What should students do when an online problem has already happened?

DIGITAL EMERGENCY – What to Do When Something Has Already Happened? is a set of 10 discussion-based crisis scenarios for Grades 6–9 that helps students practise safe, practical responses to realistic problems from the digital world.

Students work with situations such as a lost phone, a hacked account, a photo shared without consent, a fake profile, a suspicious payment, cyberbullying, deepfake-based identity scams, malware or ransomware, private content being shared, and online blackmail.

Instead of simply being told the correct answer, students first think, discuss, and make decisions. They then sort possible responses into:

FIRST STEPS → NEXT STEPS → DON'T DO

Finally, they compare their choices with a Check Card containing the recommended emergency procedure, explanation, prevention tips, and a memorable Crisis Rule.

What’s included

• 10 complete Digital Emergency crisis sets

• model situations and discussion questions

• group challenges

• response-sorting activities

• Check Cards with suggested emergency procedures

• explanations of why each response is safe or risky

• Digital First Aid framework: Stop → Secure → Record → Verify/Report → Tell Someone

• teacher methodology

• rules for safe classroom discussion

• preventive “Did You Know?” sections

• practical Crisis Rules

• overview of all 10 scenarios

• double-sided A5 card format with printing instructions

• 28-page PDF

The activities are designed primarily for middle school and early high school students (Grades 6–9). Teachers can use the cards in pairs, small groups, whole-class discussions, prevention programs, homeroom lessons, or as short activities connected to digital citizenship and online safety.

The material also includes clear guidance for handling more sensitive topics. Students are not expected to share personal experiences, and the focus remains on safe problem-solving rather than blame.

Students learn that a digital emergency does not require panic — it requires safe decisions, trusted help, and the right next step.