HacktivityLabSheets/ACTION-ITEMS-GUIDE.md

Action Items Guide for Lab Sheets

This guide shows how to use the special styling classes to highlight action items and important sections in your lab sheets.

Available Action Item Classes

1. .action-item - General Action Required

Use this for general actions that students need to perform.

<div class="action-item">
  <h3>Task 1: Install Required Software</h3>
  <p>Download and install the following tools:</p>
  <ul>
    <li>Nmap</li>
    <li>Wireshark</li>
    <li>Metasploit Framework</li>
  </ul>
</div>

2. .warning-item - Important Warnings

Use this for warnings or important notices.

<div class="warning-item">
  <h3>⚠️ Important Warning</h3>
  <p>Only perform these activities in a controlled lab environment. Never attempt these techniques on systems you don't own or have explicit permission to test.</p>
</div>

3. .danger-item - Critical Warnings

Use this for critical warnings or dangerous operations.

<div class="danger-item">
  <h3>🚨 Critical Security Notice</h3>
  <p>This lab involves creating actual malware samples. Ensure you are working in an isolated environment and have proper authorization.</p>
</div>

4. .success-item - Completion/Success

Use this to indicate successful completion or positive outcomes.

<div class="success-item">
  <h3>✅ Lab Complete</h3>
  <p>Congratulations! You have successfully completed all tasks in this lab. Make sure to document your findings in your lab report.</p>
</div>

5. .action-text - Inline Action Items

Use this for inline action items within paragraphs.

<p>First, <span class="action-text">open a terminal window</span> and navigate to the lab directory. Then <span class="action-text">run the setup script</span> to configure your environment.</p>

Markdown Usage

Since Jekyll processes Markdown, you can also use HTML directly in your Markdown files:

## Lab Exercise 1

<div class="action-item">
### Step 1: Network Discovery
Use Nmap to scan the target network and identify active hosts.

```bash
nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24

### ⚠️ Legal Notice Remember to only scan networks you own or have explicit permission to test.

```

Color Schemes

The action items automatically adapt to both light and dark themes:

• Light Theme: Uses lighter backgrounds with darker text
• Dark Theme: Uses darker backgrounds with lighter text
• Icons: Each type has a distinctive emoji icon
• Borders: Left border in theme-appropriate colors

Best Practices

1. Use sparingly: Don't overuse action items - they should highlight truly important sections
2. Be specific: Make action items clear and actionable
3. Consistent language: Use consistent terminology across your lab sheets
4. Test both themes: Check how your action items look in both light and dark modes

Examples in Context

Here's how you might structure a typical lab section:

## Network Scanning Lab

<div class="action-item">
### Task 1: Basic Network Scan
Perform a basic network scan of the target range 192.168.1.0/24.

```bash
nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24

### Important Only scan networks you own or have explicit permission to test.

### Task 2: Service Detection Once you've identified active hosts, perform service detection on the first three hosts.

nmap -sV 192.168.1.1,2,3

### Completion If you can see the services running on the target hosts, you have successfully completed this lab section.

```

This creates a visually distinct and easy-to-follow lab experience for students.

Highlight Syntax

You can also use the ==highlight== syntax to highlight specific text inline:

This is normal text, but this ==important information== should be highlighted.

You can also highlight ==multiple words== in the same paragraph.

This will render as:

• Light theme: Yellow background with black text
• Dark theme: Darker yellow background with black text

When to Use Highlight vs Action Items

• Use ==highlight== for emphasizing important information, key terms, or concepts
• Use action item classes for actual tasks, warnings, or structured content blocks

Example Usage

## Network Security Lab

<div class="action-item">
### Task 1: Scan the Network
Use Nmap to scan the ==target network== and identify ==active hosts==.

```bash
nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24

### Important Only scan networks you ==own== or have explicit permission to test.

```

This combines both highlighting techniques for maximum clarity.