How Manatee Tech Uses Thunkable for Cybersecurity Careers

How one instructor turned app building into proof employers can see

Craig De Toma needed to add coding to Florida’s cybersecurity framework. With Thunkable, his students build real apps that double as portfolio pieces.

$3,600 a year, the cost of the nonprofit tool students are replacing

At a glance

• Educator: Craig De Toma, Applied Cybersecurity Instructor
• Program: Applied Cybersecurity
• Students: Up to 20 per cohort, high schoolers to adults
• Where Thunkable fits: App security and DevSecOps

The challenge

Coding, built for cybersecurity

Florida’s updated frameworks required a coding component. HTML and CSS felt like a separate course, so Craig needed a tool that beginners could pick up fast and certified students would take seriously.

Easy to teach, tied to security

Thunkable gave Craig a visual, logical way to teach how apps work, connected to the app security and DevSecOps topics already in his curriculum.

The approach

• First 1.5 weeks: Hands-on Thunkable, start to finish.
• By hand: Students learn the logic block by block.
• Then AI: Turned on for sign-in and databases.

Fundamentals before shortcuts

Craig opens each cohort with a week and a half of hands-on Thunkable, walking through the full app-building process. Students build by hand first. Only after they understand the logic does he turn on AI.

His room mixes complete beginners with students who already hold A+ and Network+ certifications. Thunkable meets both: newcomers get a clear starting point, and experienced students go deep on how apps are built and secured.

“It’s easy to teach because it’s click and drag, and the logic is clear.”

AI where it helps, control where it counts

Students used AI where block logic gets complex, especially sign-in screens and database connections, and saw exactly where each piece belongs. Some built the same app twice, by hand and with AI, and preferred the version they built themselves. Teachers choose when the built-in AI tools are on.

What students built

Students who were lukewarm at first got hooked once they started building, and they build for needs they actually have.

A volunteer manager

Three students are building a replacement for a local nonprofit’s $3,600-a-year volunteer tool.

A study tracker

A student built an app to track her study material and how well she’s comprehending it.

A certification map

Craig’s newest app maps Professor Messer videos and TryHackMe labs to each certification domain.

“Once students started building, I couldn’t keep them off it.”

The results

About three in four students finish a working app. They leave with something real to show an employer, not just a list of certifications.

• ~75% of students finish a working app
• 1.5 weeks of hands-on Thunkable to start each cohort
• 2 cohorts a year, up to 20 students each

Proof of skill, not just a certificate

For Craig, the biggest payoff is employability. Certifications show what a student studied. A working app shows what they can do, and with cybersecurity talent in short supply, that sets both students and schools apart.

Inside Apple’s review

Craig published his own Thunkable app to the App Store and uses it as a teaching case. He walks students through Apple’s review step by step, sharing the real feedback he received. The lesson: the process is rigorous, help is available, and getting through it is a skill employers value.

For school leaders

Craig’s only extra step was the college’s standard IT security review. Thunkable is on Florida’s 2026–27 CAPE Industry Certification Funding List and is used by more than 10,000 educational organizations worldwide. Need a Data Privacy Agreement signed? Our team will review it promptly.

“Once you’ve built it, publish it and show employers what you’re capable of.”

Bring app creation to your classroom. Talk to our Education team.

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