A field guide to digital life Ages 9–12

Open the machine.
Find your own mind.

Five practical workshops that help children open up feeds, AI answers, data trails, devices, and persuasive design—so they can use technology with curiosity and independent judgment.

Open the programme Who it is for
  • Facilitator-led
  • Offline-first
  • No student accounts

Choose a system. Open the box.

Notice persuasive design and practise making deliberate choices.

Why Unboxed

Children don’t need more warnings. They need a way to look inside.

Unboxed connects subjects children usually encounter separately: safety, wellbeing, privacy, recommendation systems, AI, bias, and environmental impact.

Through collaborative games, fictional scenarios, and practical investigations, learners discover how technology works—and how they can respond with agency rather than fear or guilt.

  1. 01Look inside
  2. 02Ask what’s hidden
  3. 03Check the output
  4. 04Choose for yourself
5 connected workshops60–75 minutes each1 complete resource kit

Who opens the box

Students at the centre.
Adults around them.

One core student experience, supported by the adults who make learning possible. Schools and community organisations host; educators and parents help the thinking continue.

01 / PARTICIPANTS

Students aged 9–12

Five interactive workshops, a learner field guide, fictional scenarios, and practical action tools. No lectures about “good” and “bad” screen time.

02 / DELIVERY

Teachers & community educators

A pre-delivery briefing, facilitation guidance, adaptable resources, safeguarding information, and follow-up activities.

03 / CONTINUATION

Parents & carers

Constructive conversation prompts and family activities that go beyond surveillance, bans, fear, and parent blaming.

Host settings: primary and middle schools, homeschool co-ops, mosques and supplementary schools, libraries, museums, and youth organisations.

The Digital Field Guide

Five boxes.
One bigger picture.

Each session combines a collaborative activity, guided sense-making, and a practical takeaway. Open a workshop to see what students investigate.

See delivery packages
OPEN 01Unbox your attentionPersuasive design + wellbeing

Students investigate notifications, rewards, streaks, autoplay, and social comparison—then redesign an imaginary app to respect its users.

Signature activity
Design—and redesign—an engaging app
Takeaway
An “Attention Choices” action card
OPEN 02Unbox a data trailSafety + privacy

Students follow a fictional data trail, evaluate suspicious messages, and rehearse practical responses to pressure, unsafe contact, and worrying content.

Signature activity
The data-trail investigation
Takeaway
A Stop–Check–Tell response plan
OPEN 03Unbox the feedAlgorithms + bias

Students become recommendation systems, train a card-based classifier, and investigate how data, design choices, and feedback loops can produce unfair patterns.

Signature activity
Be the recommendation algorithm
Takeaway
An “Ask Before You Accept” checklist
OPEN 04Unbox an AI answerAI literacy + independent thinking

Using facilitator-led examples and paper-based activities, students discover how generative AI predicts useful-sounding language rather than guaranteeing truth. They practise thinking first, asking clearly, checking outputs, protecting private information, and deciding when not to use AI.

Signature activity
Prompt, inspect, improve
Takeaway
A Think–Ask–Check–Decide AI card
OPEN 05Unbox a smartphoneMaterials + environment

Students map a smartphone’s journey and the internet’s physical infrastructure, then compare repair, reuse, replacement, and responsible end-of-life choices.

Signature activity
Journey of a smartphone
Takeaway
A “Use It Well, Make It Last” action

Unboxed books

Open another layer.
Keep reading.

A selection of books by the author, with space for a cover, a short introduction, and a link for readers to discover each title.

First book

Your book title

Add a short description of the book, its themes, and who it is for.

Add a book link

Second book

Your book title

Add a short description of the book, its themes, and who it is for.

Add a book link

Third book

Your book title

Add a short description of the book, its themes, and who it is for.

Add a book link

How we work

Open systems.
Not closed answers.

01

Participation before presentation

Card games, role-play, mapping, and design challenges keep children active. Student devices are not required.

02

Systems before blame

Children explore their own choices while learning that platforms, companies, designers, and public institutions share responsibility.

03

Trust before tracking

No advertising, student accounts, commercial profiling, or sale of participant data. Assessment is lightweight and reported in aggregate.

Educational wellbeing, not therapy

The programme supports digital citizenship and help-seeking. It does not provide mental-health treatment, and delivery is planned around the host’s safeguarding procedures.

Ways to work together

Open one box.
Or open the whole set.

Every package includes preparation and delivery materials. Pricing is scoped by cohort and setting, with travel and materials stated clearly.

START / PAID TASTER

Unboxed Taster

One 90-minute student workshop

A standalone investigation following a fictional child through notifications, a suspicious message, a personalised feed, and a possible device upgrade.

  • Facilitator-led delivery
  • Printed activity kit
  • Student takeaway card
  • Parent information sheet
  • Brief host feedback
Choose the taster

OPEN / FLAGSHIP PROGRAMME

The Digital Field Guide

Five 60–75-minute student workshops

The complete learning journey across attention, safety, algorithms, practical AI literacy, and technology’s material footprint.

  • All five facilitated workshops
  • Student field guide and action cards
  • Think–Ask–Check–Decide AI card
  • Educator briefing
  • Parent resource pack
  • Baseline and endline activities
  • Aggregated outcomes report
Choose the field guide

CONTINUE / WHOLE SETTING

Unboxed Together

Core programme + two adult sessions

Align student learning with parent support and educator confidence, then continue with a practical follow-up plan.

  • Everything in the core programme
  • 60-minute parent session
  • 90-minute educator session
  • Adapted community examples
  • Four-week follow-up plan
Choose Unboxed Together

Before you ask

Straight answers.
No black box.

Still deciding whether the programme fits? Prepare a pilot brief and include the question your team needs answered.

Is this another online-safety course?

Online safety is one essential part. The programme also connects wellbeing, persuasive design, data, algorithms, AI, bias, and technology’s physical and environmental systems.

Does it teach children that technology is bad?

No. Students investigate benefits, trade-offs, and responsibilities. The aim is informed and deliberate use, not rejection of technology.

Do students need devices or accounts?

No. The core activities are predominantly offline and use fictional scenarios, printed materials, discussion, and collaborative challenges.

Will children learn to use AI, or just to question it?

Both. They learn age-appropriate routines for thinking before prompting, asking clear questions, checking evidence, protecting personal information, and making the final judgment themselves. They also learn when AI is unnecessary or inappropriate.

Can it work for homeschool or faith-based settings?

Yes. Delivery format and examples can be reviewed with community educators while retaining the core safety, critical-thinking, and safeguarding objectives.

Does the programme provide mental-health support?

It supports educational digital wellbeing and help-seeking, but it is not therapy or clinical support. Concerns are handled through the host’s agreed safeguarding and referral procedures.

Plan a pilot

What do your learners need to open up?

Prepare a concise enquiry you can copy or download and share with the programme team. Choose a package, describe your setting, and identify the question you want the pilot to answer.

No information is transmitted or stored by this page. Please do not include sensitive information about children.