Technologies · Foundation

Active learning ideas

Sharing Online: What's Safe?

Active learning helps young students grasp digital safety as more than abstract rules. Sorting, role-play, and craft activities make privacy concepts concrete and memorable by connecting them to real actions students can visualize and discuss.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9TDEFK03

• 20–30 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Hot Seat
• 25 min · Small Groups

Sorting Game: Safe Sharing Cards

Prepare cards with examples like 'favorite color' or 'home address'. Students work in small groups to sort cards into 'safe to share' and 'unsafe' baskets. Follow with a whole-class share-out where groups explain one choice each.

Differentiate between information that is safe to share online and information that is not.

Facilitation Tip

Before the Sorting Game, model sorting one card aloud so students hear your reasoning about safety.

What to look for

Present students with cards showing different pieces of information (e.g., 'My favorite food is pizza', 'My home address is 123 Main Street', 'My password is cat123'). Ask students to hold up a green card if it's safe to share and a red card if it's not safe to share, explaining their choice for one example.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Hot Seat
• 30 min · Pairs

Role-Play: Online Chat Scenarios

Pairs draw scenario cards, such as 'a new friend asks for your photo'. One student responds safely, the other coaches. Switch roles and debrief what made responses safe or risky.

Explain why we should never share our password with anyone.

Facilitation Tip

During the Role-Play, step into one scenario yourself to show safe responses before asking students to try.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you drew a picture of your pet and want to show your teacher. Is it okay to post that picture on a public website where anyone can see it? Why or why not?' Listen for students to articulate concerns about who might see the picture and what it reveals.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Hot Seat
• 20 min · Whole Class

Password Lock Craft

Students draw or build paper locks labeled with 'My password is secret'. In a circle, they share a class chant: 'Passwords stay with me, never share the key'. Display crafts as reminders.

Analyze the potential risks of sharing personal photos online.

Facilitation Tip

For the Password Lock Craft, have students trace their passwords in the air with their fingers to reinforce muscle memory before writing them on the craft.

What to look for

Give each student a small piece of paper. Ask them to write down one thing they learned about keeping information safe online and one question they still have.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Hot Seat
• 25 min · Pairs

Photo Share Sort

Show printed photos or drawings of self, family, home. Individually sort into 'share online' or 'keep private' zones, then pairs compare and adjust based on class rules.

Differentiate between information that is safe to share online and information that is not.

Facilitation Tip

During the Photo Share Sort, ask students to hold up photos to show whether each should be shared with friends only or kept private.

What to look for

Present students with cards showing different pieces of information (e.g., 'My favorite food is pizza', 'My home address is 123 Main Street', 'My password is cat123'). Ask students to hold up a green card if it's safe to share and a red card if it's not safe to share, explaining their choice for one example.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers use guided practice with clear boundaries to build trust in digital safety discussions. Avoid lengthy explanations; instead, provide immediate feedback during sorting and role-play so students connect consequences to actions. Research shows young learners grasp privacy best when they physically sort items and act out scenarios, linking abstract ideas to tangible outcomes.

Students will confidently separate safe and unsafe sharing by naming three examples of private information and explaining why it must stay private. They will practice saying 'no' to sharing private details in role-play and demonstrate safe password habits with their craft.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Role-Play: Online Chat Scenarios, watch for students who say sharing a photo is okay if a friend asks.

  Use the role-play to show how a shared photo can travel beyond the friend’s control. Have students act out forwarding the photo to others and discuss who could see it next.

• During Password Lock Craft, watch for students who treat passwords like names and say they can share them with friends.

  Ask students to place their password craft in a sealed envelope and sign the flap. Then discuss why the envelope must stay closed and who should never open it.

• During Photo Share Sort, watch for students who believe sharing a photo online is the same as showing it in person.

  Have students compare holding a photo to posting it online. Ask them to notice how online photos can’t be taken back or hidden once shared.

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Methods used in this brief

• Hot Seat