Learn the Methodology Behind Immersive Cybersecurity Case Studies
This Open Educational Resource (OER) is a comprehensive methodology guide that teaches you how to create immersive, fictional cybersecurity case studies for your classroom. This Quarto book documents the “Cyber Dimensions” approach, providing detailed explanations, examples, and frameworks to help you understand and apply this educational methodology in your own context.
This OER guide is the companion resource to “Cyber Dimensions: Immersive Case Studies Across Digital Domains” published by Kendall Hunt. While the textbook provides complete case studies, assessments, and instructional guides ready for classroom use, this methodology guide explains how those case studies were developed and how you can apply the same approaches to create your own immersive scenarios.
This approach has been tested for over a year at time of publishing and refined through systematic implementation. The methodology offers several advantages over traditional case study development:
- Based on successfully implemented teaching at University of Arizona
- Grounded in posthumanist learning theory and artifact-based learning research
- Provides adaptable framework for diverse institutional contexts and learning objectives
- Enables deep understanding of both theory and practice behind immersive educational design
This comprehensive methodology guide is structured as a Quarto book with enhanced features including custom extensions, comprehensive cross-referencing, and professional branding. The guide includes 19 chapters across 4 major parts:
The guide covers methodology foundations, theoretical background, and tutorial walkthroughs. Development framework sections address worldbuilding principles, character development, and narrative design theory. Technical implementation chapters explain Quarto integration, styling approaches, and multimedia considerations. Quality assurance processes ensure assessment framework design and cross-case continuity.
Sample excerpts from published case studies demonstrate methodology in practice. Assessment approaches and rubric designs provide concrete implementation models. Character development and narrative structure examples illustrate effective techniques.
Visual design choices from the published case studies are explained in detail. Modern CSS/SCSS approaches with consolidated theming ensure consistent styling across all outputs. Accessibility considerations (WCAG 2.1 AA compliance) and responsive design principles guide implementation decisions. The project includes custom Quarto extensions for enhanced callouts and bibliography management.
A dedicated references chapter centralizes all academic citations supporting the methodology. Automated bibliography generation through Quarto’s citation system ensures consistent academic formatting throughout the guide.
- Visit the published guide at ryanstraight.github.io/cyber-dimensions-oer
- Try the CIRCUIT demo case study to experience the methodology in action
- Begin with the Introduction to understand the methodology overview
- Explore the examples to see the approach in practice
If you’d like to work with the source files directly, follow these steps to set up the project locally:
- Clone this repository to work with the source files
- Install R & Quarto (if not already installed)
- Open .Rproj in RStudio (recommended; VS Code, Positron, and other IDEs also work)
- Run
quarto renderto build the guide locally - Open
docs/index.htmlto view your local build
- Study the Methodology to understand the theoretical framework
- Review the Tutorial to see the process step-by-step
- Examine the Examples to study how theory translates to practice
- Apply to Your Context by adapting the methodology to your specific needs
This methodology guide documents and explains the approach used to create Cyber Dimensions: Immersive Case Studies Across Digital Domains, a comprehensive text featuring 7 interconnected case studies used at the University of Arizona to teach Cyber Ethics, Law, and Policy.
The methodology rests on five core principles:
- Immersive Fiction: Create believable, engaging scenarios without real-world bias
- Interconnected Narratives: Build a consistent fictional world
- Multiple Perspectives: Include diverse viewpoints and stakeholders
- Realistic Complexity: Mirror real-world ethical dilemmas
- Flexible Assessment: Support various learning styles and objectives
This demo is released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
- Share— copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt— remix, transform, and build upon the material
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
- Attribution— You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- NonCommercial— You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- ShareAlike— If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same licenseas the original.
- No additional restrictions— You may not apply legal terms or technological measuresthat legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rightsmay limit how you use the material.
BibTeX citations for the toolkit:
@software{straightCyberDimensionsToolkit2025,
author = {Straight, Ryan M.},
title = {Cyber Dimensions: Open Educational Resource Toolkit},
year = {2025},
publisher = {GitHub},
url = {https://github.com/ryanstraight/cyber-dimensions-oer},
note = {Open Educational Resource for developing immersive cybersecurity case studies}
}Straight, R. M. (2025). Cyber Dimensions: Open Educational Resource Toolkit [Computer software]. GitHub. https://github.com/ryanstraight/cyber-dimensions-oer
And the Kendall Hunt textbook:
@book{straightCyberDimensionsImmersive2025,
title = {Cyber {{Dimensions}}: {{Immersive Case Studies Across Digital Domains}}},
shorttitle = {Cyber {{Dimensions}}},
author = {Straight, Ryan M.},
year = {2025},
edition = {1st},
publisher = {Kendall Hunt},
isbn = {979-8-3851-8653-2},
url = {https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/cyber-dimensions-immersive-case-studies-across-digital-domains}
}Straight, R. M. (2025). Cyber Dimensions: Immersive Case Studies Across Digital Domains (1st ed.). Kendall Hunt.
This toolkit is built using the same platform–Quarto–used to develop the published textbook, allowing for:
- Multi-format output: HTML, PDF, DOCX, ePub, and more formats from single source with consistent styling
- Advanced Quarto extensions: Custom callouts, section bibliographies, academic icons
- Professional theming: Typography with cohesive color palette derived from book cover
- Enhanced navigation: Comprehensive cross-referencing system with internal links
- Right-hand TOC: Floating tables of contents for improved navigation
- Responsive design: Mobile-optimized layout with consolidated CSS/SCSS theming
- WCAG 2.1 AA compliance: Accessible design patterns throughout
- Automated bibliography: Centralized references with APA citation formatting
- Git-based workflow: Version control and collaborative development support
- Documentation: Complete 19 chapter guide with examples and comprehensive cross-referencing
- Issues: Report problems via GitHub Issues
- Contributions: Pull requests welcome for improvements to methodology documentation
- Extensions: Built with custom Quarto extensions for enhanced educational content