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Cyber Command is a paired Battle Arena experience designed for classroom play.
Students put their Python skills to the test in a live, head-to-head cybersecurity tournament—coding attacks, mounting defences and making tactical decisions as the incident unfolds.
As MyComputerBrain’s first turn-based classroom activity, Cyber Command takes students beyond learning Python and challenges them to apply it under pressure.
Why Cyber Command matters
Python concepts such as print(), input(), loops, slicing and conditionals are often taught as separate skills. Cyber Command brings them together in a high-stakes cybersecurity scenario.
Students use familiar Python building blocks to decode intercepted passwords, analyse phishing attempts, harden accounts and contain emerging threats. As the incident escalates, they must also make operational decisions under pressure.
This creates a more social and dynamic learning experience. Students compete, react and adapt, while seeing the same cyber incident from both the attacker’s and defender’s perspective.
Always played by two people
Cyber Command always involves two players:
two students
one student and one teacher
two teachers
This pairing model makes Cyber Command especially flexible for teachers:
it works in full-class pairings
it works when student numbers are odd
it works for teacher demonstration rounds
it lets teachers challenge colleagues across departments, schools and professional networks
The engine allows for pairings of players from the same class, different classes and even different schools. The engine automatically ensures privacy of the participants.
At the centre of the experience is the Gate. This is the hub students return to between rounds and missions. From the Gate, they choose their Red Team or Blue Team role, launch the next mission, view what has already been completed, and continue through the tournament pathway as new missions unlock.
One player takes the Red Team role and the other takes the Blue Team role.
Red Team always starts the mission and generates a joining code. Blue Team enters that code to join the same live battle session. The timer starts once both players have joined, which makes classroom setup much easier to manage.
What students actually do
Cyber Command is structured as a tournament with three mission stages:
Mission 1: Passwords
Red decodes and exploits weak credentials. Blue strengthens passwords and blocks escalation.
Mission 2: Phishing
Red identifies targets and builds role-based lures. Blue triages suspicious messages and applies adaptive access controls.
Mission 3: Infiltration
Both teams move from coding into strategic choices across multiple rounds of attack, containment, disruption, and recovery.
Certificate
Students finish their pathway and receive their tournament certificate.
The first two missions are code-driven. Students complete Python tasks and, when their solution passes the required checks, the battle engine submits their strong action for that round.
The third mission is different. It is a non-coding battle focused on judgement. Students must choose between stronger and weaker responses while trying to outplay the opposing team.
Main features
Live Red Team vs Blue Team gameplay
Students play inside the same server-backed battle session.
Timed rounds with alternating turns
Red acts first, then Blue responds. Each side has its own countdown. If time expires, the engine automatically advances with the weaker action to keep the battle moving.
Story-driven cyber missions
The tournament is built around password attacks, phishing, privilege escalation, containment, and incident response.
A central Gate for mission launch and progression
Students return to the Gate as the central launch point for each mission, making the tournament structure clear and the next step easy to manage.
A direct bridge from Python to cybersecurity
Cyber Command builds on the logic foundations from Python Intro and shows why those concepts matter in a realistic digital scenario.
A final strategic battle
Mission 3 broadens the experience beyond syntax and into tactical thinking, prioritisation, and attack-versus-defence trade-offs.
A teacher-manageable battle system
Teachers can track sessions, pairings, scores, elapsed time, and battle history through the Battle Dashboard in the Teacher Account section.
Classroom use
Cyber Command works best after students have already completed a Python entry course and are comfortable with:
print()
input()
if and else
for loops
simple string checks
slicing
Because the tournament is paired, it naturally creates discussion. Students compare offensive and defensive thinking, explain why they chose certain actions, and see how coding decisions connect to system behaviour.
The format also helps teachers vary how they run the session:
one run with fixed roles
a second run with roles swapped
a teacher-led demonstration round before class play
small-team play with one side coordinating against another
Designed for playful teaching
Cyber Command is competitive, but it is still tightly structured for classroom use.
The battle engine controls turn order.
Students only see the actions relevant to their current turn.
Button order is randomised, so they cannot rely on position instead of judgement.
Coding checks are tied to the instructional sequence.
The central Gate makes mission progression visible and easy to manage.
This keeps the tournament engaging without losing the clarity teachers need.
A new way to continue after Python Intro
Cyber Command expands what a Python follow-up can look like. Instead of experiencing course fatigue, students can enter a live tournament where code, strategy, and cybersecurity are tightly linked.
For teachers, it offers a practical way to revisit Python concepts, introduce cyber defence thinking, and create a memorable shared classroom event. Session oversight and resets are managed through the Battle Dashboard in the Teacher Account section.
Cyber Command is now part of the MyComputerBrain Battle Arena. Student accounts are required for this activity and can be created by teachers under Account -> Shop.
To let the Games begin, head to MyComputerBrain.
Now live on MyComputerBrain, CurveLab brings powerful mathematical function analysis into a single, accessible learning environment.
It is free on MyComputerBrain, does not require student accounts, and does not make use of GenAI, which makes it easy to use in class, for homework, or for independent revision.
Built for mathematical reasoning and repeated classroom and home use, CurveLab combines graphing, symbolic differentiation, numerical feature detection, and written analysis in one place. Students explore their functions, interpret derivatives and check their own work in an integrated environment.
Students enter a function and receive a structured explanation of the graph and its key features, including x-intercepts, y-intercepts, minima, maxima, turning points, concavity, and points of inflection.
Why CurveLab matters
The main value of CurveLab is speed of feedback.
When students can quickly see whether a graph, derivative, intercept, turning point, or classification is correct, they can confirm or correct their thinking while the reasoning is still active. That shortens the gap between attempt and response.
CurveLab makes that possible by bringing the graph, the marked points, and the written analysis together in one place. Students can test an idea, inspect the result, and adjust their mental model immediately.
Useful from Year 9 onward
CurveLab is especially relevant in senior secondary mathematics, but it is also useful earlier.
From Year 9 onward, students begin to encounter functions and identify basic graph features such as:
x-intercepts
y-intercepts
the overall shape of a graph
the connection between an equation and its visual representation
At this stage, CurveLab helps students build familiarity with function notation and graph behaviour.
It is also useful for solving quadratic expressions, because the solutions of f(x)=0 appear directly as the graph’s x-intercepts. That gives students a concrete bridge between algebraic solving and visual reasoning.
What students actually do
CurveLab is intentionally simple to use.
Students enter a function, choose an interval manually or use Auto view, and then inspect the analysis produced by the tool. The graph and the written explanation work together:
the graph shows f(x), f'(x), and f''(x)
key points are marked directly on the curve
the written explanation is organised by mathematical concept
students can zoom, pan, hide or show graphs, and focus on one relationship at a time
This makes CurveLab suitable for several kinds of work:
introducing functions and graph behaviour
practising curve sketching
revising differential calculus
checking hand-calculated derivatives
discussing misconceptions in whole-class teaching
Main features
Combined graph and analysis view
Students see a plotted curve together with a structured written explanation of important features such as intercepts, minima, maxima, turning points, concavity, and points of inflection.
Automatic derivative generation
CurveLab computes derivatives and uses them to analyse stationary points, turning points, concavity, local extrema, and points of inflection.
Marked points on the graph
Important points are shown directly on the graph so students can move between the visual representation and the written reasoning.
Linked graph and analysis text interaction
The graph and the written analysis are connected. Hovering over a marked point in the graph highlights the corresponding point in the analysis, and hovering over the point in the analysis shows it on the graph.
Graph comparison
f(x), f'(x), and f''(x) can be shown or hidden to help students compare how the derivative graphs relate to the original function.
Adjustable interval selection
Students can enter their own interval or use Auto view to focus on the most relevant part of the graph.
A derivative checker
Students can enter their own version of f'(x), f''(x), or f'''(x) and compare it against CurveLab’s result numerically across the selected interval.
Support for common senior-school notation
CurveLab handles powers, rational expressions, trigonometric functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, square roots, absolute value, inverse tangent, and related notation used in school mathematics.
Why the derivative checker matters
One of the strongest features of CurveLab is the derivative checker.
Students often assume that if their derivative does not look exactly the same as the model answer, it must be wrong. In practice, equivalent expressions can be written in different forms.
CurveLab compares student-entered derivatives numerically over the selected interval. That means a student’s answer can still be accepted if it gives the same values, even when the expression looks different on the page.
This matters for teaching because it keeps the focus on mathematical equivalence.
It also supports a faster feedback loop. Students do not have to stay uncertain for long about whether a result is correct. They can test it while the reasoning is still active, which makes correction and consolidation more immediate.
Designed for teaching
CurveLab is useful because it is structured for learning.
The analysis is grouped by concept in a clear, structured way.
The interval can be controlled, which matters for classroom questions.
The tool intentionally does not fully simplify every derivative, so students can still see the underlying differentiation structure.
The graph and the text analysis are designed to support each other.
This makes the tool useful for teacher explanation, guided practice, paired discussion, and independent checking.
Classroom use
CurveLab works well in lessons where students first predict a graph’s features and then test those predictions.
A typical lesson flow might look like this:
Students are given a function and asked to sketch its likely behaviour.
They calculate derivatives by hand.
The class enters the function into CurveLab.
Students compare the generated analysis with their own predictions.
They revise their sketch and explain what they would now change.
This approach keeps the tool in a supporting role. CurveLab is most valuable when it helps students refine mathematical reasoning, not when it replaces it.
Use at home
CurveLab is also well suited to revision outside class.
Students can use it to:
test textbook functions
revisit difficult curve-sketching questions
compare their own derivative work
zoom into difficult regions of a graph
rewrite the generated explanation in their own words
This makes it a practical bridge between direct instruction and independent study.
A new mathematics tool for MyComputerBrain
CurveLab continues the mission of MyComputerBrain to open up black boxes.
CurveLab fills that role for functions and introductory calculus.
For teachers, it offers a practical way to connect algebra, graphs, derivatives, and feedback in one interface. For students, it offers a clearer path from symbolic procedure to mathematical understanding.
CurveLab does not make use of generative AI. Its graphing, differentiation, and analysis are fully deterministic, so the same input produces the same result every time.
Not Just Coding: A Mystery Adventure in Blockly!
Last year, we launched our Introduction to Python course — a free, narrative-driven experience where students learned core programming concepts.
Today, we are pleased to anounce the release of its Blockly-version for upper primary students. The Blockly course closely mirrors its Python sister, allowing educators to provide an earlier entry and a levelled learning experience to their students.
Introducing Cyber Mystery: AI & Coding with Blockly
Cyber Mystery is a free, browser-based course designed to teach students in Years 5–6 the fundamentals of Blockly coding through an intriguing, story-driven mission.
🧩 Engaging Student Activities
The activities are crafted to challenge students to:
Use Blockly to interact with and repair a mysterious system.
Apply coding concepts like `print()`, `input()`, variables, decisions and loops through immersive problems.
Encode information in a binary matrix.
Hack an Artificial Intelligence (a simple neural network - safe for students)
🎮 Where Story Meets Syntax
In this engaging course, students don’t begin with a simple “Hello World.”
Instead, they uncover a strange program on the school server. With each discovery, they awaken a dormant system. In order to get repaired, the system teaches students how to code. Once repaired, the system tries to leave the school server and take over the internet - oops!
We added a super-sleek and easy-to-use Blockly Editor with runtime code highlighting, code checking, variable monitoring and solution-guided code feedback.
Along the students' journey, we placed plenty of quizzes and mini-challenges, spiced up with cinematic videos and cool music.
What starts as a routine repair job quickly transforms into an epic awakening...
The final twist? A dramatic endgame that is worthy of a storyline that blends the worlds of The Matrix and Terminator.
Rank progression and badges 🎖️
As students demonstrate mastery of key concepts in the mini-challenges and the endgame, they unlock ranks and collect badges.
Rank progression is persistent, meaningful, and tied directly to mastery — giving students a strong sense of momentum and achievement. The rank carries across to the award ceremony where we print it on the student certificate.
Multi-Language support 🇦🇺 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 🇨🇳
The course is available in English, German, French, Spanish and Mandarin, supporting a wide range of native language speakers. Or just use it as a different way to teacher LOTE.
Teacher Support
The course contains a central info page for teacher, as well as solutions and explanations for every coding challenge, directly baked into each task, only visible to teachers.
How to get started
The course is free but anonymous student accounts are required, so that students can collect points and badges, receive a certificate and for teachers to track student progress.
As a teacher, log in to MyComputerBrain (or create a teacher account)
Head to the Shop and create free student accounts for the Cyber Mystery Course. No payment details are required.
Distribute the login/password combinations to your students and have them log into MyComputerBrain.
Students see their licensed courses directly on the homepage.
Our serious commitment to student privacy is on record here.
👩🏫 Designed for Real Classrooms
This course is:
✅ Free for all learners.
✅ Aligned with the Australian Curriculum v9.
✅ Suitable for Years 5–6, requiring no prior coding experience.
✅ Fully online—no setup or installation needed.
✅ Hands-on, featuring activities, mini-challenges, and quizzes.
This course connects Digital Technologies, Cyber Security, English, Critical and Creative Thinking, Digital Literacy Capabilities, Ethical Understanding, and AI Curriculum Connections.
📚 Prepare Your Students to Code
Give your students the Blockly course they won't forget. Engage them with a one-of-a-kind learning experience that sparks their curiosity.
The BIGGER Picture.
The Cyber Mystery course can be the beginning of a fantastic learning journey for your students. Once they have completed the course, they can continue with the Python intro course, and from there do the Academy of AI Cyber Defence. These are three free and highly engaging courses that are designed to work well together.
