Unit 6.3
Under the sea
In this unit, students will explore how digital information travels across the world by examining the physical systems that support global communication. Students investigate network infrastructure to understand how messages move across long distances. They discover how digital messages are broken into packets, transmitted through networks, checked for errors, and reassembled once they reach their destination. Students then combine programming and storytelling to develop an interactive program in Scratch that tells the story of a message as it travels across the ocean to connect people around the world.
Overview documents
Beneath the waves
Students investigate how digital messages travel around the world by examining the infrastructure that creates the largest network of networks known as the Internet.
Packets everywhere
Students discover how messages are broken into packets for transmission and model packetization using variables in Scratch.
Lost at sea
Students explore Internet routing and packet loss. They use conditionals to simulate where packets arrive successfully or are lost during transmission.
Rules for the ocean
Students examine how network protocols handle transmission errors by resending packets while using loops to design and test protocols.
Telling the journey
Students combine their knowledge of packetization, error detection, and network protocols to write a narrative story describing the journey of a digital message traveling across the ocean.
Message received
Students review and refine their narrative stories and test the effectiveness of their programs in Scratch. They then collaborate to disprove misconceptions about how the Internet works.