Interactive simulation tools for skills practice
AI Workshop
// how AI actually worksHow AI Predicts the Next Word
A presenter-led walkthrough in five short modules: words become numbers, the scale of training data, rolling weighted dice, the confident machine, and the black box. Plain-language, no maths background needed.
Open tool →How Image Generation Works
The companion to How AI Predicts the Next Word: how a machine that learnt from millions of labelled pictures can paint one nobody has ever seen. Cells that go ping, edges to beak to bird, nudged connections, then the reverse trick: a crocodile driving a Hilux, painted out of pure static and different every single run. Ends with a whole-room activity.
Open tool →Can AI Read My Handwriting and Understand My Voice?
Upload a page of field notes and a voice memo, then follow them through the machine: OCR and speech-to-text explained step by step, a messiness dial that turns neat notes into confident nonsense, and the journey your file makes to an overseas data centre and back. Ends with the one question to ask before uploading anything.
Open tool →IT & Cyber Student Simulations
The Maths That Guards the Internet
Why encryption works and how quantum computing breaks it: prime padlocks (RSA), secrets in public (Diffie–Hellman), elliptic curves, then Shor's algorithm and the post-quantum deadlines. High-school maths only.
Open tool →Inside the QR Code
From Morse code to the checkerboard in your camera roll: build a real barcode, light up the anatomy of a live QR code, paint damage on it and watch Reed–Solomon mathematics shrug, then finish on quishing and how to read a link before you tap. Every code on screen is real and scannable.
Open tool →How Passwords Get Cracked
The maths and the shortcuts behind password cracking: online versus offline attacks, an entropy calculator you can type into, the dictionary rules that shred "P@ssw0rd1" in seconds, and why a boring four-word phrase beats a clever short one.
Open tool →Email Header Analyser
Read the hidden headers behind an email to spot spoofed senders and phishing; the metadata a scammer cannot easily fake.
Open tool →Help Desk Ticket Simulator
Work eight realistic support tickets through investigate, diagnose, respond and document; scored on efficient diagnosis, not exhaustive questioning.
Open tool →Firewall Gatekeeper
Learn network ports by consequence: allow or deny live traffic, write rules for a real server, then break and fix a faulty rule table.
Open tool →Network Architect
Subnetting taught by the problem it solves; design subnets with a live network and host boundary and instant feedback on host counts and wasted space.
Open tool →Syntax Crammers
// type it until it sticksExcel Formulas
From SUM to XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, dynamic arrays and structured references: the formulas that do real work, including the $ locks and gotchas that usually trip people up.
Open crammer →Bash & Linux Commands
The terminal essentials: navigating, managing files, grep and find, pipes and redirection, permissions, processes and remote access; typed until they are reflex.
Open crammer →PowerShell
The Verb-Noun commands behind Windows automation: files and folders, the object pipeline, JSON and CSV data, web requests, plus the aliases that map them back to Bash.
Open crammer →MCP Config JSON
The JSON that wires AI tools together: strings, arrays and nesting done right, local and remote server entries, and the safe way to handle secrets with environment variables.
Open crammer →The Crammer Hub
All four decks in one place, with the method explained: learn, copy, recall. Every card is shown, then typed while you look at it, then typed from memory; missed ones circle back until they stick. Progress is saved in your own browser between visits.
Open the hub →MS Excel
// interactive skill buildersWall of Rows → Answers: Sort & Filter
A 21-slide click-to-build tutorial for absolute beginners, no formulas anywhere: click once in the data, sort largest to smallest, and read the answer off the top row. Covers A-to-Z and largest-to-smallest sorts, two-level sorts with the Sort dialog, checkbox and number filters, stacking and clearing filters — and the classic traps, from scrambled rows to the filter nobody knew was on. Built on NT Cyber Pulse survey data.
Your First Formulas: SUM, AVERAGE & the Fill Handle
A 22-slide click-to-build tutorial for absolute beginners writing their very first formulas: the equals sign, cell references, then SUM and AVERAGE assembling one piece at a time while the matching cells light up. Covers the fill handle, how copies re-aim themselves, and the dollar-sign pin for shared cells like a GST rate. Built on a council fleet fuel log and a community pool gate tally.
Open tutorial →Dates Are Numbers: Dates & Formatting
An 18-slide click-to-build tutorial on the secret life of Excel dates: every date is really a day number counting from 1 January 1900. Strip the formatting off and watch the number appear, subtract dates to count days, see why text dates sort scrambled, and learn the typing habits and the year-month-day format that never lies. Built on a council works request log and a leave planner.
Open tutorial →VLOOKUP → XLOOKUP
A 30-slide click-to-build tutorial that takes a VLOOKUP user to XLOOKUP fluency: formulas assemble one argument at a time while the matching spreadsheet cells light up. Covers look-left, spilled arrays, match and search modes, and two-way lookups — then hands you three challenges to teach it yourself.
Data → Answers: PivotTables
A 27-slide click-to-build tutorial that turns a raw log into reports: drag fields into the four areas and watch the summary grid assemble itself. Covers grouping, slicing, aggregation choices, filters, date grouping, the refresh habit — and the classic traps, from Count-in-disguise to blank-versus-zero.
Open tutorial →Detail → Summary: Group & Outline
A 24-slide click-to-build tutorial that folds a big worksheet into its story: group rows, collapse them with the +/− buttons and level controls, and let the Subtotal dialog build the whole outline in one hit. Built on NT Cyber Pulse survey data — suburb by suburb, the numbers on shared passwords and missing MFA tell their own story. Covers SUBTOTAL vs SUM, nested levels, column grouping, Auto Outline and copying only the visible cells.
MS Word
// interactive skill buildersA Table of Contents That Builds Itself
A 19-slide click-to-build tutorial that takes a beginner from hand-typed contents pages to an automatic Table of Contents: apply heading styles, insert the table from the References tab, then edit the document and update the table in two clicks. Comes with a practice document to fix in real Word.
Networking Simulations
// Certificate IV, practise before the real gearNetwork Device Explorer
Identify routers, switches, hubs and more; what each device does and where it sits in a network.
Open tool →CLI Command Navigator
Practise core Cisco IOS commands in a safe emulated console before touching real equipment.
Open tool →Cable & Connector Identifier
Recognise cables and connectors, and get the T568A and T568B wiring pinouts right.
Open tool →IP Address Calculator
Work through subnetting: masks, network and broadcast addresses, host ranges, and VLSM design.
Open tool →LAN Builder Simulator
Drag devices onto a canvas and wire up a small local network to see how a LAN fits together.
Open tool →Wireless Router Config
Configure a home or small-office wireless router: SSID, security mode, channels and DHCP.
Open tool →Switch Configuration Lab
Configure a managed switch: interfaces, VLANs, trunks and port security, through guided lab tasks.
Open tool →Router Configuration Lab
Configure a router across five labs: interfaces, static and OSPF routing, ACLs and NAT.
Open tool →Troubleshooting Simulator
Diagnose broken networks scenario by scenario, using the OSI layers and the right tool for each fault.
Open tool →Digital Workplace Skills
// everyday digital literacy and cyber awarenessLogging In
Practise signing in to a work computer or account: usernames, passwords, and what to do when a login fails.
Open tool →Password Security
Build strong, memorable passwords and learn why reuse is risky, with instant feedback on password strength.
Open tool →Email Basics
Read, reply, and send email with confidence; practise the everyday actions in a familiar inbox layout.
Open tool →Outlook Calendar
Find your way around a calendar: create appointments, read a busy week, and manage your time.
Open tool →Teams & Channels Explorer
A free-play copy of Microsoft Teams: explore teams and channels, post messages, @mention people, reply in threads, and find shared files.
Open tool →Meeting Host Cockpit
Host a Teams meeting: mute participants, check attendance, and practise recording the right way, with the NT legal side of consent explained.
Open tool →Record, Find & Share a Recording
Record a presentation in Teams so people who missed it can watch it back, then track down where the recording landed (OneDrive, SharePoint, or the meeting chat) and share it safely. Covers the 120-day expiry catch and what Teams Premium does, and does not, add.
Open tool →Files & Sharing
Share files in a chat and in a channel, watch a live cloud map show where each file really lives, and see why links beat emailed copies.
Open tool →Planner Basics
Run a task board in a free-play copy of Microsoft Planner: create tasks, assign them, set due dates, drag jobs between buckets and tick them off, in Board or List view.
Open tool →Microsoft Teams Meetings
Set up a Teams meeting invitation step by step, and get comfortable with the meeting screen.
Open tool →Setting Your Status in Teams
Click through the six Teams statuses to see what each one really means: what sets it automatically, who can see it, how long it lasts, and the one status that actually silences your notifications.
Open tool →Katherine Delegation Recap
A worked example of a Teams Premium meeting recap: the recording-with-consent badge, the AI summary, and one follow-up task with a plausible, specific error that a person has to catch before the minutes go out.
Open tool →Wi-Fi Settings & Safety
Connect to a wireless network, learn which networks to trust with which tasks (hotel and airport Wi-Fi included), and see what a workplace VPN actually does.
Open tool →Search & AI Overviews
Ask Google questions in plain, natural language, read AI overviews with a critical eye, and learn why search is changing; a summary is a starting point, not the full answer.
Open tool →Spot the Scam
Sort real messages from scams by reading the tell-tale signs; sender address, tone, and what they ask you to do.
Open tool →Shutting Down Safely
Log off and shut down properly so your work is saved and the next person gets a clean start.
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