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The Human Network

Introducing Computer Networking Through Embodiment

Created by Harry and Henry Heiberger

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Lesson Goals

  • Goals
    • Give a basic overview of computer networking
    • Provide intuition through hands-on examples
    • Enable students to form a mental model
    • Provide a strong foundation for future study
  • Purpose
    • Empower students to explore technology
    • Show that learning computer science can be fun
    • Simplify complex topics
  • Target Audience
    • High School Computer Science Students

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Preparation

  • Materials Needed:
    • String
    • Notecards
    • Basic Poster Making Supplies
    • Dice
    • Candy (optional)
  • Set-up Needed:
    • Arrange desks in network
    • Make linkages between them
    • Create packet requests/responses

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Introduction: �What is a network?

  • Define a Network
    • A collection of interconnected people or things
  • Identify Network Examples
    • Friend groups and social media
    • Power grids and the Internet
  • Define Computer Network
    • Interconnected computing devices that exchange data and other resources with each other
  • Explain Computer Network Uses
    • Information and file sharing
    • Communication and Social Media
    • E-Commerce and Gaming

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Activity 1: �Packet Transfer

  • Divide into groups of 3-4
  • Compete to successfully deliver 10 packet requests
  • Students may travel across any links to reach their packet request’s destination address
  • Can either receive a redirect response or a success response
  • Network bandwidth limited to 1 packet per link at a time

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Activity 2: �Firewalls

Students repeat the previous activity with the following modifications:

  • All nodes are outfitted with a firewall
  • Students may only deliver messages that obey firewall inbound and outbound rules

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Activity 3: �Routers

Students repeat the previous activity with the following modifications:

  • One student from each team is selected as the Router
  • Routers keep all 10 required requests for their team
  • Routers direct their teammates to each destination address

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Activity 4: �Network Instability

Students repeat the previous activity with the following modifications:

  • Students must role an instability die before crossing each link
  • A roll of a 1 or a 2 represents packet loss
  • On packet loss, students must return the request to their router and repeat it later

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Conclusion: �Final Reflection

  • What difficulties arose?
    • Network congestion
    • Network engineering
  • What affected delivery time?
    • Latency
  • How could the classroom network be improved?
    • Higher bandwidth
    • More links
    • Loosening firewall restrictions
  • What tradeoffs exist for this?
    • Performance vs cost
    • Exponential node growth
    • Performance vs complexity

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Final Thoughts: Embodiment

Develop a Mental Model

Reduces Complexity

High Energy Fun

Bring Into the Real World