Online courses
Enhance your teaching practice with practical, self-paced online courses designed for Australian educators. Developed by experienced teacher, author and educational leader Vic Farrell, these courses provide ready-to-use strategies, classroom resources and professional learning that can be applied immediately.
Courses cover Digital Technologies, Cyber Safety, Artificial Intelligence in Education, Data Analysis, Programming, STEM and other emerging areas of the curriculum. Each course includes interactive learning activities, downloadable resources, quizzes and certificates of completion.
Whether you are new to a subject area or looking to update your skills, these flexible online courses allow you to learn at your own pace, anywhere and at any time
Cyber Safety & AI Literacy for Educators
Technology is transforming the way we teach, learn and communicate. While digital tools and Artificial Intelligence (AI) offer exciting opportunities for education, they also introduce new challenges relating to privacy, security, ethics and responsible use.
Whether you are a classroom teacher, school leader, trainer or educational support professional, understanding how to navigate these challenges is essential. This course has been designed to provide practical knowledge and strategies that can be applied immediately in educational settings.
Throughout the course, you will explore common cyber security threats, learn how to protect personal and organisational information, examine the opportunities and risks associated with AI, and develop strategies for promoting safe and responsible technology use.
Why This Course Matters
Schools and training organisations are increasingly reliant on digital technologies. Staff and students regularly use:
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Cloud-based learning platforms
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Online communication tools
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Social media
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Mobile devices
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Artificial Intelligence applications
Unfortunately, cyber threats continue to evolve. Phishing attacks, data breaches, online scams and misinformation can impact both individuals and organisations. At the same time, AI tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Gemini are changing how information is created, shared and assessed.
Educators play a critical role in helping learners use technology safely, ethically and effectively.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
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Explain key cyber safety concepts, including digital footprints, privacy and responsible digital citizenship.
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Identify common cyber security threats affecting educational environments.
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Apply strategies to protect personal and organisational information.
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Evaluate the opportunities and risks associated with Artificial Intelligence.
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Demonstrate ethical and responsible use of AI tools in education.
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Recognise issues relating to academic integrity, bias, misinformation and privacy.
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Develop practical strategies to promote cyber safety and responsible AI use.
Course Structure
This course consists of six modules:
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Module 1: Welcome and Course Overview
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Introduction to the course and learning objectives.
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Module 2: Digital Footprints and Online Privacy
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Understanding how online activities create a lasting digital presence.
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Module 3: Cyber Security Threats in Education
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Recognising phishing, malware, scams and social engineering attacks.
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Module 4: Password Security and Data Protection
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Implementing safe practices to protect personal and organisational information.
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Module 5: Understanding Artificial Intelligence
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Exploring how AI works and its applications in education.
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Module 6: Ethical AI and Academic Integrity
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Examining responsible use, bias, copyright, privacy and assessment considerations.
Final Assessment
Develop a Cyber Safety and Responsible AI Action Plan for an educational setting by answering questions in the final quiz. You will received a competed Action Plan and a Certification of Completion.
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https://vicfarrell.moodlecloud.com/course/view.php?id=8
Introduction to eCommerce
This professional learning course introduces educators to the fundamentals of eCommerce and demonstrates how real-world business concepts can be taught through authentic, project-based learning. Participants learn how to guide students from developing a business idea through to researching a market, validating a product, designing an online store and creating a digital marketing strategy. The course has been designed for secondary teachers delivering Digital Technologies, Business, Entrepreneurship or cross-curricular STEM programs.
Through a series of practical activities and real-world case studies, educators experience the complete eCommerce development process while exploring the technologies that underpin successful online businesses. The course incorporates instructional design principles, multimedia learning, formative assessment and authentic project work to model effective online teaching practices. Participants finish the course with classroom-ready resources and strategies that can be immediately implemented to support student learning and engagement.
Participants will learn how to:
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Conduct market research and identify customer needs.
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Validate business ideas using evidence-based decision making.
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Develop business models and simple business plans.
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Design and build an effective online presence.
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Apply digital marketing strategies, including social media and search optimisation.
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Analyse sales and website data to inform business decisions.
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Create authentic classroom projects aligned with the Australian Curriculum.
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Digital Literacy
for educators
Digital literacy is no longer an optional skill for educators. As digital technologies continue to transform the way we teach, communicate and collaborate, teachers need the confidence and practical skills to use these tools effectively, creatively and responsibly.
This professional learning course introduces educators to the essential knowledge and skills required to work confidently in today's digital learning environments. Through practical activities, real-world examples and guided exploration, participants develop their understanding of digital tools and how they can be used to enhance teaching, learning and professional practice.
The course explores digital communication and collaboration, cloud-based technologies, information literacy, digital content creation, online safety and wellbeing, and the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
Designed for educators across all learning areas and levels of experience, the course focuses on practical applications rather than technology for its own sake. Participants are encouraged to reflect on their existing practices, experiment with new approaches and identify opportunities to integrate digital technologies meaningfully into their teaching.
Participants will learn how to:
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Use cloud-based tools to organise, store, manage and share digital resources.
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Communicate and collaborate effectively using digital platforms and online tools.
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Locate, evaluate and manage digital information, including recognising misinformation and assessing the credibility of online sources.
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Create and adapt engaging digital teaching and learning resources using a range of applications.
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Apply appropriate cyber safety, privacy and security practices to protect personal and professional information.
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Promote digital citizenship, responsible online behaviour and digital wellbeing.
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Explore the opportunities, limitations and ethical considerations of artificial intelligence in education.
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Use digital productivity tools to streamline administrative tasks and improve professional workflows.
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Select digital tools that support diverse learning needs and encourage student participation.
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Develop confidence in evaluating and adopting new and emerging technologies for educational purposes.
Throughout the course, participants are encouraged to apply their learning to their own educational contexts, developing practical strategies and resources that can be implemented immediately.
The aim is not simply to become more proficient with technology, but to develop the confidence, critical thinking and adaptability needed to make informed decisions about when, why and how digital technologies can improve teaching and learning.
Teaching with Microbits
This professional learning course introduces educators to the BBC Micro and demonstrates how it can be used to teach coding, computational thinking and digital technologies through authentic, real-world projects.
Participants will learn the fundamentals of Python programming for the Micro, including inputs, outputs, variables, selection, iteration, radio communication and sensors. Through a series of guided activities, teachers will develop practical skills in creating and testing Micro programs while exploring effective classroom implementation strategies.
The course also introduces the Design Thinking process, enabling educators to move beyond simple coding exercises and engage students in solving meaningful problems. Participants will learn how to guide students through the stages of Empathise, Define, Ideate, Design, Prototype, Test and Improve while developing digital solutions for real-world contexts such as environmental sustainability, accessibility, health and wellbeing, and community challenges.
The course culminates in a collaborative project where participants design, program and evaluate a Micro solution. Educators will develop user stories, algorithms, testing plans and working prototypes while exploring assessment strategies aligned with the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies (Version 9.0).
By the end of this course, participants will have the confidence to integrate Micro programming into their classrooms and facilitate engaging STEM and Digital Technologies projects that foster creativity, innovation, problem-solving and computational thinking.
Curriculum Links
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AC9TDI8P05 – Define and decompose problems
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AC9TDI8P06 – Design algorithms
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AC9TDI8P07 – Design digital solutions
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AC9TDI8P08 – Implement programs
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AC9TDI8P09 – Evaluate digital solutions
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AC9TDI8P10 – Manage projects and communicate ideas
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Digital Technology
Years 7 - 10
This online Digital Technologies course introduces students to the knowledge, skills and processes required to understand, design and develop digital solutions. Aligned with the Australian Curriculum Version 9.0, it supports the teaching of Digital Technologies across Years 7–10 through practical learning activities, real-world applications and creative problem-solving.
Students explore how digital systems operate, how data is represented, stored and analysed, and how algorithms and programming languages are used to develop digital solutions. Learning activities encourage computational thinking, systems thinking and design thinking while developing students' confidence in using technology creatively, responsibly and effectively.
The course addresses the two strands of the Australian Curriculum: Knowledge and Understanding and Processes and Production Skills, with learning outcomes organised across the Years 7–8 and Years 9–10 bands.
Years 7–8 Learning Outcomes
Students will learn how to:
Digital Systems
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Investigate computer hardware specifications, explain how they affect performance and select suitable hardware for different tasks. (AC9TDI8K01)
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Explore how information is transmitted and protected across wired and wireless networks, including the internet. (AC9TDI8K02)
Data Representation
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Investigate how computers represent text, images and audio using numbers. (AC9TDI8K03)
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Explain binary number systems and why computers use binary to represent integers. (AC9TDI8K04)
Data Acquisition, Management and Analysis
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Collect, store and validate data using spreadsheets, databases and other digital tools. (AC9TDI8P01)
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Analyse and visualise data to identify patterns, draw conclusions and make predictions. (AC9TDI8P02)
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Model and query structured data to represent the attributes of objects and events. (AC9TDI8P03)
Investigating and Defining Problems
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Identify and break down real-world problems, develop design criteria and create user stories to establish user needs. (AC9TDI8P04)
Algorithms and Programming
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Design algorithms using nested control structures and represent them through flowcharts and pseudocode. (AC9TDI8P05)
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Trace algorithms, predict their outputs and identify errors. (AC9TDI8P06)
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Implement, modify, test and debug programs using control structures and functions in a general-purpose programming language. (AC9TDI8P09)
Designing and Evaluating Digital Solutions
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Design user experiences for digital systems that respond to identified needs. (AC9TDI8P07)
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Generate, modify, communicate and evaluate alternative digital solution designs. (AC9TDI8P08)
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Evaluate digital solutions against design criteria, user stories and potential future impacts. (AC9TDI8P10)
Collaboration and Project Management
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Use digital tools effectively to create, locate and communicate content using appropriate conventions. (AC9TDI8P11)
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Collaborate responsibly, share content online and plan and manage individual and group projects using agile approaches. (AC9TDI8P12)
Cyber Security, Privacy and Digital Citizenship
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Identify phishing and other cyber security threats and explain how multi-factor authentication protects accounts. (AC9TDI8P13)
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Investigate and manage digital footprints, including evaluating whether the personal data collected by digital systems is necessary. (AC9TDI8P14)
Years 9–10 Learning Outcomes
Students will learn how to:
Digital Systems and Network Security
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Investigate how hardware and software manage, control and secure access to data within networked digital systems. (AC9TDI10K01)
Data Representation and Web Technologies
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Explain how online documents separate content, structure and presentation using technologies such as HTML and CSS. (AC9TDI10K02)
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Investigate data compression techniques and their applications. (AC9TDI10K03)
Data Acquisition, Databases and Analysis
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Develop methods to collect, store and validate data from multiple sources using spreadsheets and databases. (AC9TDI10P01)
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Analyse and visualise complex data interactively, identifying trends and outliers to draw conclusions and make predictions. (AC9TDI10P02)
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Model entities and relationships in structured data and develop queries to retrieve information. (AC9TDI10P03)
Investigating and Defining Problems
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Investigate stakeholder needs, create user stories and decompose complex real-world problems into manageable components. (AC9TDI10P04)
Algorithms and Software Development
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Design algorithms incorporating logical operators and represent them using flowcharts and pseudocode. (AC9TDI10P05)
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Validate algorithms and programs by testing their outputs against a range of test cases. (AC9TDI10P06)
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Develop, modify and debug modular programs using algorithms, data structures and object-oriented programming techniques. (AC9TDI10P09)
User Experience and Digital Solution Design
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Design and prototype user experiences that meet identified stakeholder needs. (AC9TDI10P07)
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Generate, refine, communicate and critically evaluate alternative designs for digital solutions. (AC9TDI10P08)
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Evaluate existing and developed solutions against design criteria, user stories, future impacts and opportunities for enterprise. (AC9TDI10P10)
Digital Collaboration and Project Management
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Use emerging digital technologies and advanced software features to create interactive content for diverse audiences. (AC9TDI10P11)
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Plan and manage individual and collaborative agile projects using project management tools, accounting for risks and responsibilities. (AC9TDI10P12)
Cyber Security and Privacy
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Develop cyber security threat models and investigate vulnerabilities associated with software, users and software supply chains. (AC9TDI10P13)
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Apply the Australian Privacy Principles to critically evaluate and manage digital footprints and personal information collected by digital systems. (AC9TDI10P14)