Week 4 Schedule and Activities
In Week 4, you will:
- Learn how computer networks are classified, structured, and connected
— from the local area network in your school to the global Internet
— and understand the protocols that make reliable communication possible.
- Explore how the Internet is organized through a hierarchy of service
providers, how devices are addressed and found, and how the World Wide Web
sits as one application among many running on top of the Internet.
- Trace how data actually travels: broken into packets, routed independently
through layers of software, reassembled at the destination — and
understand why TCP and UDP each exist.
- Examine the major categories of cybersecurity threats and the defenses
that protect against them, including how firewalls work and why no single
protection is sufficient.
- Connect these ideas to your classroom and to broader questions about
equity, privacy, and responsibility in a networked world.
The schedule below is a suggested pacing guide. Feel free to adjust based on
your own calendar, but try to keep the order of activities so later pieces
build on earlier ones.
Computer Science Content
(Monday - Wednesday)
Work through the Week 4 learning materials in order. These are designed
to build your understanding of the core CS concept for the week:
networking and the Internet.
-
Topic 4a - Networking Fundamentals
Understand how networks are classified (LAN and WAN), how protocols
coordinate communication in wired and wireless networks, how hardware
devices extend and connect networks, and how the client/server and
peer-to-peer models govern how processes talk to each other.
-
Topic 4b - The Internet and the World Wide Web
Explore how the Internet is structured through a hierarchy of service
providers, how devices are addressed with IP addresses and domain names,
how DNS translates between the two, and how the Web — one application
among many — works through browsers, web servers, HTTP, and URLs.
-
Topic 4c - Internet Protocols and Client-Server Interaction
Trace how data travels through the Internet's four-layer software model,
understand packet switching and routing, and learn why TCP and UDP both
exist — and when each is the right choice.
-
Topic 4d - Cybersecurity
Define and distinguish the major categories of cybersecurity threats
— from malware and phishing to denial of service attacks —
and examine the defenses that protect against each, including how
firewalls work and why layered defense is essential.
Beyond the Content
(Thursday - Friday)
-
Social and Ethical Considerations
Examine four scenarios that connect networking to real-world consequences:
net neutrality and rural school access, a phishing attack that cost a
district $487,000, ransomware targeting schools, and a free educational
tool that was selling student behavioral data.
-
Teaching and Learning Perspectives
Reflect on how networking concepts translate to your classroom, what
misconceptions students bring at each grade level, and how cybersecurity
and internet safety can be grounded in technical understanding rather
than just rules.
Small Group Discussion
(Thursday - Friday)
You will meet with your small group to make sense of the week and to
prepare for the Competency Demo.
Week 4 Small Group Discussion Instructions
Competency Demo
(Thursday - Sunday)
Competency Demo #4 - Networking
- Complete all Week 4 activities before attempting the Competency Demo.
- The CD addresses Competencies 10, 11, and 12. Review those learning objectives before you begin.
- Closed book, closed notes, closed resources.