A bit optional. How do computers transmit in the real world? Pupils research a device that is used in transmitting bits, then individuals create a poster that presents the information they have learned about their device. 

Introduce your class to encoding text. Pairs work together to create a protocol to send text prior to learning ASCII encoding. Groups then collaborate to send and translate ASCII codes creating a formatted text message. 

Hear from deep space. Pupils learn how satellites transfer information back to Earth. They learn about three different ways to modulate radio waves and how a satellite sends information with only 0s and 1s. Using sound, class members...

You sunk my battleship via the Internet? Groups of three play a modified game of Battleship using the Internet Simulator. Team members determine how to address messages, so each player knows who the message is for, and refine their text...

Beans are for more than just counting! Introduce public key cryptography with cups and beans and ask scholars to use the beans to send secret numbers. Participants learn how this activity relates to public key cryptography and...

Scholars discover who Blue Peter is and how sailors used nautical signal flags on the open waters in order to create their own set of nautical signal flags and send messages to peers.

Introduce your class to the layers of abstraction of the Internet with a lesson on the HTTP protocol. Pupils review previous lessons on levels of the Internet, then investigate new high levels by examining the HTTP traffic on...

Examine the science behind computer communication. After defining the properties of magnets, learners simulate how a computer hard drive works by sending each other binary codes using the magnets. They use these communications to...

The second instructional activity in a unit of 15 introduces pupils to text compression. The class begins with discussing how they already use text compression when sending text messages. Pairs learn more about the subject as they work...

Don't lose your marbles — you'll need them for a lesson on neurotransmission. Young scholars build a neurotransmission model using marbles, beads, rubber bands, string, and other elements. After studying specific neurotransmitters,...