Unplug the Internet! (Michele Lombardi)


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Do your students struggle to remember all the internet vocabulary, acronyms, and how it all works?! This is the unplugged simulation for you!


In this activity, students have the opportunity to learn or review the internet basics by performing the duties of the DNS, a router, or a client as they send messages through your classroom network. Once they master a working internet, add in malicious servers or allow part of the network to "fail" and investigate flaws and potential solutions.


Summary

Review internet vocabulary, how messages are sent, and introduce potential cyber attacks using this unplugged internet simulation.

Topics


  • Layers of the internet (Physical, IP, TCP, DNS)

  • Internet vulnerabilities (physical fails, man-in-the-middle, DNS spoofing, counterfeit packets, distributed denial of service attack

Standards


  • 1B-NI-04 Model how information is broken down into smaller pieces, transmitted as packets through multiple devices over networks and the Internet, and reassembled at the destination.

  • 2-NI-05 Explain how physical and digital security measures protect electronic information.

  • 3A-NI-04 Evaluate the scalability and reliability of networks, by describing the relationship between routers, switches, servers, topology, and addressing.

  • 3A-NI-05 Give examples to illustrate how sensitive data can be affected by malware and other attacks.

  • 3A-NI-06 Recommend security measures to address various scenarios based on factors such as efficiency, feasibility, and ethical impacts.

  • 3B-NI-03 Describe the issues that impact network functionality (e.g., bandwidth, load, delay, topology).

Audience

Middle or High School students

This worked especially well when I had my advanced students facilitate the activity for an introductory class. For example, a Computer Science Principles course could facilitate a middle school class as a review for the exam or during their Internet and cybersecurity unit.

Difficulty


  • Easy to facilitate

  • Easy to set up (printing and cutting in advance required)

    • Print:

      • directions page for each facilitator

      • DNS sheet for each student playing the role of DNS

      • 5 sheets of “packets” per student - cut these in advance or have students cut

      • ~1 sheet of “secure packets” per student (same packet sheet but printed on colored paper) - cut these in advance or have students cut, pre-write message all addressed to the same IP address

      • Identification tents - cut these in strips (solid line) and fold in half (dashed line) to be placed on the desk in front of student, if needed, print extras and fill-in IP addresses

  • Can be facilitated in one 80-minute period, activities could be split over multiple days as well

Strengths

The simulation gives students a hands-on way to reinforce internet vocabulary and the logistics of how messages are sent. Performing the different roles or seeing their classmates perform the roles gives them a reference point for future discussions. It also allows them to see what happens during different types of cyberattacks. Discussion between activities should include what happened, what this might look like in practice, and proposed solutions for prevention.


Student feedback:

“[We should do] more hands-on activities like the routing activity. That was fun and really helped explain things!”

Weaknesses


  • Students may struggle initially with vocabulary recall.

  • Students may struggle to propose solutions without prior knowledge.

  • Teachers/facilitators will want to review details in advance about each of the cyberattacks in order to answer questions and facilitate discussion.

Dependencies

This activity works best when students already have a basic working knowledge of how the internet works, though it could also be used to introduce the layers of the internet.

Variants


  • Have advanced students facilitate this activity for a more introductory group

  • Encourage students to research additional cyberattacks and design a related simulation

  • Research real-world cyberattacks




Presentation Slides: