetobereservedwellinadvance
andthereislittleflexibilitytochangelabsize(e .g .
addmachines or increase hardware resources for
individualmachines) tomirror changes in student
demand .
Incontrast,Skytaponlychargesfortheactualmin-
utesthatmachinesrunandmachinescanbeadded
ondemandfromalargepoolofavailableresourc-
es . Since instructors can power them on or off as
needed,andfeaturessuchas‘auto-suspend’ensure
machines are not left on inadvertently, significant
costsavingscanberealized .
StudentLearningExperience
Studentsfindtheuseofthevirtuallabenvironment
intuitive .Connectingto theirvirtualmachineviaa
browserorRemoteDesktopclient is simple todo .
Thelabmachinecanbeviewedinfullscreenmode,
makingtheexperienceofusingtheremotelabfeel
nodifferentthanusingtheirowndesktop .Ifthestu-
dent needs assistance during a lab, the instructor
caneasilyassist .Coupledwithawebconferencing
solution, SkytapVirtual Labsprovides the student
withanimmersivetrainingexperiencefordistance
learning .
ZeroITAdministration
The ITpersonnel inyourorganization responsible
for procuring, maintaining, and resetting training
machineswillbequicktorecognizethebenefitsof
usingSkytap .Theneedtoconstantlyupgradeequip-
mentcanbeeliminatedsincethepotentiallyheavy
processingandmemorydemandsonyour labma-
chinescanbehandledbytheSkytapinfrastructure .
Labor intensive cloningand softwareprovisioning
activitiescanalsobeeliminatedsincesoftwareno
longerneedstobeinstalledandconfiguredlocally
onyouroryourcustomer’shardware .
InstructorCollaboration
Instructorsareoftengeographicallyseparatedfrom
theirpeersandmisstheopportunitytocollaborate
witheachother .Skytapisanexcellentcollaboration
enablement tool for technical trainers . Instructors
canexplorelabscenariosandthetechnicaldetails
ofaparticularsoftwareinstallationtogetherjustas
if theyweresittingtogether infrontof laptopina
conferenceroomwithouttheneedtosetupaweb
conference .
8 WhitePaper»ReinventingtheVirtualClassroom:DeliveringHands-OnTrainingwithVirtualLabs
©2009 Skytap, Inc. All rights reserved.
6. Conclusions
Takingtechnicaltrainingonlinewithoutsacrificing
thequalityofthelearningexperienceisachallenge
organizationscontinuetostrugglewith .Manycom-
panieshaveyet toexpandbeyond theuseofweb
conferencingtoolsforonlinecoursedelivery .While
these toolsprovide theability to lecture, presents
slidesandwhiteboardconcepts,theydonotsupport
thehands-oncomponentsovitaltoeffectivetechni-
caltraining .
Skytapfills inthisgapbyprovidingahostedcom-
putingenvironmentthestudentscaneasilyaccess
and where the instructor has full control of the
classroom .Featuressuchas‘overtheshoulder’and
‘thumbnail views’ give the instructor a real-time
viewofwhatthestudentsaredoingandtheability
toofferlabassistancewhenrequested .
SkytapcanalsobeusedforstandardILTwherethe
instructorisinthesamephysicalclassroomasthe
students . With this model, instructors no longer
beartheburdenof lengthyclassroompre-configu-
rationtasks .Instead,anorganizationonlyneedsto
providemachinesthathaveaninternetconnection
andaWebbrowsertoaccessSkytapfromtheclass-
roomenvironment .
Whetherdeliveringclassesviavirtuallearningora
traditionalclassroomenvironment,Skytapcanen-
ableyourorganizationtomoreefficientlyandcost
effectively deliver training classes . It provides the
missing component of hands-on learning during
classesandhelpscreateagenuinelyimmersivevir-
tualtrainingexperience,whileremovingtheburden
and expense of costly in-house infrastructure and
maintenance .
Formore information, interactive demos andpricing
forSkytapVirtualLabpleasevisitwww.skytap.comor
callacustomerrepresentativeon1-888-SKYTAP8 .