Practising together works especially well: with parents or grandparents at the kitchen table, or with a group on a projector.
With family
- Sit side by side and let the other person hold the mouse or phone. Ask rather than explain: “What do you notice about the sender?”
- Mistakes are part of it. Nobody should feel caught out — the exercise is there so that it happens here and not for real.
- Turn it around now and then: “Explain to me why this is a trap.” Explaining it to someone else helps it stick.
- Agree a safe phrase with your family for phone calls about money.
- Practise helping, too: in Helping others, Aunt Jean asks for advice — and you choose the reply that helps without blame.
In a class
Class mode shows everything larger, hides any progress saved on the device and saves none — useful for shared computers and projectors.
A possible 90-minute session on the first path: a short introduction (10 min) · pop-ups, texts and phone calls in pairs (30 min) · address duel and inbox together on the projector, discussing each decision (35 min) · emergency plan and questions (15 min). Print the emergency plan as a handout.
A second session can cover the path Being prepared: passwords, the second key and family agreements (45 min), then the emergency drill with the emergency card to take home (30 min), questions (15 min).
If the basics are missing first, “No magic” helps: on the projector, it shows step by step how a computer works.
Using the material
The exercises and texts may be used and shown free of charge in non-commercial educational settings — courses, schools, seniors' meetings, libraries — as long as the source (practice-makes-safe.org) is named. For any other use, please ask us first.