PYTHON HACKERS
& CYBER DEFENDERS

Open tynker.com or code.org and complete one level of the Hour of Code to warm up your brain for coding mode. This is completely student-led - just click and play.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to: write and run a Python program using print(), create variables that store text and numbers, and explain the difference between a string and an integer.

1. Open Thonny (Start Menu → Thonny Python IDE). If you don't see it, ask your teacher - it should be installed on all classroom laptops.
2. In the top editor pane, type the following exactly. Press F5 or click the green Run button to run it:
   print("Hello, world!")
   print("My name is DigiTech")
   print("I am learning Python today")
3. You should see your three sentences appear in the bottom Shell pane. If you get a red error, check that your speech marks are straight (not curly) and your brackets are closed.
4. Now add variables. Variables are like labelled boxes that store information. Type this below your print statements:
   name = "Alex"
   age = 14
   school = "DigiTech Academy"
   print(name)
   print(age)
   print(school)
5. Change name and age to your own name and age. Run it again. Notice that changing the variable changes all the output - that's the power of variables.
6. Try combining a variable with text using a comma inside print:
   print("My name is", name, "and I am", age, "years old")
7. Save your file: File → Save As → name it task1_practice1.py. Save to your Documents folder.

Open checkio.org and try the "Electronic Station" intro puzzle. Just read it and think about the logic - student-led.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to: use float variables for decimal numbers, perform arithmetic in Python, use input() to get data from a user, and convert strings to integers with int().

1. Open Thonny and create a new file (File → New). Type the following arithmetic examples:
   a = 10
   b = 3
   print(a + b) # addition → 13
   print(a - b) # subtraction → 7
   print(a * b) # multiplication → 30
   print(a / b) # division → 3.333...
   print(a // b) # floor division → 3
   print(a % b) # remainder (modulo) → 1
2. Now add a float variable. Floats are numbers with decimal points:
   price = 4.99
   quantity = 3
   total = price * quantity
   print("Total cost: $", total)
3. Now learn how to get information FROM the user using input(). Important: input() always gives you a STRING, even if the user types a number:
   user_name = input("What is your name? ")
   print("Hello,", user_name)
4. Try asking for a number and doing maths with it. You MUST convert it to an integer first:
   age_text = input("How old are you? ")
   age = int(age_text) # convert string → integer
   birth_year = 2026 - age
   print("You were born in approximately", birth_year)
5. Challenge: Write a program that asks the user for two numbers and prints their sum, difference, and product. Save as task1_practice2.py.

Scratch: Create a simple project where a sprite says different things depending on a condition - student-led exploration.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to use if, elif, and else to make programs that respond differently depending on the user's input, and use comparison operators correctly.

1. In Thonny, create a new file. Python uses indentation (4 spaces or 1 Tab) to know what code belongs inside an if statement:
   temperature = int(input("What is the temperature today? "))
   
   if temperature >= 35:
   print("Extreme heat - stay indoors!")
   elif temperature >= 25:
   print("Nice and warm - apply sunscreen.")
   elif temperature >= 15:
   print("Mild - bring a light jacket.")
   else:
   print("Cold - wear a warm coat!")
2. Run the program and test it with four different temperatures: 40, 28, 18, 5. Make sure each branch works correctly.
3. Learn the comparison operators: == (equal to), != (not equal), > (greater), < (less), >= (greater or equal), <= (less or equal). Note: == compares (two equals signs), = assigns (one equals sign).
4. Write a "grade checker" program. The user enters a score out of 100 and Python tells them their grade: A (90+), B (75+), C (60+), D (50+), E (below 50). Save as task1_practice3.py.
5. Add a twist: after showing the grade, print a different motivational message for each grade level.

Kahoot teacher-run quiz on Python basics from Week 1. Student-led from there - just join and play!

By the end of this lesson you will be able to build the core logic of a quiz program in Python, tracking a score using a counter variable, and comparing string input from the user.

1. Start your quiz file: File → New. Name it quiz.py.
2. Create a score variable and write your first quiz question:
   score = 0
   print("=== PYTHON QUIZ ===")
   name = input("Enter your name: ")
   print("Welcome,", name, "! Let's see what you know!")
   
   # Question 1
   q1 = input("Q1: What planet is closest to the Sun? ")
   if q1.lower() == "mercury":
   print("✓ Correct! +1 point")
   score += 1
   else:
   print("✗ Incorrect. The answer is Mercury.")
3. Notice .lower() converts the user's answer to lowercase before comparing - so "Mercury", "MERCURY", and "mercury" all work. This is important for a fair quiz.
4. Add 4 more questions using the same pattern. Choose any topic you like (sport, gaming, science, geography). Keep the format consistent.
5. At the end of all 5 questions, print the final score and a personalised message:
   print("\n=== RESULTS ===")
   print(name, "scored", score, "out of 5")
   if score == 5:
   print("Perfect score! You're a genius!")
   elif score >= 3:
   print("Good effort! Keep studying.")
   else:
   print("Keep practising - you'll get there!")
6. Test your quiz by running it and deliberately getting some questions wrong to check the scoring works.

pythonchallenge.com Level 0 - try to figure out the puzzle. Student-led exploration.

By the end of this lesson you will have completed, debugged, and polished all Task 1 files, and written a reflection that uses correct Python vocabulary.

1. Open each of your practice files and your quiz.py. Run each one and note any errors. Fix them before moving on.
2. Improve your quiz output formatting. Use \n inside print statements to add blank lines for readability, and print("─" * 30) to add separator lines.
3. Add .strip() to all your input() comparisons to handle accidental spaces: q1.lower().strip()
4. Write your reflection. Open a Word document or text file. Answer these prompts in 5-8 sentences total:
   • What was the hardest part of writing Python for the first time?
   • Describe one specific error you got and how you fixed it.
   • What does int(input()) do and why is it necessary?
5. Peer review: swap your quiz.py with a classmate. Run their quiz. Write two pieces of feedback: one thing that works really well, and one improvement suggestion.

Lightbot - complete a level using only loops/repeat instructions. Connects directly to what we're learning today.

By the end of this lesson you will understand why loops exist, be able to use a for loop with range(), and iterate over a list of items.

1. Think about why loops matter. Without loops, to print "Hi" 100 times you'd need 100 print statements. With a loop, you need 2 lines. Type this:
   for i in range(10):
   print("Hi number", i)
2. Notice range(10) gives numbers 0 through 9. Try range(1, 11) to go from 1 to 10. Try range(0, 20, 2) for even numbers.
3. Loops can also iterate over a list. A list is a collection of items in square brackets:
   fruits = ["apple", "banana", "mango", "kiwi"]
   for fruit in fruits:
   print("I like", fruit)
4. Write a multiplication table generator. Ask the user which table they want (e.g. 7) and use a loop to print 7×1 through 7×12:
   num = int(input("Which times table? "))
   for i in range(1, 13):
   print(num, "×", i, "=", num * i)
5. Save as loops_intro.py. This is preview content for Task 2 starting next week.

code.org/minecraft - complete a level using repeat loops. Student-led.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to use a while loop correctly, understand the infinite loop danger, use break, and apply the input validation pattern to make robust programs.

1. A while loop keeps running as long as a condition is True. Type this countdown:
   count = 10
   while count > 0:
   print(count)
   count -= 1 # this line is CRITICAL - without it, infinite loop!
   print("Blast off! 🚀")
2. DANGER ALERT: If you forget the count -= 1, the loop never stops. If this happens, press the Stop button in Thonny (red square). Never close Thonny without stopping first - it may freeze your laptop.
3. Now write the most useful pattern in Python - input validation. This keeps asking until the user enters a valid value:
   while True:
   answer = input("Type 'yes' or 'no': ").lower().strip()
   if answer == "yes" or answer == "no":
   break # valid input received - exit loop
   print("Invalid input! Please type yes or no.")
   print("You entered:", answer)
4. Apply this to a number range: write a validator that keeps asking for a number between 1 and 10 until the user enters one correctly.
5. Save as while_loops.py.

Play code.org Express Course levels that use functions. Look for the "Make a function" challenge. Student-led.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to define your own functions using def, pass in parameters, and use return to send back a result.

1. Functions let you write code once and use it many times. Think of them as custom commands you invent. A function has a name, can receive inputs (parameters), and can send back a result (return):
   def greet(name):
   print("Hello,", name, "! Welcome to Python class.")
   
   greet("Taylor")
   greet("Jordan")
   greet("Alex")
2. Now write a function that returns a value using return:
   def calculate_area(width, height):
   area = width * height
   return area
   
   result = calculate_area(5, 8)
   print("Area is:", result)
3. Write 3 functions of your own: one that converts Celsius to Fahrenheit, one that checks if a number is even or odd, and one that gives a personalised password strength message based on length.
4. Important: functions must be DEFINED before they are CALLED. The def block always goes first in your file.
5. Save as functions_practice.py.

checkio.org - try any beginner island puzzle. Student-led.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to import and use Python's random module and string module to build the core of your password generator.

1. Python has hundreds of built-in modules you can use. import them at the top of your file:
   import random
   import string
   
   print(random.randint(1, 100)) # random integer 1-100
   print(random.choice("ABCDE")) # random single character
   print(string.ascii_letters) # all letters a-zA-Z
   print(string.digits) # 0123456789
   print(string.punctuation) # !@#$%... etc
2. Now build the password generator. Start a new file password_generator.py:
   import random
   import string
   
   def generate_password(length):
   characters = string.ascii_letters + string.digits + string.punctuation
   password = ""
   for i in range(length):
   password += random.choice(characters)
   return password
3. Add input validation for the length (must be between 8 and 20), then call the function and print the result:
   while True:
   length_input = input("Enter password length (8-20): ")
   if length_input.isdigit():
   length = int(length_input)
   if 8 <= length <= 20:
   break
   print("Please enter a number between 8 and 20.")
   
   new_password = generate_password(length)
   print("Your password:", new_password)
4. Extension: let the user choose whether to include symbols or only letters+digits by adding a yes/no question that changes the characters variable.

tynker.com - find a list/array challenge and attempt it. Student-led.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to create, modify, and loop through Python lists using methods like append(), remove(), and index access.

1. A list stores multiple values in one variable. Each item has an index starting at 0:
   students = ["Aria", "Ben", "Chloe", "David"]
   print(students[0]) # Aria (first item)
   print(students[-1]) # David (last item)
   print(len(students)) # 4 (number of items)
2. Key list methods to practise:
   students.append("Eva") # add to end
   students.insert(1, "Zara") # insert at index 1
   students.remove("Ben") # remove by value
   students.sort() # alphabetical sort
   students.reverse() # reverse order
3. Loop through with enumerate to get both index and value:
   for index, name in enumerate(students):
   print(index + 1, ".", name)
4. Build a "class roll call" program: start with an empty list, use a while loop to keep asking for student names until the user types "done", then print the full class list numbered.
5. Save as lists_practice.py. This skill is essential for Task 3.

checkio.org - attempt any loop or list challenge. Student-led.

By the end of this lesson you will have completed, debugged, commented, and submitted all Task 2 files including a thoughtful reflection on functions.

1. Run each of your Task 2 files and fix any errors. Test every input path - what happens if the user enters a letter when you expect a number?
2. Add comments to your password generator explaining what each section does. Use # for single-line comments. Good code is documented code.
3. Add a feature to your password generator: after generating a password, ask "Generate another? (yes/no)" and loop back if they say yes.
4. Write your reflection (Word or text file): What is a function? Why is writing code as functions better than writing everything in one long block? Give a specific example from your own password generator. Use the words: parameter, argument, return, reusable.
5. Peer review: run a classmate's password generator. Does it: ask for length? Validate the input? Use a function? Generate a random password? Write two constructive feedback points.

Play a classic text adventure: go to textadventures.co.uk and play 5 minutes of Zork. Notice how every decision is a yes/no or direction choice. Student-led.

By the end of this lesson you will have designed the structure of your text adventure game on paper, including a map with at least 4 rooms, a win condition, a lose condition, and a basic algorithm flowchart.

1. A text adventure game presents the player with a situation and asks them to make a choice. The game branches based on their input. This is exactly what you already know: variables, input(), if/elif/else, and functions!
2. Draw a map of your game on paper. Your game must have: at least 4 rooms/locations, a clear objective (what is the player trying to achieve?), at least one win path, at least one lose path, and items or clues that affect decisions.
3. Write your game story in 3-4 sentences. Examples: escape a haunted museum, rescue a friend from a space station, survive a zombie apocalypse, complete a heist. Choose something you'd enjoy writing.
4. For each room, write what the player sees, what choices they have, and what happens for each choice. This becomes your algorithm - the plan for your code.
5. Start a new Python file: adventure.py. Write the introduction using print statements and collect the player's name with input().

Play 5 more minutes of your text adventure from last lesson. Notice how the game branches. What does the code structure HAVE to look like?

By the end of this lesson you will have coded Rooms 1 and 2 of your game as Python functions, with player choices handled by if/elif/else, and the rooms connected to each other by function calls.

1. The key structure: each room is a function. When the player makes a choice, the function calls another room function. Here is the skeleton structure:
   def room_start():
   print("\n--- THE ENTRANCE ---")
   print("You are standing in a dark corridor. Two doors stand before you.")
   choice = input("Go LEFT or RIGHT? ").lower().strip()
   if choice == "left":
   room_library() # call the next room function
   elif choice == "right":
   room_basement()
   else:
   print("Invalid choice. Try again.")
   room_start() # re-run this room
2. Write your Room 1 function using YOUR game's story. Follow the pattern: print the scene description, ask for input, branch with if/elif/else, call the next room or a lose function.
3. Write a lose() function that prints a "you lose" message and asks to play again:
   def lose(reason):
   print("\n💀 GAME OVER:", reason)
   again = input("Play again? (yes/no): ").lower()
   if again == "yes":
   room_start()
   else:
   print("Thanks for playing!")
4. Write Room 2 using the same structure. Make sure calling room_start() at the bottom of your file kicks off the whole game.

Browse itch.io text adventures for 5 minutes to get inspiration for your game design. Student-led.

By the end of this lesson you will have added an inventory system using a list, completed Rooms 3 and 4, and have a playable game from start to win/lose end.

1. Add an inventory at the top of your file (before all functions):
   inventory = [] # global list - starts empty
2. To use the global list inside a function, declare it with global:
   def room_library():
   global inventory
   print("\n--- THE LIBRARY ---")
   print("You see an old key on the shelf.")
   pick_up = input("Pick up the key? (yes/no): ").lower()
   if pick_up == "yes":
   inventory.append("key")
   print("You picked up the key. Inventory:", inventory)
3. In a later room, check if the player HAS the item to unlock a path:
   if "key" in inventory:
   print("You use the key to open the door!")
   win()
   else:
   lose("The door is locked. You needed the key.")
4. Write Rooms 3 and 4, and a win() function. Test the full game from start to end on both win and lose paths.

Trade laptops with a classmate and play each other's games for 5 minutes. Note down any bugs or confusing moments. This is user testing!

By the end of this lesson you will have systematically tested all paths in your game, fixed bugs reported by a classmate, and added at least two improvements based on feedback.

1. Create a test table on paper or in a Word doc. List every room, every choice, and what SHOULD happen. Then play the game and check each one. Mark Pass or Fail.
2. Fix the Fails. The most common bugs in text adventure games: (a) invalid input causes the game to crash - fix with an else branch that re-runs the room; (b) a room function is called before it's defined - move the definition higher up; (c) an inventory check fails because the item was added with different capitalisation - standardise to lowercase.
3. Improve the experience: add print("─" * 40) between scenes for clear visual separation. Add an inventory_display() function the player can call at any time by typing "inventory".
4. Add a health or lives system using an integer variable if you finish early. Decrease it when bad things happen. Game ends if it hits 0.

checkio.org - try any intermediate challenge. Student-led.

By the end of this lesson you will have added comprehensive code comments to your game, a help screen that lists valid commands, and improved the narrative quality of your room descriptions.

1. Go through your entire adventure.py and add a comment above each function explaining what it does. Add inline comments on any complex lines. Good rule: if you had to explain the line to a friend, it needs a comment.
2. Add a file header comment block at the very top:
   # ═══════════════════════════════════════
   # Game Title: [Your Game Title]
   # Author: [Your Name]
   # Year 9 Digital Technology - Task 3
   # Description: [2-sentence summary]
   # ═══════════════════════════════════════
3. Add a show_help() function that prints the valid commands for the game (go left, go right, pick up, check inventory, etc.). Call it when the player types "help" in any room.
4. Re-read every room description. Are they atmospheric and interesting? Add at least one sensory detail (smell, sound, temperature) to each room. Good storytelling makes the game much more enjoyable.
5. Re-read all your print statements and fix any spelling errors.

Set up your laptop with your game ready to play. We're doing a showcase rotation!

By the end of this lesson you will have received peer feedback from at least two classmates, made final improvements to your game, and completed your written reflection.

1. Rotation: every 8 minutes, the class rotates to a different laptop and plays that person's game. You play their game while they play yours. Write feedback on a sticky note or Google Doc: one "GREAT" (what works well) and one "WISH" (what could be better).
2. After two rounds, return to your own laptop and read your feedback. Make the most impactful improvement suggested - you have 10 minutes.
3. Write your final reflection (5-8 sentences): What was the biggest design challenge you encountered? How did you solve it? What would you add if you had more time? What Python concept did you find most useful?
4. Final check before submission: Does your game run start to finish? Are all functions defined before they're called? Are your files named correctly?

Play your finished game one final time. Does it work? Are you proud of it? You should be - you've built something from scratch in Python!

By the end of this lesson you will have submitted all Task 3 files via Connect and completed a self-assessment against the rubric.

1. Final file check - you need ALL of these: planning document (map + story summary), adventure.py (fully working), and your reflection document.
2. Self-assess against the rubric. For each criterion, honestly pick A/B/C/D/E and briefly say why. This is not marked - it's a learning tool.
3. Upload everything to Connect → Task 3 submission folder.
4. Once submitted: congratulations! You just completed a full Python module. In Week 10 we celebrate and explore Python for fun.

Decode this: KHOOR ZRUOG - shift every letter back by 3. What does it say? (Answer: HELLO WORLD)

By the end of this lesson you will be able to explain what encryption is, describe the Caesar Cipher algorithm, and use Python's ord() and chr() functions to work with character codes.

1. Encryption: The process of scrambling data so only someone with the right key can read it. Used in messaging apps, banking, email, stored passwords, and government communications.
2. Caesar Cipher: Shift every letter by a fixed number. Shift 3: A→D, B→E ... Z→C. Julius Caesar used shift 3 for military orders 2,000 years ago.
3. ASCII character codes: Every keyboard character has a number. Try in Python:
   PYTHON

   print(ord('A')) # 65 print(ord('a')) # 97 print(chr(65)) # 'A' print(chr(72)) # 'H'
4. Shifting a single letter: shift 'A' by 3: ord('A')=65, 65+3=68, chr(68)='D'. Try it in Python: chr(ord('A') + 3)
5. The wrapping problem: ord('Z')=90, 90+3=93 - but 93 is '[' not 'C'. We need the modulo operator %. We'll solve this next lesson.
6. Create caesar.py with a comment header: your name, date, and a one-sentence description.

Quick maths: 27 % 26 = ? 52 % 26 = ? 0 % 26 = ? The modulo operator gives the remainder - it's the key to wrapping letters.

By the end of this lesson you will have written a working encrypt() function with correct letter wrapping.

1. The wrap formula:
   PYTHON

   # Uppercase (A=65, 26 letters) encrypted_char = chr((ord(char) - 65 + shift) % 26 + 65) # Lowercase (a=97, 26 letters) encrypted_char = chr((ord(char) - 97 + shift) % 26 + 97)
   Break it down: subtract base (65), add shift, mod 26 to wrap, add base back.
2. Build encrypt():
   PYTHON - caesar.py

   def encrypt(message, shift): result = "" for char in message: if char.isupper(): result += chr((ord(char) - 65 + shift) % 26 + 65) elif char.islower(): result += chr((ord(char) - 97 + shift) % 26 + 97) else: result += char # spaces, numbers, punctuation unchanged return result print(encrypt("Hello World!", 3)) # Khoor Zruog! print(encrypt("Python", 13)) # Clguba (ROT13)
3. Test with shift 0 (no change), shift 26 (full rotation = original), shift 13 (ROT13).
4. Challenge: What about shift 30? Does your formula still work? (30 % 26 = 4, so shift 30 = shift 4.)

If encrypting adds 7 to each letter, decrypting subtracts 7. But there's an elegant Python shortcut using 26. Can you figure it out before reading the instructions?

By the end of this lesson you will have a working decrypt() function and understand why Caesar Cipher is vulnerable to brute force attack.

1. Write decrypt():
   PYTHON - caesar.py

   def decrypt(message, shift): # Decrypting = encrypting with the reverse shift return encrypt(message, 26 - shift % 26)
2. Test your pair:
   PYTHON

   original = "Secret Message! 123" shift = 13 encrypted = encrypt(original, shift) decrypted = decrypt(encrypted, shift) print("Match:", original == decrypted) # Should be True
3. Test with shifts 1, 3, 13, 25 and varied messages. All should return Match: True.
4. Brute force attack: With only 26 possible shifts, write a loop that prints all 26 decryptions of an encrypted message. This demonstrates Caesar Cipher is completely insecure - a computer can crack it instantly.

A cashier loops: serve customer → ask next → serve → ask - until the shop closes. How would you write that in Python? What kind of loop? When does it stop?

By the end of this lesson you will have wrapped caesar.py in a working menu loop so users can encrypt and decrypt multiple messages before quitting.

1. Build the menu:
   PYTHON - caesar.py

   def main(): print("=== CAESAR CIPHER ===") while True: print("\n1. Encrypt 2. Decrypt 3. Quit") choice = input("Choose (1/2/3): ").strip() if choice == "1": msg = input("Message to encrypt: ") shift = int(input("Shift (1-25): ")) print("Encrypted:", encrypt(msg, shift)) elif choice == "2": msg = input("Message to decrypt: ") shift = int(input("Shift (1-25): ")) print("Decrypted:", decrypt(msg, shift)) elif choice == "3": print("Goodbye!"); break else: print("Invalid - enter 1, 2, or 3.") main()
2. Input validation: What if the user types "abc" for the shift? The program crashes! Wrap the int() call in try/except ValueError to handle this gracefully.
3. Test all paths: encrypt, decrypt, invalid choice, quit. All must work without errors.
4. Add a comment block at top explaining: what the program does, how to use it, limitations.

Swap caesar.py with a partner. Without running it, can they understand what each function does just from reading the code and comments? Clean code should be self-explanatory. Give each other one improvement suggestion.

By the end of this lesson you will have polished your caesar.py to professional standard and written a thoughtful reflection about encryption concepts.

1. Code audit: every function has a docstring; variable names are descriptive; complex lines have comments; no dead code; consistent 4-space indentation.
2. Reflection (3 paragraphs, .docx or .pdf):
   • Para 1: What is encryption and why do we need it? Two real-world examples.
   • Para 2: Why is Caesar Cipher insecure? What is a brute force attack? How long to try all 26 shifts?
   • Para 3: How does AES-256 (used in WhatsApp and banking) differ? Why can't it be brute forced?
3. File check: caesar.py and reflection document ready for next lesson's submission.

Name 5 types of cybersecurity attacks in 60 seconds with your partner. Go!

By the end of this lesson you will have submitted Task 4 and have a clear preview of the cyber threat research you'll do in Task 5.

1. Final test: run caesar.py, test encrypt and decrypt, confirm no errors.
2. Upload both files to Connect → Task 4. Verify upload successful.
3. Self-assess against the rubric (4 criteria, A-E).
4. Task 5 Preview: Next 3 weeks you'll research phishing, ransomware, malware, social engineering, DDoS, and more - and write a formal report. Find a recent news article about a real cyber attack for homework.

Share the news article you found for homework. 30 seconds each: What happened? Who was attacked? What type? What was the impact?

By the end of this lesson you will have chosen your three threat types, found at least one case study for each, and set up your report document with section headings.

1. Threat categories: Phishing, Ransomware, Social Engineering, DDoS, Man-in-the-Middle, SQL Injection, Malware. Choose 3 that interest you.
2. Famous Australian case studies: Optus data breach (2022), Medibank ransomware (2022), Australian Parliament House hack (2019). These are excellent choices for Australian-specific context.
3. Set up your document: Title Page → Introduction → Threat 1 → Threat 2 → Threat 3 → Digital Rights & Responsibilities → Conclusion → References. Add placeholder headings now.
4. Find 2-3 sources for Threat 1 this lesson. Copy URLs into your references immediately so you don't lose them. Credible sources: cyber.gov.au, ABC News, IBM Security Blog, CrowdStrike Blog.

Source credibility ranking: (a) random blog, (b) cyber.gov.au, (c) YouTube video, (d) peer-reviewed journal, (e) The Australian newspaper. Rank most to least credible and explain why.

By the end of this lesson you will have completed research on Threats 1 and 2 with at least 3 credible sources each, and drafted the How It Works and Defence sections for both.

1. For each threat, answer 4 questions: How does it work (step by step)? Who does it target? Name a specific real-world case study (date, victim, scale, outcome). How to defend against it (at least 3 specific defences)?
2. Draft Threat 1 and Threat 2 sections now - aim for 250-300 words per section. Write in your own words; do not copy-paste from sources.
3. Add all sources to your references as you go: Author. (Year). Title. Website. URL.

Do you have a right to privacy online in Australia? Who is responsible for protecting your data - you, the government, or the companies that store it? Discuss with a partner - we'll look at the real legal answer today.

By the end of this lesson you will have completed research on Threat 3 and written your Digital Rights and Responsibilities section.

1. Complete Threat 3 using the same 4-question structure as Threats 1 and 2.
2. Digital Rights in Australia: Right to privacy (Privacy Act 1988), right to access government information (FOI), freedom from online harassment (eSafety Commissioner at esafety.gov.au), right to accurate data (correction rights under Privacy Act).
3. Digital Responsibilities: Not sharing others' data without consent; respecting copyright; using secure passwords; reporting cybercrime to ReportCyber; not enabling cyberbullying.
4. Write your Digital Rights and Responsibilities section (200-250 words). Include at least one Australian law or government body, two digital rights, and two personal responsibilities.

A research report introduction: hooks the reader → provides context → states the purpose → previews structure. A conclusion: summarises → connects → looks forward. Never introduce new information in a conclusion.

By the end of this lesson you will have written your introduction and conclusion, checked your word count, and formatted all references correctly.

1. Write introduction (150-200 words): hook → context → thesis → structure preview.
2. Write conclusion (150-200 words): summarise threats → connect to digital rights → forward-looking statement.
3. APA reference format: Author, A. (Year, Month Day). Title. Website. URL
4. Check word count - aim for 1,200-1,600 (excluding references). Run spellcheck and proofread aloud.

Teacher reads one anonymous paragraph from a student report. Class gives feedback: What's strong? What needs more detail? Is the writing academic or too informal?

By the end of this lesson you will have completed a structured peer review and revised your report based on feedback.

1. Swap complete report with a partner. Provide structured feedback: one strength and one suggestion per threat section; assess the Digital Rights section; check referencing for credibility and consistency.
2. Receive feedback and revise your draft accordingly.
3. Final formatting: consistent font and size; headings formatted; page numbers present; title page complete.
4. Export as PDF (File → Export or print to PDF) for submission.

Sketch the path from your phone to your friend's phone: your phone → home router → ISP → internet → their ISP → their router → their phone. Compare sketches - what did you include that they didn't?

By the end of this lesson you will have submitted Task 5 and understand the basic journey of data across the internet for Task 6.

1. Upload PDF to Connect → Task 5. Verify upload successful.
2. Self-assess against rubric (4 criteria, A-E).
3. Task 6 preview: You'll create a Network Security Guide for a small business owner - covering how networks work, HTTPS, and practical security steps. Think: you're the IT consultant and they have zero technical knowledge.
4. Homework: find out what TCP/IP is. Write a 2-sentence plain-English explanation.

Open Command Prompt and type ping google.com. What do you see? The IP address is Google's server. The ms value is how long your signal takes to travel there and back.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to explain how data travels across a network and have drafted Section 1 of your guide.

1. Key concepts for Section 1: IP Address (device's unique number), DNS (internet's phone book - converts google.com to an IP), Routers (traffic directors between networks), Packet Switching (data broken into small packets sent independently then reassembled), Client/Server (your browser requests, Google's server responds).
2. Draw your network diagram: Using Draw.io, Canva, or pencil + photo - show: your device → home router → ISP → internet → server. Label each component. This is your required original diagram.
3. Draft Section 1 for a non-technical business owner. Use analogies: postal system (packets), road network (routers), phone book (DNS).
4. Investigation: Run tracert google.com (Windows) - this shows every router your signal hops through to reach Google. How many hops?

Look at your browser address bar. Click the padlock icon - what information is there? What does it mean? What happens if a site uses HTTP instead of HTTPS?

By the end of this lesson you will be able to explain how HTTPS protects web traffic and have drafted Section 2 of your guide.

1. HTTP vs HTTPS: HTTP sends data in plain text - anyone intercepting can read it. HTTPS adds TLS encryption, making intercepted data unreadable.
2. TLS Handshake (simplified): (1) Browser says hello to server. (2) Server sends SSL certificate (digital ID). (3) Browser verifies certificate via a trusted Certificate Authority. (4) Encrypted session key exchanged. (5) All traffic encrypted.
3. Why it matters for small businesses: Any site handling personal or payment data MUST use HTTPS. A customer on an HTTP site = their credit card details readable to anyone on the same WiFi.
4. Draft Section 2. Use the locked box analogy: "HTTPS is like putting your letter in a locked box - only the recipient has the key."

Scenario: you run a café with free customer WiFi. A cybercriminal sits down, orders a coffee, connects. What could they do? List as many possibilities as you can.

By the end of this lesson you will have written Sections 3 and 4 of your guide - Network Threats and the Security Checklist.

1. Section 3 - 3 network threats for small businesses: Choose 3 from: Evil Twin WiFi attack, ransomware via email, credential stuffing, unpatched router vulnerabilities, insider threat. For each: what it is (2-3 sentences), how it targets a small business, potential impact.
2. Section 4 - Security Checklist (8+ steps):
   EXAMPLE ITEMS

   ✅ Change default router admin password ✅ Enable WPA3/WPA2 on all WiFi networks ✅ Separate guest WiFi from business network ✅ Enable automatic software updates ✅ Use a business-grade firewall ✅ Require multi-factor authentication (MFA) ✅ Back up data to offline location weekly ✅ Train staff to recognise phishing ✅ Install reputable endpoint protection ✅ Disable RDP unless essential
   For each step, write 1-2 sentences explaining WHY it matters.

Compare: 6 pages of plain text vs a 2-page designed guide with icons, coloured sections, and a diagram. Same content - which would a small business owner actually read? Design matters for communication.

By the end of this lesson you will have designed the visual layout of your guide and inserted your original network diagram.

1. Design principles: Visual hierarchy (headings stand out), chunking (headings + bullets), icons (🔒 🌐 ⚠️ ✅), white space (don't cram), consistent 2-3 colour scheme.
2. If using Canva: search "business guide template" or "cybersecurity infographic." Customise - don't submit a template unchanged.
3. Insert your original network diagram from Wk7·L1 into the appropriate section.
4. Review against the rubric Communication & Design criterion - would a real small business owner use this guide?

Quick share: one thing in your guide you're most proud of. Build each other up before final submissions.

By the end of this lesson you will have completed all revisions and exported a submission-ready PDF.

1. Walkthrough swap: partner plays a small business owner (no IT knowledge). After 3 minutes reading: (a) Name 3 things you'd do to secure your network. (b) Was anything confusing? (c) Would you use this guide?
2. Revise based on feedback - focus on clarity.
3. Final checklist: all 4 sections present; original diagram included and labelled; 8+ checklist items with explanations; no unexplained jargon; 4-6 pages.
4. Export to PDF. Open the PDF to confirm diagram renders correctly and fonts are embedded.

Module 2 rapid-fire review: teacher asks questions, first hand up answers. Topics: Caesar Cipher, brute force, phishing, TLS, DNS, packet switching, certificate authorities. No notes needed - if you've been here all module, you'll know these.

By the end of this lesson you will have submitted Task 6 and be ready for Week 10 Cyber Challenge activities.

1. Upload Network Security Guide PDF to Connect → Task 6. Open it from Connect to verify.
2. Self-assess against Task 6 rubric (4 criteria, A-E).
3. 5-minute notebook reflection: What was the most surprising thing you learned in Module 2? What would you want to explore further in cybersecurity?

Open three portfolio websites of real developers or designers (search "web developer portfolio 2024"). As a class, discuss: What sections do they all have? What makes some more effective than others? What is the target audience?

By the end of this lesson you will have applied user-centred design principles to plan your portfolio and produced a wireframe sketch of your page layout.

1. User-Centred Design (UCD): Design decisions are driven by the needs of the user - not what looks cool to you. Ask: Who is viewing my portfolio? (Potential employers, teachers, university admissions.) What do they need to see? (Skills, projects, contact details.) How will they navigate the page?
2. Required sections for your portfolio:
   • Navigation: Fixed or top nav linking to each section
   • Hero: Your name, a tagline, a short intro sentence
   • About Me: 2-3 sentences about you, your interests, and what you're learning
   • Skills/Projects: Highlight 2-3 things you've built or can do (Python, this portfolio, etc.)
   • Contact: Email link or a simple contact form
3. Wireframe: Draw your page layout on paper or in a simple tool (Figma, draw.io, Canva). Show where each section sits, approximate proportions, and where major elements go (headings, images, buttons). No colour or detail needed - just boxes and labels.
4. Design rationale: In 3-4 sentences, answer: Who is your target audience? Why did you choose this layout? What feeling should your portfolio convey (professional, creative, bold)?
5. Create your project folder: portfolio/ with index.html and style.css files (empty for now). Set up VS Code with Live Server if available.

What's the difference between <div class="nav"> and <nav>? They look the same to the browser - but screen readers, search engines, and other developers understand <nav> means navigation. That's semantic HTML.

By the end of this lesson you will have built the complete HTML skeleton of your portfolio using correct semantic tags.

1. Start your index.html:
   HTML - index.html skeleton

   <!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>Your Name - Portfolio</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css"> </head> <body> <header> <nav> <a href="#hero">Home</a> <a href="#about">About</a> <a href="#skills">Skills</a> <a href="#contact">Contact</a> </nav> </header> <main> <section id="hero"> <h1>Hi, I'm [Your Name]</h1> <p>Year 9 · Digital Technology · Building cool things with code.</p> </section> <section id="about"> <h2>About Me</h2> <p>Your about me text here...</p> </section> <section id="skills"> <h2>Skills & Projects</h2> <!-- Project cards go here --> </section> <section id="contact"> <h2>Contact</h2> <a href="mailto:[email protected]">Email Me</a> </section> </main> <footer> <p>&copy; 2025 [Your Name]</p> </footer> </body> </html>
2. Fill in your real name, a genuine tagline, and a 2-3 sentence About Me. Make it personal - this is actually yours.
3. Add 2-3 project cards in the Skills section. Each card: project name, 1-sentence description, what language/skill it used. Your caesar.py and adventure.py from Module 1-2 count!
4. Validate your HTML at validator.w3.org - fix any errors before adding CSS.

Open coolors.co and generate 5 colour palettes. Choose one that matches the mood of your portfolio (professional dark theme, clean light theme, bold creative). Screenshot your chosen palette - you'll reference it throughout the task.

By the end of this lesson you will have applied a consistent colour scheme and typography to your portfolio using an external CSS file.

1. CSS custom properties (variables) for your colours:
   CSS - style.css

   /* Import a Google Font */ @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@400;700&display=swap'); /* Colour variables - change these to your chosen palette */ :root { --bg: #0f1117; --bg2: #1a1d2e; --accent: #6c63ff; --text: #e8eaf0; --muted: #8892b0; --white: #ffffff; .acc-title{-webkit-line-clamp:2;} .accordion-trigger{min-height:56px;} } /* Reset and base styles */ * { margin: 0; padding: 0; box-sizing: border-box; } body { font-family: 'Inter', sans-serif; background: var(--bg); color: var(--text); line-height: 1.6; }
2. The CSS Box Model: Every element is a box - content → padding → border → margin. Use padding for space inside, margin for space outside. Set box-sizing: border-box globally (included above) so padding doesn't blow out your widths.
3. Style your hero section:
   CSS

   #hero { min-height: 100vh; display: flex; flex-direction: column; justify-content: center; align-items: center; text-align: center; padding: 40px 20px; } #hero h1 { font-size: clamp(2rem, 5vw, 4rem); color: var(--white); margin-bottom: 16px; } #hero p { font-size: 1.1rem; color: var(--muted); max-width: 600px; }
4. Style your navigation bar. Use position: sticky; top: 0; to keep it visible while scrolling.
5. Check contrast: your text colour must be readable on your background. Test at webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker.

Open flexboxfroggy.com and complete as many levels as you can in 5 minutes. Flexbox Froggy teaches flexbox by moving frogs to lily pads - the best 5-minute flexbox introduction there is.

By the end of this lesson you will have laid out your project cards using flexbox and styled your navigation with flexbox alignment.

1. Flexbox project cards:
   CSS - style.css

   .cards-grid { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 24px; justify-content: center; padding: 40px 20px; } .project-card { background: var(--bg2); border: 1px solid rgba(108, 99, 255, 0.2); border-radius: 12px; padding: 24px; width: 280px; transition: transform 0.2s, border-color 0.2s; } .project-card:hover { transform: translateY(-4px); border-color: var(--accent); }
2. Update your HTML - wrap your project cards in a <div class="cards-grid"> and give each card class="project-card".
3. Flexbox navigation:
   CSS

   nav { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; align-items: center; padding: 16px 40px; background: var(--bg); position: sticky; top: 0; z-index: 100; } nav a { color: var(--muted); text-decoration: none; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.05em; transition: color 0.2s; } nav a:hover { color: var(--accent); }
4. Add a smooth scroll behaviour: in your html selector, add scroll-behavior: smooth;. Now clicking nav links scrolls smoothly to each section.

Open your portfolio on your phone (or use Chrome DevTools → Toggle Device Toolbar, shortcut Ctrl+Shift+M). What breaks? Text too small? Cards overflow? Navigation crowded? Make a list - you'll fix these today.

By the end of this lesson you will have added responsive breakpoints and polished all sections ready for submission.

1. Media query basics:
   CSS

   /* Mobile: screens 600px and below */ @media (max-width: 600px) { nav { flex-direction: column; gap: 12px; padding: 16px; } #hero h1 { font-size: 2rem; } .project-card { width: 100%; } }
2. Test at 375px (iPhone SE), 768px (tablet), and 1280px (desktop). Fix any issues at each breakpoint.
3. Polish checklist:
   • All sections have adequate padding/margin (not cramped)
   • Consistent font sizes (h1 > h2 > p - clear hierarchy)
   • Hover states on all interactive elements (links, buttons)
   • Footer styled and present
   • No horizontal scroll at any screen size
4. Complete your design document: wireframe + rationale. The rationale should reference UCD - explain choices in terms of your target audience.
5. Zip your portfolio/ folder (index.html + style.css + design document) ready for submission.

What is web scraping? How do you think Instagram, Google, or price comparison sites collect data from other websites? Discuss - then we'll preview how Python can do the same thing.

By the end of this lesson you will have submitted Task 7 and understand what a Python web scraper does.

1. Final check: open your portfolio in Chrome and Firefox. No broken links, no layout issues, all sections present.
2. Upload your zipped portfolio folder to Connect → Task 7. Verify the upload.
3. Self-assess against the rubric (4 criteria, A-E).
4. Task 8 Preview - Python Web Scraper: Over the next 3 weeks you'll use Python's requests library to download web page content, then BeautifulSoup to extract specific data from the HTML. Think of it as teaching Python to be a web browser that reads and remembers specific pieces of information.
5. Homework: find a website with public data you'd find interesting to scrape (weather, sports scores, movie ratings, book titles). Be ready to share it next lesson.

Right-click any webpage and select "View Page Source." What do you see? This is the raw HTML that your browser received from the server - and it's exactly what Python's requests library will download for us.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to use Python's requests library to fetch a web page and inspect the HTML content.

1. Install requests: Open terminal and run pip install requests beautifulsoup4. These are the two libraries you'll use throughout Task 8.
2. Your first requests call:
   PYTHON - scraper.py

   import requests url = "https://books.toscrape.com" # A safe practice site response = requests.get(url) print("Status code:", response.status_code) print("First 500 chars:") print(response.text[:500])
   Status code 200 = success. 404 = page not found. 403 = forbidden. 500 = server error.
3. Scraping ethics - robots.txt: Before scraping any site, check website.com/robots.txt. This file tells you which pages automated bots are allowed to access. Ignoring it can be a terms of service violation. For this task we'll use books.toscrape.com - a site built specifically for scraping practice.
4. Inspect the page: open books.toscrape.com in your browser. Right-click a book title → "Inspect." What HTML tags contain the title? The price? The rating? Note these - you'll target them with BeautifulSoup next lesson.
5. Add error handling to your requests call:
   PYTHON

   try: response = requests.get(url, timeout=10) response.raise_for_status() # Raises error if status != 200 except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e: print(f"Error fetching page: {e}")

Analogy: BeautifulSoup is like a highlighter for HTML. You tell it "highlight every h3 tag" - it finds them all and hands them to you as a list. How would you then get the text out of each one?

By the end of this lesson you will be able to use BeautifulSoup to parse HTML and extract specific elements as text.

1. Parse the page with BeautifulSoup:
   PYTHON - scraper.py

   from bs4 import BeautifulSoup import requests url = "https://books.toscrape.com" response = requests.get(url) soup = BeautifulSoup(response.text, "html.parser") # Find all book articles books = soup.find_all("article", class_="product_pod") print(f"Found {len(books)} books")
2. Extract title, price, and rating from each book:
   PYTHON

   for book in books[:5]: # First 5 books title = book.h3.a["title"] price = book.find("p", class_="price_color").text.strip() rating = book.p["class"][1] # "One", "Two", "Three", etc. print(f"{title} | {price} | {rating} stars")
3. Store all books in a list of dictionaries:
   PYTHON

   book_data = [] for book in books: book_data.append({ "title": book.h3.a["title"], "price": book.find("p", class_="price_color").text.strip(), "rating": book.p["class"][1] })
4. Print the length of book_data - how many books on page 1 of the catalogue?

Open Excel or Google Sheets. What is a CSV file? Why is it useful for storing scraped data? Why might JSON be better for some cases? When would you choose one over the other?

By the end of this lesson you will have saved your scraped data to a CSV file and displayed it as a formatted table in the terminal.

1. Save to CSV using DictWriter:
   PYTHON - scraper.py

   import csv def save_to_csv(data, filename="output.csv"): if not data: print("No data to save."); return with open(filename, "w", newline="", encoding="utf-8") as f: writer = csv.DictWriter(f, fieldnames=data[0].keys()) writer.writeheader() writer.writerows(data) print(f"Saved {len(data)} records to {filename}")
2. Formatted terminal display:
   PYTHON

   def display_table(data): print(f"\n{'TITLE':<50} {'PRICE':>8} {'RATING':>10}") print("-" * 70) for item in data: title = item["title"][:48] # Truncate long titles print(f"{title:<50} {item['price']:>8} {item['rating']:>10}")
3. Data cleaning: Some titles may have extra whitespace or special characters. Add .strip() to all text extractions. Handle cases where a field might be None with a default value: field.text.strip() if field else "N/A".
4. Open your output.csv in Excel or Google Sheets - does it look correct? Column headers present, data in right columns?

Look at the URL pattern on books.toscrape.com when you click to page 2: books.toscrape.com/catalogue/page-2.html. What pattern do you notice? How could you use a Python loop and f-string to visit pages 1 through 5?

By the end of this lesson you will have either scraped multiple pages from books.toscrape.com or begun scraping your own chosen target site.

1. Multi-page scraping loop:
   PYTHON

   all_books = [] for page in range(1, 6): # Pages 1-5 url = f"https://books.toscrape.com/catalogue/page-{page}.html" response = requests.get(url) soup = BeautifulSoup(response.text, "html.parser") books = soup.find_all("article", class_="product_pod") for book in books: all_books.append({...}) # Your extraction code here print(f"Scraped page {page} - {len(all_books)} books total")
2. Choosing your own target (optional extension): If you want to scrape a different site, check its robots.txt first. Good options: quotes.toscrape.com (famous quotes + authors), toscrape.com lists all approved practice sites.
3. Important: Add a small delay between requests to avoid hammering a server: import time; time.sleep(1) between page requests. This is respectful scraping practice.
4. By end of lesson: you should have at least 80-100 records in output.csv. Run display_table(all_books) to verify.

Is web scraping legal? It depends. Discuss: what's the difference between a company scraping a competitor's prices (potentially illegal under ToS), a researcher scraping public government data (generally fine), and a student scraping a practice site (encouraged)? Where is the ethical line?

By the end of this lesson you will have polished your scraper code and written a reflection addressing data accuracy and scraping ethics.

1. Code polish: refactor into clean functions (fetch_page(url), extract_books(soup), save_to_csv(data), main()). Add docstrings and comments.
2. Reflection (2 paragraphs):
   • Para 1: What data did you collect? How accurate is it? What are the limitations (data might be out of date, site structure might change, some data might be missing)?
   • Para 2: What are the ethical considerations of web scraping? Discuss robots.txt, terms of service, data privacy, and the difference between scraping public vs private data.
3. File check: scraper.py, output.csv, reflection document ready for next lesson's submission.

Look back at your Task 7 portfolio page. What's missing? What would make it more impressive? Over the next 3 weeks you'll expand it into a full multi-page website - adding your scraper project, the adventure game, and a proper contact page.

By the end of this lesson you will have submitted Task 8 and have a plan for expanding your portfolio in Task 9.

1. Upload scraper.py, output.csv, and reflection to Connect → Task 8. Verify all 3 files uploaded.
2. Self-assess against the Task 8 rubric (4 criteria).
3. Task 9 planning: Sketch the structure of your expanded portfolio: how many pages? What goes on each page? How will they link together? Start a wireframe for the full site.

How does a real website like abc.net.au keep the same navigation, fonts, and colours across hundreds of pages? They use one shared CSS file and template the header/footer. We'll apply the same principle today.

By the end of this lesson you will have set up your multi-page folder structure, linked all pages with consistent navigation, and confirmed your shared stylesheet applies correctly on every page.

1. Folder structure:
   FILE STRUCTURE

   portfolio-v2/ index.html ← Home page (updated from Task 7) projects.html ← Projects showcase contact.html ← Contact page (or About, or a Blog) style.css ← Shared stylesheet (one file for ALL pages) images/ ← All images here profile.jpg project-caesar.png ...
2. Copy your Task 7 index.html and style.css into this new folder as the starting point.
3. Create projects.html and your third page. Copy the navigation block from index.html into both new pages - then update the nav links using relative paths (href="index.html", href="projects.html").
4. Add an active class to the current page's nav link on each page:
   CSS

   nav a.active { color: var(--accent); border-bottom: 2px solid var(--accent); }
   On index.html add class="active" to the Home link. On projects.html, add it to the Projects link.
5. Test navigation: clicking every link should take you to the correct page, and the active state should update correctly.

Look at a real developer's GitHub profile or portfolio projects section. What information do they include for each project? What makes a project description useful vs boring? Write down 3 elements you want to include for each of your projects.

By the end of this lesson you will have built the projects.html page with compelling descriptions and visuals for all 4 of your Year 9 projects.

1. Project card content for each project:
   • Project name (h3)
   • Technology tags (Python, HTML, CSS - as styled badges)
   • What it does - 2 sentences describing the project
   • What I learned - 1-2 sentences about a specific skill you developed
   • Screenshot or code snippet - take a screenshot of your program running, or use a code block in HTML
2. Your 4 projects: Caesar Cipher (caesar.py), Text Adventure Game (adventure.py), Web Scraper (scraper.py + output.csv), Portfolio Page (Task 7). Write genuine, specific descriptions - not generic filler.
3. Technology badge styling:
   CSS

   .tech-badge { display: inline-block; font-size: 11px; font-family: monospace; background: rgba(108, 99, 255, 0.15); border: 1px solid rgba(108, 99, 255, 0.3); color: var(--accent); padding: 2px 8px; border-radius: 3px; margin: 2px; }
4. Take screenshots of each project running and save them to your images/ folder. Add them to each project card with appropriate alt text.

Accessibility audit: open your portfolio and press Tab repeatedly without touching the mouse. Can you navigate to every link and interactive element? Can you tell where you are? Try turning your screen contrast to high contrast mode - is it still readable?

By the end of this lesson you will have completed your third page and addressed the main accessibility and responsive design requirements.

1. Build your third page. Suggested options: About Me (extended bio, interests, future goals), Blog/Reflections (what you've learned this year), Contact (a form or mailto link with your interests). Pick what makes sense for your portfolio audience.
2. Accessibility checklist:
   • Every <img> has a meaningful alt attribute (or alt="" for decorative images)
   • Colour contrast ratio ≥ 4.5:1 for body text (test at webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker)
   • All interactive elements are keyboard-accessible (Tab + Enter)
   • Meaningful link text - not "click here" but "View Caesar Cipher project"
3. Mobile testing matrix: Record your test results in your design document:
   TEST LOG TEMPLATE

   Page | Desktop 1280px | Tablet 768px | Mobile 375px | Issue / Fix index.html | ✅ Pass | ✅ Pass | ⚠️ Nav breaks | Added flex-wrap projects | ✅ Pass | ✅ Pass | ✅ Pass | - contact | ✅ Pass | ⚠️ Overflow | ✅ Pass | Fixed padding
4. Test in Chrome and Edge (or Firefox if available). Note any differences in the test log.

The "5-second test": show your portfolio home page to someone for 5 seconds, then hide it. Ask: What do you remember? What was the site about? What was the most prominent element? Their answer tells you if your design hierarchy is working.

By the end of this lesson you will have conducted user testing with at least 2 peers and completed your design process document.

1. User testing protocol: Ask 2 peers to complete these tasks on your site without your help:
   • Find the Projects page and tell me the name of one project
   • Find a way to contact you
   • Navigate back to the home page
   Watch silently - note where they hesitate, click the wrong thing, or get confused. These are your usability issues.
2. Record findings in your test log. Implement at least 2 fixes based on user feedback.
3. Complete your design process document:
   • Wireframes for all 3 pages (hand-drawn or digital)
   • Design rationale: colour scheme, fonts, layout choices - all referenced to UCD principles
   • Test log: screen sizes, browsers, user testing tasks and results
   • Reflection: what you changed based on testing and why

Gallery walk: computers open, portfolios on display. Walk around and leave a sticky note (or verbal comment) on three portfolios: one thing you genuinely admire about the design or content. Specific is better - not "it looks nice" but "the colour contrast makes the text really readable."

By the end of this lesson your portfolio will be submission-ready, with all final fixes applied and all files correctly prepared.

1. Implement any final fixes from the gallery feedback or your own last review.
2. Final submission checklist:
   • 3+ pages present, all linked with working navigation
   • All 4 projects showcased on projects.html
   • Fully responsive - tested at 375px, 768px, 1280px
   • All images have alt text
   • Contrast passes WCAG AA
   • Design process document complete (wireframes, rationale, test log)
3. Zip your portfolio-v2/ folder. Check the zip contains all HTML files, style.css, images folder, and design document.

Module 3 one-minute summary: each student tells the person next to them the most valuable skill they learned this module. Then share one with the class.

By the end of this lesson you will have submitted Task 9 and completed your Module 3 reflection.

1. Upload zipped portfolio folder and design process document to Connect → Task 9. Verify both files uploaded.
2. Self-assess against the Task 9 rubric (4 criteria, A-E).
3. Module 3 notebook reflection (5 min): What was the hardest part of building a multi-page website? If you were to rebuild it, what would you do differently? Would you consider continuing to develop this portfolio outside of school?

Every time you use Spotify, Netflix, or Instagram, data scientists are analysing your behaviour. Name 3 ways a streaming service might use data about what you watch or listen to. How does this benefit the service? How might it be a concern for you?

By the end of this lesson you will be able to load a CSV dataset into Python and print a summary of its contents, dimensions, and first few rows.

1. Choose a dataset. Recommended options for this task - all freely available, real, and interesting:
   • Australian weather data - Bureau of Meteorology historical data (bom.gov.au)
   • AFL statistics - footywire.com or kaggle.com AFL datasets
   • World happiness report - kaggle.com (happiness scores by country)
   • Titanic survival data - kaggle.com (classic beginner dataset)
   • Australian COVID-19 data - health.gov.au historical CSVs
   Download a CSV to your project folder.
2. Load and explore the data:
   PYTHON - analysis.py

   import csv def load_data(filename): with open(filename, encoding="utf-8") as f: reader = csv.DictReader(f) data = list(reader) return data data = load_data("your_dataset.csv") print(f"Rows: {len(data)}") print(f"Columns: {list(data[0].keys())}") print("\nFirst 3 rows:") for row in data[:3]: print(row)
3. Explore your dataset: How many rows? What columns exist? What type of values are in each column (numbers, text, dates)? Are there any empty/null fields? Write these observations in a comment block in your script.
4. Identify which columns you'll analyse. Pick 1-2 numeric columns and 1-2 categorical columns. Write down: what question do you want to answer with this data?

Quick maths: for the list [12, 15, 11, 19, 13, 18, 14], calculate the mean (average), median (middle value when sorted), minimum, and maximum by hand. Then we'll write Python to do this for thousands of values.

By the end of this lesson you will have calculated descriptive statistics for your chosen dataset and written a function to summarise any numeric column.

1. Extract a numeric column and convert types:
   PYTHON

   import statistics def get_column(data, column_name): """Extract a numeric column, skipping empty/non-numeric values.""" values = [] for row in data: try: values.append(float(row[column_name])) except (ValueError, KeyError): pass # Skip empty or non-numeric cells return values def describe(values, label): print(f"\n=== {label} ===") print(f" Count: {len(values)}") print(f" Mean: {statistics.mean(values):.2f}") print(f" Median: {statistics.median(values):.2f}") print(f" Min: {min(values):.2f}") print(f" Max: {max(values):.2f}") print(f" Range: {max(values) - min(values):.2f}")
2. Call describe() on each of your chosen numeric columns. Understand the output: is the mean close to the median? If not, that suggests the data is skewed (e.g. a few very high or low values pulling the average up or down).
3. Data cleaning notes: When you encounter empty cells, decide: skip them (as above), or replace with a default value. Record in a comment how many rows were skipped for each column and why.
4. Write a comment block summarising your initial observations: what is the typical value for each column? Any surprising maximums or minimums?

Which chart type would you use for: (a) showing sales over 12 months, (b) comparing test scores across 5 subjects, (c) showing the distribution of temperatures across a year? There's a right answer for each - think about what story the chart needs to tell.

By the end of this lesson you will have created at least 2 matplotlib charts and saved them as PNG files for your data story document.

1. Install matplotlib: pip install matplotlib
2. Create a bar chart:
   PYTHON

   import matplotlib.pyplot as plt def plot_bar(categories, values, title, xlabel, ylabel, filename): plt.figure(figsize=(10, 6)) plt.bar(categories, values, color="#6c63ff", edgecolor="white") plt.title(title, fontsize=14, fontweight="bold") plt.xlabel(xlabel) plt.ylabel(ylabel) plt.xticks(rotation=45, ha="right") plt.tight_layout() plt.savefig(filename, dpi=150) plt.show() print(f"Saved: {filename}")
3. Create a line chart (good for trends over time):
   PYTHON

   def plot_line(x_values, y_values, title, xlabel, ylabel, filename): plt.figure(figsize=(10, 6)) plt.plot(x_values, y_values, color="#00f5c4", linewidth=2, marker="o", markersize=4) plt.title(title, fontsize=14, fontweight="bold") plt.xlabel(xlabel) plt.ylabel(ylabel) plt.grid(alpha=0.3) plt.tight_layout() plt.savefig(filename, dpi=150) plt.show()
4. Create at least 2 charts from your data. Make sure every chart has a title, labelled axes, and a meaningful colour scheme. Avoid misleading choices (e.g. never start a bar chart Y axis at a value other than 0).
5. Save each chart as a PNG. These will go into your data_story.pdf document.

Data visualisation example: the teacher shows two charts showing the same data - one poorly labelled and misleading, one clear and honest. What makes the difference? A good data story doesn't just show charts - it explains what they mean and why they matter.

By the end of this lesson you will have identified 2 patterns in your data and written a 3-4 paragraph data story combining your charts with written analysis.

1. What is a pattern? A trend (values increasing or decreasing over time), a comparison (one category significantly higher or lower than others), a distribution (most values clustering in a range), or a correlation (two variables that seem to move together).
2. Identify 2 patterns from your data. For each pattern: name the pattern, point to the specific data that shows it (e.g. "the mean temperature in January is 31.4°C, compared to 18.7°C in July"), and explain why this is interesting or significant.
3. Structure your data story document:
   • Title and dataset description (what dataset, where it came from, what period it covers)
   • Chart 1 + analysis paragraph (describe what you see, identify the pattern, explain significance)
   • Chart 2 + analysis paragraph
   • Reflection paragraph: limitations of the data, what additional data would improve the analysis
4. Golden rule: every claim in your written analysis must be supported by a specific number from your data. "Temperatures were higher in summer" is weak. "Average summer temperatures were 11.8°C higher than winter averages (31.4°C vs 19.6°C)" is strong.

Peer preview: show your data story to your partner. Without reading it to them - they read it themselves. After 2 minutes: can they explain your two main findings? Can they identify what dataset you used? Good communication means your findings should be obvious without explanation.

By the end of this lesson you will have polished your analysis.py and completed your data_story.pdf ready for submission.

1. Polish analysis.py: refactor into functions, add docstrings, clean comments. The script should run end-to-end without errors and produce all charts.
2. Complete limitations reflection: What is the source of your data? How was it collected? What might be missing? What biases could affect it? What additional data would make your analysis more complete or more accurate?
3. Assemble your data_story.pdf: use Word or Google Docs, insert your chart images, write clean headings, export to PDF.
4. Final check: open the PDF - do images render correctly? Are all paragraphs present? Is it 3-4 pages of substance?

What is the difference between: (a) a traditional program that follows fixed rules, and (b) a machine learning model that learns patterns from data? Think of a spam filter - how might it work with rules, vs how might it learn from examples?

By the end of this lesson you will have submitted Task 10 and previewed the AI and machine learning concepts you'll explore in Task 11.

1. Upload analysis.py and data_story.pdf to Connect → Task 10. Verify both uploaded.
2. Self-assess against the Task 10 rubric (4 criteria, A-E).
3. Task 11 preview - AI & ML Concepts: You'll investigate how machine learning works, how AI systems are trained on data, what can go wrong (bias, hallucination, misuse), and the ethical implications for society. You'll create a multimedia presentation or infographic poster.
4. Starter question: name one AI tool you've used this year (even just Copilot or Google autocomplete). How do you think it was trained?

Show of hands: who has used an AI tool this week? ChatGPT? Google autocomplete? Netflix recommendations? Spotify Discover Weekly? Spell-check? Every one of those is powered by machine learning. What do you think they all have in common?

By the end of this lesson you will be able to explain how machine learning works using training data, models, and predictions, and identify 3 real-world applications.

1. Traditional programming vs Machine Learning:
   • Traditional: Programmer writes rules. Input → Rules → Output. Spam filter: IF email contains "WIN FREE CASH" → mark as spam.
   • ML: Model learns rules from examples. Input + Examples → Algorithm learns → Model → Output. Spam filter: show the model 1 million spam and 1 million legitimate emails. It finds its own patterns.
2. The 3-step ML pipeline: (1) Training data - thousands or millions of labelled examples. (2) Training - the algorithm finds patterns in the data. (3) Prediction - feed new unseen data to the model; it predicts the answer based on the patterns it learned.
3. Supervised vs Unsupervised learning: Supervised = you provide labelled examples (this is a cat, this is a dog). Unsupervised = you provide data and the model finds its own groupings (clustering similar customers).
4. Start your presentation: Create your Google Slides / PowerPoint / Canva poster. Add a slide/section for "How ML Works" - include your own diagram of the training pipeline (training data → algorithm → model → prediction).
5. Find and add 3 real-world AI applications to your presentation. Be specific: not just "AI in healthcare" but "AI that detects diabetic retinopathy in eye scans at 94% accuracy."

Class scenario: a bank uses an AI to decide who gets a loan. The AI was trained on historical loan data from the past 20 years. What problems might arise if the training data reflects historical discrimination? Who would be unfairly affected? How would you even know?

By the end of this lesson you will have researched a specific real case of AI bias or harm and begun your case study analysis section.

1. Types of AI failure:
   • Algorithmic bias: The model discriminates based on race, gender, or other protected attributes because the training data reflected historical inequities.
   • Hallucination: Language models confidently state false information - inventing citations, laws, facts, or events that don't exist.
   • Misuse: AI used to generate disinformation, deepfakes, targeted harassment, or to automate harmful processes.
   • Opacity (black box): The model makes consequential decisions (loan denial, parole recommendation) that no human can explain or audit.
2. Choose your case study. Well-documented real cases:
   • COMPAS algorithm - used in US courts to predict reoffending; found to be racially biased (ProPublica 2016 investigation)
   • Amazon's AI recruiting tool - trained on historical male-dominated data; penalised female applicants (Reuters 2018)
   • Google Photos face recognition - incorrectly tagged Black individuals as gorillas (2015)
   • UK Exam grades algorithm (2020) - downgraded students from lower-income schools based on historical school data
   • Optus/Medibank AI chatbots - handling sensitive data breaches with automated responses
3. Research your chosen case: what happened, who was affected, what was the scale, and what response followed? Add this to your presentation as a dedicated case study section.

Class debate (2 minutes each side): "AI systems that make decisions affecting people's lives should be required to explain their reasoning in plain English." Argue for, then against. What are the trade-offs?

By the end of this lesson you will have written your ethical analysis section and formed a clear personal position on AI regulation.

1. Four pillars of AI ethics:
   • Privacy: AI systems often require massive personal datasets. Who owns that data? Can it be used to manipulate or surveil people?
   • Fairness: AI must not discriminate based on protected characteristics. But fairness itself has multiple definitions - equal outcomes? Equal error rates? These can conflict.
   • Transparency: People affected by AI decisions should be able to understand how those decisions were made. The "right to explanation" is recognised in the EU's GDPR.
   • Accountability: When AI causes harm, who is responsible? The developer? The company deploying it? The regulator who approved it?
2. Australian AI ethics framework: Australia's Department of Industry published an AI Ethics Framework with 8 principles - Human, Societal and Environmental Wellbeing; Human-centred Values; Fairness; Privacy; Reliability; Transparency; Contestability; and Accountability. Research one of these in depth.
3. Write your personal position (1 paragraph): Should AI be regulated? If so, who should regulate it - governments, the companies themselves, or independent bodies? What one regulation would you implement?
4. Add ethics section to your presentation. Be specific - reference your case study to illustrate the ethical failures.

Slide design check: look at your current slides. How much text is on each? Rule of thumb: if a slide has more than 30 words, it's a document not a presentation. The slide should support what you say - not replace it. How can you cut text and add a visual instead?

By the end of this lesson you will have polished your presentation design, added all references, and delivered a 2-minute practice run.

1. Polish visual design: consistent font, consistent colour scheme, relevant images (licensed/royalty-free only), no clip art.
2. Add a references slide with 5+ credible sources in APA format.
3. Run a 2-minute practice delivery with your partner. They time you and give 2 pieces of feedback.
4. Final check: does your presentation cover all required elements? ML explanation, 3 applications, case study analysis, ethics, personal position, references?
5. Export as PDF (presentations) or save the Canva poster as PDF/PNG.

Audience etiquette: as an audience member today, your job is to ask one genuine question to each presenter. Not "good job" - an actual question about something you're curious about or want to understand better.

By the end of this lesson you will have delivered your AI presentation to the class and engaged in discussion about the ethical issues raised.

1. 2-minute presentations in rotation. Your teacher will keep time.
2. After each presentation: 1-2 questions from the class. The presenter answers as best they can - it's okay to say "I'm not sure, but I think…"
3. Class discussion after all presentations: Which case study was most concerning? Did any presentation change your mind about AI? What's the most important regulation you'd introduce?
4. If presenting a poster rather than slides: display your poster and walk 2 classmates through it during the lesson.

Think of a problem you've noticed - at school, at home, in your community, or in society more broadly - that technology could help solve. Write it down. This is the seed of your Task 12 innovation pitch.

By the end of this lesson you will have submitted Task 11 and identified a problem to pitch in Task 12.

1. Upload your presentation PDF (or poster image) to Connect → Task 11. Verify upload.
2. Self-assess against Task 11 rubric (4 criteria, A-E).
3. Task 12 preview - Digital Innovation Pitch: You'll research a real problem, design a digital solution, and pitch it in a 3-minute presentation with a slide deck. Think startup pitch - identify the problem, define your solution, explain how it would work technically, and address potential concerns.
4. Brainstorm: Write 3 problems technology could address in your world. Bring these to Wk7·L1.

Share your 3 brainstormed problems with a partner. For each: is it a real, specific problem, or more of a vague wish? "Traffic is annoying" is vague. "Elderly residents in rural WA miss medical appointments because public transport is infrequent" is specific. Help each other sharpen the problem statements.

By the end of this lesson you will have selected your problem, gathered supporting evidence, and written a design brief approved by your teacher.

1. Choosing a good problem: It must be real (evidenced), specific (not "world hunger"), something digital technology can meaningfully help with, and not already perfectly solved. Good scope for Year 9: a school problem, a local community issue, a specific health or environment challenge.
2. Problem statement formula: "[Target group] struggle with [specific problem] because [root cause], which leads to [negative consequence]. Currently [existing solution / gap]." Write yours in this format.
3. Find evidence: Search for statistics, reports, or news articles that confirm your problem is real and significant. ABS (abs.gov.au) for Australian statistics; government reports; academic papers; reputable news sources.
4. Write your design brief (1 paragraph):
   • Who is affected?
   • What specifically is the problem?
   • Why does a digital solution make sense here?
   • What would success look like?
5. Teacher approval: show your design brief and evidence before proceeding. A good brief = clear problem + real evidence + plausible digital angle.

Crazy 8s: fold a piece of paper into 8 sections. Set a timer for 8 minutes. Sketch 8 different possible solutions to your problem - one per section. No idea is too wild. The goal is quantity, not quality. Then circle the one that seems most promising.

By the end of this lesson you will have a clear, technically described digital solution and a simple wireframe or mockup showing how it would look.

1. Choose your best solution from the Crazy 8s. Apply these filters: Does it directly address the root cause? Is it digital? Is it technically plausible for a real team to build in the next 2-3 years? Is it ethical?
2. Technical description: Describe your solution in terms of:
   • What type of system is it? Mobile app? Web platform? IoT sensor network? AI recommendation system? Government database?
   • What technology stack would it use? (At Year 9 level: front-end, back-end, database, any ML or data components)
   • How does it work? Step-by-step user journey: what does the user do, what does the system do, what is the outcome?
   • How does it solve the problem? Draw the direct line from your solution's action to the problem being reduced.
3. Create a wireframe or mockup of the main screen or interface. Canva, draw.io, or paper sketch photographed. This goes into your proposal document and pitch slides.
4. Start building your pitch slide deck: title slide, problem slide, solution slide (with wireframe), how it works slide.

Devil's advocate: your partner will try to find 3 reasons why your solution won't work or could cause harm. Your job is to listen and take notes - not defend yourself. The best pitches acknowledge weaknesses honestly; pretending problems don't exist destroys credibility.

By the end of this lesson you will have identified at least 3 risks of your solution and completed your project proposal document.

1. Risk analysis categories:
   • Privacy: What personal data does your solution collect? Who could access it? Could it be hacked?
   • Accessibility: Does your solution require a smartphone, fast internet, or digital literacy? Who gets left out?
   • Cost: Who pays for development, hosting, maintenance? Is it sustainable?
   • Misuse: How could your solution be used in unintended or harmful ways?
   • Adoption: Why would people actually use it? What barriers exist?
   For each risk, propose a mitigation strategy - not a dismissal, but a genuine approach to reduce the risk.
2. Complete your project proposal document (1-2 pages):
   • Problem statement with evidence
   • Proposed digital solution with technical description
   • Target users and how they benefit
   • Wireframe / mockup (embedded image)
   • Risk analysis (3+ risks with mitigations)
   • References
3. Add a risks slide to your pitch deck. Being honest about limitations makes your pitch more credible, not less.

Watch a 3-minute excerpt from a real startup pitch (teacher chooses). Observe: How do they open? How do they explain the problem? How do they make you care before pitching the solution? What's their closing line?

By the end of this lesson you will have completed your pitch deck and delivered a timed 3-minute rehearsal with feedback.

1. Pitch structure (3 minutes = 180 seconds):
   • 0:00-0:30: Hook - open with a striking statistic, story, or scenario about your problem
   • 0:30-1:00: The problem - clearly state the problem and who it affects
   • 1:00-1:45: The solution - introduce your solution, show the wireframe, explain how it works
   • 1:45-2:30: Why it works - who benefits, technical feasibility, evidence
   • 2:30-3:00: Risks + closing - honest acknowledgment of limitations, strong closing line
2. Full 3-minute timed rehearsal with your partner. They give specific feedback on: timing (over/under?), clarity (did they understand the solution?), and one thing to improve.
3. Implement feedback. Run one more timed rehearsal solo.
4. Final slide check: 5-8 slides, professional design, no slide with more than 30 words, wireframe visible.
5. Export pitch deck as PDF.

Final nerves check-in. Remember: your class wants you to succeed. You've rehearsed this. You know your problem better than anyone in the room. Take one deep breath before you start, make eye contact with a friendly face, and begin your hook line.

By the end of this lesson every student will have delivered their 3-minute innovation pitch to the class.

1. Pitches in order (teacher determines). Each student: 3 minutes to pitch, then 1 minute for class questions.
2. Audience: you will ask at least one genuine question to at least two pitches. Questions should be curious, not critical.
3. After all pitches: class vote on the "Most Likely to Actually Be Built" award. Not "best presentation" - the one that felt most realistic and needed.
4. Teacher feedback: brief verbal feedback to each presenter immediately after their pitch or at the end of class.

Think back to Week 1, Term 1 of Year 9. What did you know about programming then? What can you do now? List 5 specific skills you've gained this year - be specific, not just "I learned Python." What was hardest? What are you most proud of?

By the end of this lesson you will have submitted Task 12 and written a meaningful end-of-year reflection on your growth in Digital Technology.

1. Upload pitch deck PDF and proposal document to Connect → Task 12. Verify both uploaded.
2. Self-assess against Task 12 rubric (4 criteria, A-E).
3. End-of-Year Reflection (5-10 minutes in your notebook or on paper):
   • Name one thing you built this year that you're genuinely proud of
   • Name one skill or concept that finally "clicked" - and when
   • What would you build next if you had the time?
   • What do you want to learn in Year 10 Digital Technology?
4. You did the work. Year 9 Digital Technology complete. Week 10 is a celebration.