Curriculum & Resources
We have developed numerous educational resources, both in the form of educational games and activities as well as formal lesson plans. All resources are freely available and can be accessed on this page.
Connecting Contexts Lesson Plans
The research team worked closely with our partner schools and independent K-8 teachers to develop a four-week series of lesson plans spanning four topics: digital citizenship, security, privacy, and critical data literacy. We provide three detailed lesson plans for each topic and break the lessons out by grade bands.
Download the lesson plans as a Word document.
Would You Rather
Would You Rather is a popular game where people are presented with two options and then must choose between them. For example, I might ask you: If you had to choose one dessert to eat for the rest of your life, would it be chocolate or ice cream?
In Blinder et al. (2024), we describe how we adapted this game for the classroom, creating a number of hypothetical scenarios teachers can use to begin discussing the nuances of digital privacy and security with elementary school children. We initially tested these over Zoom with children during the pandemic, then worked with teachers to explore options for in-classroom applications.
Cybernaut
Cybernaut is an infinite scroller game based on the popular game Doodle Jump. Players continually jump upward from platform to platform and try to get the highest score. To get power-ups or an extra life, they answer questions that test their knowledge of digital privacy and security.
We describe the initial stages of game development in Kumar et al. (2018). Based on this work, we identified several areas for improvement to better engage children/ In 2023/2024, Kanchan Naik and Catherine Lu, undergraduate researchers at the University of Chicago, worked closely with the research team to update and enhance the game, creating two modes and expanding the number and variety of questions.
The game is now available in the Apple App Store for download: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/airlab-cybernaut/id6470134853
Password Worksheets
This worksheet helps children learn about and apply strong password practices by asking them to combine four random words, then create a story to help them remember the password. The worksheets are available in English and Spanish.
Download English worksheets [pdf]
Download Spanish worksheets [pdf]
Password Mania
Password Mania is a card game to help children and adults learn more about how to build strong passwords. The goal of the game is to build the best password by collecting cards with the highest point values. The person with the most points at the end of the game wins. This project was previously developed by Jessica Vitak and more information on the game can be found here.
