Cyber Savvy: Be a Digital Hero!

Design for Mastery Kit

NEW

All grades Project 7 weeks

Cyber Savvy: Be a Digital Hero!

Dulce M

1A-IC-17

1B-NI-05

Effective Communication

Self Directed Learning

Collaboration

+ 3 more

1-pager

Purpose

This project aims to equip students with the essential skills to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly. Through collaborative activities, students will identify safe versus unsafe online behaviors, explore cybersecurity issues, and develop strategies to protect personal information. They will engage in critical thinking to recognize and address cyberbullying, ensuring their online environments are respectful and inclusive. By fostering effective communication and self-directed learning, students will take ownership of their digital actions, understanding the lasting impact of their digital footprint. Ultimately, this project will build students' confidence and competence in becoming thoughtful digital citizens.

Learning goals

During the project, students will collaboratively explore and identify safe and unsafe online behaviors by engaging in role-playing activities and discussions. They will work in teams to design and present a digital campaign that highlights strategies to protect personal information, promote respectful communication, and address cyberbullying. Through self-reflection and feedback sessions, students will refine their understanding of their digital footprint and its impact on online interactions. The project aims to cultivate a sense of agency and responsibility in each student, allowing them to confidently contribute to a safer and more respectful online community.

Standards

[Computer Science Teachers Association] 1A-IC-17 - Work respectfully and responsibly with others online.
[Computer Science Teachers Association] 1B-NI-05 - Discuss real-world cybersecurity problems and how personal information can be protected.

Competencies

Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
Self Directed Learning - Students use teacher and peer feedback and self-reflection to monitor and direct their own learning while building self knowledge both in and out of the classroom.
Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.
Academic Mindset - Students establish a sense of place, identity, and belonging to increase self-efficacy while engaging in critical reflection and action.

Products

Students will collaboratively design and produce an interactive digital safety guide tailored for their peers, which will include scenarios illustrating both safe and unsafe online behaviors. This product will be displayed in a virtual showcase where students present and discuss their insights on protecting personal information and navigating cyberbullying. Additionally, students will create a series of short video vignettes, role-playing respectful online communication and the impact of digital footprints, fostering discussion and reflection among audiences from various grade levels.

Launch

Kick off the project by organizing a simulated online community where students interact using role-play to experience safe and unsafe online behaviors firsthand. Students will receive personas with specific online habits and work in teams to identify and address issues such as cyberbullying, oversharing of personal information, and respectful communication. Through guided discussions and peer reflections, they will collaboratively develop a set of community guidelines to promote safety and respect for their online engagements.

Exhibition

Students will prepare a digital showcase that features their collaborative projects on identifying and addressing cyberbullying. Each group will create multimedia presentations, incorporating videos, infographics, and personal narratives that detail their findings and proposed solutions. These presentations will be shared during a virtual or in-person exhibition, inviting peers, teachers, and family members to engage in dialogue about online safety and respectful communication. This experience will culminate with students reflecting on their learning journey and receiving feedback from the community to foster continued growth and exploration.

Learning Journey

Empathize

Students will launch the project by experiencing how digital actions create a footprint, then conduct real user interviews about online safety and cyberbullying. They will document quotes and observations in a structured empathy map that becomes the evidence base for defining a meaningful problem in the next phase.

Day 1

🕵️ Digital Footprint Detective

Launch 10m

👥 Real User Interviews

Community Experience 10m

Define

Students will synthesize their interview findings and empathy artifacts into a clear, user-centered problem definition focused on online safety and cyberbullying. They will identify patterns across multiple users, draft and critique "How Might We" statements grounded in evidence, and produce a design brief that will guide solution ideation in the next phase.

Day 2

🧠 From Quotes to Insights

Knowledge/Skill Building 10m

Ideate

Students will generate a wide range of solution ideas for their defined cyber safety problem, explore multiple creative directions, and select top concepts grounded in real user needs before moving into prototyping.

Day 3

💡 20 Cyber Safety Ideas Sprint

Deliverable 12m

🎯 User-Needs Decision Matrix

Deliverable 8m

Prototype

Students will build and refine low- and medium-fidelity prototypes of their cybersecurity quiz or virtual escape room, test them with real users, document feedback, and iterate based on evidence before developing a higher-fidelity version for the upcoming exhibition.

Days 4 - 5

🛠️ Rapid Paper Prototype Build

Deliverable 35m

Test/Present

Students will conduct a final validation test with a new user, refine their interactive quiz or virtual escape room based on authentic feedback, and present their full design journey at the Internet Safety Carnival and Digital Poster Fair, clearly tracing how user evidence shaped their cybersecurity solutions.

Days 6 - 7

🎤 Design Story Rehearsal

Deliverable 35m

🎪 Internet Safety Carnival Presentation

Assessment 35m

Plan

Empathize Days 1–1

Day 1

🕵️ Digital Footprint Detective

Launch 10m

👥 Real User Interviews

Community Experience 10m

Define Days 2–2

Day 2

🧠 From Quotes to Insights

Knowledge/Skill Building 10m

Ideate Days 3–3

Day 3

💡 20 Cyber Safety Ideas Sprint

Deliverable 12m

🎯 User-Needs Decision Matrix

Deliverable 8m

Prototype Days 4–5

Day 4

🛠️ Rapid Paper Prototype Build

Deliverable 35m

Day 5

Test/Present Days 6–7

Day 6

Day 7

🎤 Design Story Rehearsal

Deliverable 35m

🎪 Internet Safety Carnival Presentation

Assessment 35m

April 2026

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

6 Day 1

Empathize

🕵️ Digital Footprint Detective

👥 Real User Interviews

13 Day 2

Define

🧠 From Quotes to Insights

20 Day 3

Ideate

💡 20 Cyber Safety Ideas Sprint

🎯 User-Needs Decision Matrix

27 Day 4

Prototype

🛠️ Rapid Paper Prototype Build

May 2026

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

4 Day 5

11 Day 6

Test/Present

18 Day 7

🎤 Design Story Rehearsal

🎪 Internet Safety Carnival Presentation

Cyber Savvy: Be a Digital Hero!

Purpose

Learning goals

Standards

Competencies

Products

Launch

Exhibition

Edit Phase

Edit Phase

Edit Phase

Edit Phase

Edit Phase

April 2026

May 2026