Before this course, and what an ambassador does
A lifeguard teaches swimming rules, watches the pool and calls for help when someone is in trouble. A lifeguard doesn't jump into the deep end with a stranger's wallet. A digital safety ambassador teaches safe habits, watches out for others and knows exactly whom to call.
- Before this course: Digital Wellbeing: habits (course 13.15.3). Check that you can still do these four things: turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) on your main email (course 13.15.2), run a privacy settings audit (course 13.15.2), run a notification audit (course 13.15.3), and name your country's emergency number and crisis line (course 13.15.3, lesson 7). If one is shaky, redo it first. You teach best what you already do.
- A core message you can teach anyone. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) says "Everyone should take these 4 core steps":
- Avoid and report phishing scams.
- Use strong passwords.
- Use multifactor authentication and a password manager.
- Update software.
- An ambassador has three jobs:
| Job | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Teach | Short, practical sessions with practice on made-up examples |
| Show | The person does the steps on their own device while you guide |
| Refer | Pass worries, crimes and crises to a trusted adult, the platform or an official service |
- Your limits (the ambassador's promise):
- You never ask for, look at, type or write down anyone's password, PIN or verification code.
- You never try to hack, "test" or log in to someone else's account, and never send real scam links or QR codes, even as a demo.
- You never investigate, contact or confront a scammer or bully.
- You never look at, save or forward sexual images of anyone.
- You run sessions only with permission from the school, club or organiser, and with a responsible adult present.
- The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) runs a program called Pass It On, built on the idea that sharing what you know about scams can help protect people you know. Its message: "Share What You Know. Stop Scams." That is the ambassador's job in one line.
- Do the four "ready" checks above on your own phone and mark each one done.
- Write the CISA four core steps on a card in your own words.
- Write your ambassador's promise: your three jobs and your five limits.
- Ask a teacher, club leader or community organiser whether you may run a short session, and who the responsible adult will be.
- Choose your first audience (for example, a younger class, your family, or a seniors' group).
- Write one sentence: "After my session, people will be able to ___."
- Check: you have four ready checks done, a four-steps card, a signed promise and a responsible adult's name.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host] "A lifeguard teaches the rules, watches the pool and calls for help. That's your job online."
[Text on screen: Avoid phishing · Strong passwords · MFA + password manager · Update] "Start with four core steps everyone can take."
[Text on screen: Teach · Show · Refer] "Teach with practice. Show while people do it on their own phone. Refer when it's bigger than you."
[Text on screen: Never touch passwords or codes] "And your promise: you never touch anyone's password or code, and you never test or hack anything."
[Host] "Share what you know. That's how you stop scams."
Do the four ready checks, write your four-steps card and your promise, and get a yes from a responsible adult for one session.
ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude
Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.
For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.
I'm learning "Digital Safety Ambassador: teach" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Before this course, and what an ambassador does". What the lesson teaches: - Before this course: Digital Wellbeing: habits (course 13.15.3). Check that you can still do these four things: turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) on your main email (course 13.15.2), run a privacy settings audit (course 13.15.2), run a notification audit (course 13.15.3), and name your country's emergency number and crisis line (course 13.15.3, lesson 7). If one is shaky, redo it first. You teach best what you already do. - A core message you can teach anyone. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) says "Everyone should take these 4 core steps": - An ambassador has three jobs: - Job - What it looks like - Teach - Short, practical sessions with practice on made-up examples - Show - The person does the steps on their own device while you guide - Refer - Pass worries, crimes and crises to a trusted adult, the platform or an official service The exercise I'm working on: Do the four ready checks, write your four-steps card and your promise, and get a yes from a responsible adult for one session. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Before this course, and what an ambassador does" from the course "Digital Safety Ambassador: teach". Here's what the lesson says: A lifeguard teaches swimming rules, watches the pool and calls for help when someone is in trouble. A lifeguard doesn't jump into the deep end with a stranger's wallet. A digital safety ambassador teaches safe habits, watches out for others and knows exactly whom to call. The activity: Do the four ready checks, write your four-steps card and your promise, and get a yes from a responsible adult for one session. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- CISA, Secure Our World (4 core steps): www.cisa.gov/secure-our-world
- FTC, Pass It On: consumer.ftc.gov/features/pass-it
Know your audience, and teach without fear
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Plan and run a safety session
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Teaching people to stop, check and report scams
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Run an account and privacy clinic
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When someone tells you something: disclosures and crisis
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Measure impact, train new ambassadors and review sessions
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Final project
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Quiz
What are the four core safety steps everyone should take?
Avoid and report phishing, use strong passwords, use MFA and a password manager, update software.
What are an ambassador's three jobs?
Teach, show and refer.
Should an ambassador ever type someone else's password or code?
No. The person always types their own; you never see, type or write them down.
Why avoid scare tactics in online safety teaching?
Guidance says scaring young people is likely to be ineffective and can be harmful, and it can stop people from asking for help.
Why be careful about naming and shaming specific apps?
It can create curiosity, a false sense of security and panic that leads to unnecessary restriction.
Why plan a follow-up instead of one talk?
One-off sessions may only raise awareness in the short term; revisiting learning works better.
What are the three steps for a suspicious message?
Stop, check through a contact you find yourself, and report.
Someone offers to recover your lost money for a fee. What should you think?
It is a warning sign of a recovery scam.
What should you never do with practice examples?
Use real scam links, real QR codes or real people's screenshots.
Someone tells you they are being bullied online. Name two things not to do.
Any two: blame them, promise secrecy, investigate or confront the other person, ask to see or forward images, tell other people.
What should you do if someone is in danger right now?
Call your local emergency number and tell the responsible adult.
After a session, more people report bullying. Does that mean the session failed?
Not necessarily; it may mean people now feel confident to report.
Final exam
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Certificate
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