Explore the definitions, differences and use cases across the full spectrum of hands-on learning environments – including sandboxes, virtual IT labs and simulations.
Explore the definitions, differences and use cases across the full spectrum of hands-on learning environments – including sandboxes, virtual IT labs and simulations.
Hands-on practice is the most effective way to build and retain skills. A whopping 70% of new knowledge will be forgotten within 24 hours if it’s not applied. But when it comes to software, what’s the best way to deliver that hands-on practice? This article dives into all things experiential learning: the different types of virtual hands-on learning environments, definitions, differences and key use cases. Read on to see what’s possible with your software.
In this article:
- Sandbox environments – Create risk-free live environments to explore and experiment.
- Guided training labs – Add interactive instructions to lead users through outcome-focused tasks.
- Scored and skill validation software labs – Incorporate real-time feedback and automated scoring for high-fidelity skill data and certification exams.
- Simulations – Provide virtual replicas of digital or physical environments.
- Hybrid environments – Integrate simulations into virtual labs to overcome security and access limitations.
- Why are hands-on experiences – in any environment – so important?
Sandbox environments – Create risk-free live environments to explore, experiment and test
Sandboxes provide a virtual space for users to interact with real software environments in a risk-free setting, making them ideal for high-level overviews, testing and exploring functionality. Learning sandboxes that are designated for demos and training purposes may contain guardrails, such as policies to control access, to help protect users and your organization.
Key use cases for sandboxes:
- Technical enablement – Product demos, beta testing and feedback sessions.
- Customer enablement – Trials and POCs.
- Customer support – Troubleshooting customer software issues and custom support sandboxes.
- Security and incident response – Test vulnerabilities, threat analysis and incident response drills.
How can sandboxes accelerate sales cycles?
See how Calix uses on-demand product sandbox environments to provide instant access for customers to explore more on their own after a demo.
Guided training labs – Add interactive instructions to lead users through outcome-focused tasks
Guided training labs take the benefits of a sandbox and embed instructions, which can range from basic step-by-step to challenges or projects – these can be written by authors and subject matter experts and enhanced by AI. Users have access to a risk-free live practice environment with the added benefit of guided real-world application to build new skills.
Beyond instructions and hints, guided labs can include images and videos to help reinforce concepts – complementing and augmenting your existing training content. You can also customize your software and data configurations for a personalized experience based on audience and use cases. Learn more about the top 10 benefits of virtual labs.
Key use cases for guided training labs:
- Technical enablement – Training for technical sellers, solution engineers and partners.
- Customer enablement – Customer onboarding and ongoing training.
- Customer support – Upskilling technical staff and troubleshooting customer issues.
- Certification prep – Build confidence with safe practice environments and provide tailored experiences.
- Live events and user conferences – Drive engagement, attendance and product adoption at events.
Expanding the accessibility of virtual IT labs worldwide
See how Hyland Software improved their practice lab experience by leveraging Skillable’s global data center footprint to provide an excellent learning experience regardless of where their customers are located.
Scored and skill validation labs – Show proof of skill with integrated real-time feedback and automated scoring
Like guided labs, scored and skill validation labs offer personalized learning experiences by tailoring the scenarios, instructions, difficulty level, role-relevancy and tech stack to the person learning. Scored software labs take guided training labs a step further by incorporating skill validation, scoring and performance testing. These labs go beyond step-by-step instructions and require critical thinking and problem-solving within the environment. So even if your desired outcomes can be achieved in multiple ways, you can score them based on their performance and end result.
Scored and skill validation labs can mirror production environments, providing safe practice with real-time feedback, facilitating mid- to high-stakes test-taking and producing data-driven insights. Virtual labs take your certifications from “proof of knowledge” to “proof of skill” by allowing certification candidates to demonstrate their skills in realistic environments. This helps combat the constant churn of exam dumps, AI and answer guides online, while bolstering the credibility, validity and market value of your certification.
That’s why organizations like Microsoft, CompTIA and ISACA use performance-based labs powered by Skillable to validate skills. Learn more about what’s possible with performance-based testing for certification exams.
Capturing high-fidelity skill data
Learn more about how you can map skills within labs to generate high-fidelity skill data using the Skillable platform.
Key use cases for scored and skill validation labs:
- Validate job readiness – Technical sales training, end-user training, customer support and upskilling technical staff, partners and customers.
- Certification prep and exams for employees, partners and customers – Build confidence with safe practice environments, then provide high-stakes, high-performance exam environments that enable performance-based assessments, mitigate cheating and ultimately bolster the market value of your certification.
- Live events and user conferences – Drive engagement, attendance and adoption at events; combine with on-site certification testing centers to give attendees even more tangible benefits to take back to their job and share with their professional networks.
Customer success story: Skill validation in action
See how Quest Software uses automated scoring to validate that their partners are job ready before selling and implementing their solutions – resulting in a 244% increase in training consumption and 183% increase in partner-led sales.
What are the types of scored and skill validation software labs?
- Scored labs – Include automated scoring that evaluates assessment questions, pass/fail rules and weighted grading capabilities.
- Performance-based testing (PBT) – Offers an outcome-based approach to assessing a person’s ability to apply their knowledge, skills and abilities in the real-world scenarios they’ll encounter on the job.
- Gamified experiences – Present objective-oriented challenges that support individuals or groups in real-time in separate or shared environments. Examples include cybersecurity, crypto challenges, cyber ranges, capture-the-flag and malware detection labs.
When are network isolated sandboxes and virtual labs a good idea?
Take sandboxes and virtual labs offline to provide safe environments for scenarios or technology that would otherwise be blocked due to internal security policies or risk to public networks (e.g., malware), enabling security professionals to practice hunting and combating malicious tools.
Simulations – Provide virtual replicas of digital or physical environments
Training that is built using simulation tools provides virtual replicas of digital or physical environments that enable users to interact with pre-programmed elements and scenarios. For software training specifically, simulations are essentially screenshots of the technology or software that users can interact with, while virtual labs use live software environments that facilitate secure, meaningful practice and stay up to date alongside software updates.
Simulations provide a linear learning path that guides learners toward one correct answer or set of correct actions to complete a task. This can be limiting if there are multiple ways to complete a task and you want to capture different click paths. Simulations can also be resource-intensive to maintain. Whenever the software’s user interface changes, a simulation needs to be manually updated to match the latest visuals and functionality to provide accurate experiences for learners.
Simulated software environments are a good option when a platform or technology doesn’t lend itself to learning experiences in live software due to licensing restrictions, security concerns, access limits or environment duplication.
Learn more about the definition and differences between using simulations and virtual labs for software training in our comparison article.
Using simulations for secure AI training.
See how a Fortune 500 company achieved rapid skilling for technical sales teams using simulations built by Skillable.
Hybrid environments – Integrate simulations into virtual labs to overcome security and access limitations
A hybrid approach that uses virtual labs and simulations in one unified learning experience can work well when accessibility due to security concerns, special permissions or paywalls get in the way of a fully live virtual lab experience. Skillable’s hybrid approach embeds a simulation seamlessly into a virtual lab to bridge the gap in accessibility and functionality while maintaining the benefits of an in-depth lab experience.
Example use cases:
- Pre-sale demo – Instead of disrupting the experience (e.g., adding a credit card or going back to the sales rep), a simulation embedded within the virtual lab enables the user to access paywalled features without adding friction to the experience.
- High-level access – In scenarios where access rights would create an unacceptable security risk (e.g., owner or global administrator access for a Microsoft 365 tenant), a simulation embedded within the virtual lab enables learners to experience those portions of the environment without the risk of altering a live environment.
Learn more about how to choose between virtual labs and simulations by asking these key questions to find the right software training tools.
Why is hands-on experience so important in training?
Giving people the opportunity for hands-on practice not only helps reinforce skill development and improve knowledge retention, it’s also a preferred way to learn. 67% of technical professionals want real-world, practical application when learning new technology – making hands-on training environments a must-have to engage and educate users on your software.
Hands-on experiences employ active learning via activities with relevance to real-world scenarios – making the theoretical tangible.
"Adults learn better if they can follow a book, hear the instructor and practice hands-on training. The success rate is far better for individuals who can do all three of the above learning methods.
Skillable provides that type of atmosphere. I believe that type of training environment builds confidence in the students taking that class and also makes the Instructor's job much easier."Interested in hands-on, but not sure how to get started?
Integrating hands-on learning into your training ecosystem doesn’t require you to start from scratch. You can connect it to your existing LMS/LXP, complement existing in-person and virtual training and scale the benefits of hands-on across use cases.
Learn more about how to get started with hands-on learning and virtual labs in our in-depth guide.
See what you can do with hands-on learning
Book a live demo to see Skillable’s platform and explore how you can modernize your customer, sales and partner enablement with outcome-focused hands-on environments.
