Download and Prepare

Begin by downloading the Operation Outbreak mobile app and Educator Toolkit from the Operation Outbreak website. The toolkit includes lesson plans, facilitator guides and sample debrief questions that connect the simulation to your curriculum objectives.

Use your grant to purchase printed materials like intervention cards, visual aids and student handouts that enhance the experience. Test the app on a few devices beforehand to ensure smooth operation and familiarise yourself with how the pathogen spread works through Bluetooth proximity.

Review the facilitator guide to understand key learning moments and prepare discussion questions that will help students connect their experience to epidemiological concepts. Consider how the simulation fits into your existing unit—whether you're teaching about infectious diseases, systems thinking, public health or scientific modelling.

This preparation ensures you can guide students through the experience confidently and maximise the educational value.

Set Up Your Classroom

Arrange your classroom to allow free movement whilst maintaining a manageable space for the simulation. Students need to be able to walk around and interact naturally, as this proximity drives the virtual disease transmission.

Brief students on the activity's purpose: they'll experience firsthand how diseases spread through populations and learn why individual actions matter during outbreaks. Explain that the app tracks proximity between devices via Bluetooth to simulate transmission, but doesn't record personal information or track individual identities.

Have students download the app or organise them into small groups sharing devices. Do a quick connectivity test to ensure all devices are communicating properly. Set clear expectations about respectful participation and device usage during the activity.

Launch the Simulation

Introduce the scenario: a new pathogen has entered the community, and students will experience how it spreads. Start the simulation through the app, which randomly designates initial "infected" individuals without revealing their identities.

Allow students to move around the space naturally for the designated time period—typically 30-60 minutes depending on your class schedule. As students interact, the app tracks proximity contacts and simulates transmission based on the pathogen's characteristics.

You can pause to introduce interventions like virtual masks or vaccines through the app, helping students see how protective measures affect spread rates. Maintain an engaging atmosphere whilst encouraging students to observe patterns as they develop. The unpredictability of who becomes infected creates authentic tension that mirrors real outbreak uncertainty.

Analyse and Debrief

After the simulation concludes, guide students through the data visualisations generated by the app. Display transmission chains showing how the disease spread through the class, identifying who became "super spreaders" and which contacts led to new infections.

Ask students what surprised them most—many are shocked by how quickly diseases spread or how a few key individuals can drive transmission. Facilitate discussion about what interventions could have slowed the outbreak and why individual choices affect collective health outcomes.

Connect the simulation patterns to real-world outbreak data, highlighting how the simplified model reflects actual disease dynamics.

This reflective conversation helps students connect outbreak science to broader issues of teamwork, ethics, civic responsibility and evidence-based decision-making. Many teachers find this debrief session generates the deepest insights and most memorable learning moments.

Extend the Learning

Connect the simulation experience to ongoing curriculum topics. Students might research real outbreaks, compare different pathogens' characteristics, or explore how communities have responded to health crises throughout history.

Consider having students create presentations about specific aspects that interested them during the simulation. Some teachers invite local health professionals to discuss real outbreak response protocols, connecting classroom learning to community practice.

Document your experience with photos or student reflections to share with the Operation Outbreak community, inspiring other educators whilst celebrating your students' learning.

Consider running the simulation again later in the year with different parameters, allowing students to test new intervention strategies and deepen their understanding. Many schools make Operation Outbreak an annual tradition that students eagerly anticipate.