General Digital Wallets (15 min)

Empathize phase

Problem Statement: Alice wants a secure way to store and manage her cryptocurrency. However, she realizes that her decision on where to store it affects both her control and the security of her funds. Alice needs to consider the balance between security, trust, and ease of access.

Guiding Questions for Students:

What factors should Alice prioritize when storing her cryptocurrency?
What are the potential risks and benefits of having full control over her wallet versus relying on a third party?
Are there options that allow her to maintain some security without managing all aspects herself?

Define phase

Brainstorm: Ask students to brainstorm different approaches Alice could take to manage her digital wallet securely. Encourage them to think about how much control Alice would have over her funds with each approach and how each option might affect security.

Share and Discuss: After brainstorming, have students share their ideas and list them on the board. Guide them to categorize the options into:

Self-Managed Wallets (full control, high security)
Third-Party Wallets with Offline Storage (shared control, moderate security)
Online-Only Third-Party Wallets (least control, high convenience)

Smart contract communication (15min)

Empathize phase

Problem Statement: Alice wants to exchange some tokens using Uniswap. She knows there are different ways to interact with Uniswap’s smart contract, but each option varies in terms of security, control, and ease of use. Alice needs to consider which approach best suits her needs.

Guiding Questions for Students:

What factors should Alice consider when choosing a method to interact with a smart contract?
What are the potential risks and benefits of using a direct connection versus relying on third-party applications?
Are there methods that allow Alice to interact with Uniswap’s smart contract securely without requiring extensive setup?

Define phase

Brainstorm: Ask students to brainstorm different ways Alice could use Uniswap’s smart contract to exchange tokens. Encourage them to think about how much control each option would give Alice and how it might impact security and usability.

Share and Discuss: After brainstorming, have students share their ideas and list them on the board. Guide them to categorize the options into:

Using Uniswap with Metamask (convenient, trusted app interface)
Using a General Ethereum Explorer App (like Etherscan, less direct control but good for verification)
Using personal Node (highest control, requires ABI configuration, but more complex setup)