Learning kitGrades 4-5

Computer science: networks and cybersecurity

How computers talk

Read the 1s and 0s computers use, send messages across a pretend internet to get an address, look up a website and load the page, invent a protocol of your own, and learn how malware sneaks in. Ages 9 to 11 or grades 4 to 5: how the internet works, one message at a time.

Time
About 90 minutes, in one or two sittings
Steps
5 steps, 2 with a pretend network to try on the page
You need
A computer, Chromebook or tablet, and a friend to try your protocol with. Printing is optional: every step works on screen. No account needed.
Unlock the kit, $5 I have a code

$5 for one learner: every step, the Network Simulator activities that check the work, the printable lesson, and the certificate with a page of the learner's own work.

Two computers joined by a router in the network simulator, with a message envelope traveling along the wire from the first computer.

The 5 steps

  1. 1Find out how computers read informationRead and quizEverything a computer does, from games to videos, is made of just two things: on and off.
  2. 2Discover how networks workTry it hereA network is computers joined together so they can send each other messages. The internet is millions of networks joined together. Get your computer onto the small network below.
  3. 3Find out what protocols are and create oneRead, quiz and inventA protocol is a set of rules everyone agrees on so they can understand each other.
  4. 4Explore computer communication protocolTry it hereWhen you type a website name, two protocols work before the page appears. Watch them on the network below: DNS finds the number, then HTTP fetches the page.
  5. 5Find out what malware isInvestigateMalware is software made to cause harm. It usually gets in because someone is tricked into letting it in.

Work on a computer. The apps need a keyboard and a bigger screen than a phone: a laptop, desktop or Chromebook. You can pay here and open the emailed link on the computer.

One learner

Unlock the kit, $5

  • All 5 steps, worked on screen, with a lesson you can print if you like paper
  • Network Simulator activities that check the work as it is done
  • A numbered certificate with a page of the learner's own work: your binary, your protocol and your notes

We email a link that opens the kit on any computer. No account needed. We keep the email only to send the kit and certificate links: privacy.

Have a discount code?
Co-ops and classes: unlock it for a group

One payment and one code. Each learner types the code to unlock the kit on their own computer, and gets their own certificate at the end. Your pack page shows who has started and finished.

See a sample certificate (PDF) · Already paid? Find your link

Questions

What does the learner do in How computers talk?

It has 5 steps: 1. Find out how computers read information; 2. Discover how networks work; 3. Find out what protocols are and create one; 4. Explore computer communication protocol; 5. Find out what malware is. Read the 1s and 0s computers use, send messages across a pretend internet to get an address, look up a website and load the page, invent a protocol of your own, and learn how malware sneaks in. Ages 9 to 11 or grades 4 to 5: how the internet works, one message at a time.

What age is it for?

Grades 4-5. About 90 minutes, in one or two sittings.

What is needed?

A computer, Chromebook or tablet, and a friend to try your protocol with. Printing is optional: every step works on screen. No account needed.

Is there a certificate?

Yes. A numbered certificate with a page of the learner's own work, for your records or a portfolio. It is not course credit.

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