Let's Talk Safe Tech Activity Kit
Estimated Cost of Materials
$50 USD (optional)
13 — 18
Cybersecurity, Design Thinking
English, French, Spanish, Turkish
How secure is your data and device?
Explore this cybersecurity site and share it with the teenagers in your life! Take a cybersecurity quiz and learn from IBM Security experts and celebrity Mayim Bialik on the Top 5 cybersecurity tips to help keep you safe online.
Activity Kits allow volunteers and teachers to bring important STEM learning to a classroom. This Activity Kit introduces students to core cybersecurity concepts and reinforces their learning through a Design Thinking and classroom debate exercise. You'll help students understand how to protect their data, how to take control of what they share online and learn more about careers in cybersecurity.
- The room must have PowerPoint presentation capabilities
- Design Thinking materials: Poster paper, markers, Post-It notes for each student
- Digging for Data materials: White paper, pens or pencils for each student
- Review the PowerPoint materials
- Gather Design Thinking materials. You will need the following for a classroom of 20 students: 10 large poster papers, 10 Post-It pads divided so each student has his/her own set, 20 markers, 1 roll of tape
- Practice your presentation and rehearse your talking points. Be sure to use the notes in the PowerPoint to help guide you.
- Review the Design Thinking prompts and make yourself familiar with Design Thinking concepts
- Review the Debate exercise and depending on the number of students in the classroom, decide how you will divide the students into roles
- When you arrive at the classroom, set up your PowerPoint and projector
- Hand out markers and Post-It notes to students; they will need these for the activities
- When you get to the Design Thinking exercise, split students into groups of 4 or 5. Divide the Design Thinking materials between the groups and ensure students understand the exercise and key Design Thinking concepts. Instruct students to use one of their poster papers and organize the paper into a grid as shown below and follow the activity instructions in the PowerPoint:
- When you get to the Digging for Data exercise, ask students to write down on a piece of paper all the companies and apps that use their data. After 10 minutes, ask students to share their numbers and talk about unexpected examples. This discussion will lead into a discussion on how they can take back control of their data.
- When you get to the Debate exercise, assign 3 or 5 students to be the Supreme Court and split the rest of the classroom into two groups, a "for" and "against" group for the prompt: The government should regulate our data. Give students 10 minutes to form their arguments and then let them present for 2 minutes each. Then give 5 minutes for groups to prepare their rebuttal arguments. The "against" group goes first with a 2 minute rebuttal, followed by the "for" 2 minute rebuttal. The judges have 5 minutes to discuss in private before delivering the ruling.