- Students are often amazed that this complex re-assemblage happens to all information!
- Provide an explanation of how the internet works focusing on sending pictures, then follow up with a demonstration/activity using slide puzzles to help students develop a concrete understanding for this idea.
- This explanation and activity focus on how a full picture gets broken up into packets and needs to be reassembled.
- Explanation:
- When photographs (or other content) is sent over the internet from computer 1 to computer 2, it is broken up into discrete pieces called packets.
- These packets might not arrive at computer 2 in the same order they left computer 1 in.
- Therefore, when computer 2 gets all the packets, it has to put all the pieces together like a puzzle.
- Activity:
- Have a picture puzzle to be used for this class ready.
- Note: You can use a small jigsaw puzzle, a slide-picture puzzle, or even a picture you cut with scissors.
- Elissa typically cuts a picture with scissors.
- Pick one student to be computer 1 and one student to be computer 2.
- Give the slide picture puzzle, in the complete and correct order to computer 1.
- Tell the class that computer 1 is going to send this picture to computer 2, just like in your earlier explication.
- If you have 8 pieces, assign 8 students. to each walk one piece of the picture from computer 1 to computer 2.
- Note: change the number of student volunteers to match the number of puzzle pieces there are.
- Have each of these 8 student pick up a random piece of the puzzle and walk that one piece of the picture from computer 1 to computer 2.
- Have computer 2 work to put put the pieces of the puzzle back together.
- If you can, project the puzzle arriving at computer 2 and being reassembled so the whole class can see.
- Emphasize to the class that when these pieces get to computer 2, that person has to put them together again to make a picture, just like when the jumbled packets arrive through the internet.