Session 3

The journey of a file - Act it out

• Begin by showing examples either on the screen or physically of the devices show below. Ask children to spend some time independently researching what they are and what they do and record this in their ibooks/Book Creator

• Then, ask for volunteers to be each part of a network and hand each volunteer a print out of the device they are representing

• Hand some pieces of string to the 'audience' and work together to connect the devices together appropriately, explaining each step along the way

• Children who are not part of the network can be ‘checking’ whether they agree. Ask them for a thumbs down/up if they think they’re correctly connected before you then feedback to those who created the network

• When everyone is positioned correctly like the network map, explain that this activity will teach them about the journey of a file. Tell the rest of the class that they will show the journey of the file using the counter and completed network map as it is shown in front of them

• Start by giving a plain piece of A4 paper to the child who is the server – this represents the file that has been saved on the server

• Now ask for another volunteer to role play how they would get the file from the laptop. What do they think happens?

• The child should wirelessly travel to the access point, then follow the wires to the network switch

• When they get to the network switch, they should ask which wire leads to the server and then follow that wire to the server

• When they get there, ensure they first send a request – ask the server: Can I have the file that’s saved on you?

• Then, when the server says yes, the server should pass the file (piece of paper) to the child to return

• Repeat this a few times with different children and asking key questions to the rest of the class to make sure they are engaged

• If children are confident, request that they get the headteacher’s ‘secret file’ from the server. When the child asks the server for it, the server should ask for a password, then they must go back to the laptop to request the password, before returning with the password allowing them to get the file (or not)

Network situations

• Explain that so far we have talked about the school network, but actually networks are all around us.

• On each table, put a copy of the 'Network situations'

• Ask the children to write their answers to the following questions around the pictures:

1. What computers/devices are in this network?

2. How does it work? How do people use it?

3. What information could be being sent through the wires?

Note: The traffic lights and scan-as-you-shop are slightly easier than the drive-thru and banks (as long as the children have seen scan-as-you-shop in action!).

You could rotate the sheets around for other groups to look at/add to, or have each group focusing on one real world network before sharing their ideas with the rest of the class.

Note: This activity will have greater impact if the images are of places the children may have been, such as the local supermarket, restaurant, traffic lights – visiting these ahead of the lesson will help with children’s understanding too.

Key questions

• What is a network?

• What devices can you see in this network?

• What did the school network do?

• What information do you think is being passed around?

• How do people use this network?

• What do you think happens next?