Technology, AI & CybersecurityLevel 1 · 6–8 hrs5 sessions · 75–90 minutesTeam 4–6 (5 is ideal; see roles)Pilot brief, draft
Work today's queue of 12 tickets, write 3 how-to articles for our most common problems, and leave a clear hand-off note for the next shift.
Client scenario
Welcome to the Help Desk. You've joined the IT help desk at Harbor & Pine Accounting (fictional), an accounting office with 15 staff. It's tax season, everyone is busy, and the ticket queue is full.
Client: Our IT Manager (the teacher), and the 15 office staff who send us tickets. Most of them aren't tech experts.
Staff can't work when their technology breaks. The queue has 12 open tickets, and the office has no easy how-to articles, so the same questions keep coming back.
Roles
Queue Manager (project coordinator)
Support Technicians (1–2)
Knowledge-Base Writer
Quality Lead
The twist: The IT Manager hands over the Incident Pack (H3): three staff report the same email asking them to reset their password through a link. One of them says, "I already clicked it and typed my password."
Standards mapped
Mapped means the framework is verified and the teacher confirms the evidence. It isn't a claim that a project meets a standard.
NACE (Dec 2025)
ED Employability Skills Framework
CA Standards for Career Ready Practice
CCSS ELA
ISTE Students
Not tagged in this brief: NGSS SEP, CCSS Math.
Safety, devices and privacy
School devices only. No phones, and no personal accounts.
This is a paper simulation. Students never log into, reset, repair, install or change any real system, including school computers, printers, Wi-Fi or accounts. All "fixes" are written steps, checked against the guide sheets.
Never type, write or share a real password. Practice tickets use made-up information only.
The sample phishing email is a printout of a fictional message. There are no live links. Students never visit look-alike sites or test real phishing.
No student names or personal information in deliverables. Sign work "Help Desk, Team [#]".
Adults handle any real equipment. If a school printer actually jams during class, students tell the teacher.
Creative Dad On the Job is in-class client project work. It is not a paid, off-campus On-the-Job Training (OJT) placement.
Budget levels
Totals and Amazon links come from the materials sheet.
Materials links go to Amazon. Prices are estimates and may change.
Quick Start
Digital downloads only. $0 to buy. Printing is noted separately.
$0 to buy. Printing $4–$8, noted separately.
Quick Start would drop Required items: Ticket cards (Tickets 1–12) and Incident Pack — the brief has no print-only version; check it still works
Guide sheets G1–G7 and office IT rulesPrinting1 set per team$2–4
Sessions, role duties, deliverables, materials, free tools, and the teacher setup use the same Creative Dad account as the project library. There is no separate student login.