Lesson Plan Originally Created By:
Sandra Horvatich
Connecting Cities, Introduction to Network Topologies
Part of Unit: Operating Systems
Lesson Plan Overview / Details
Students will understand the different physical network topologies types like:
Bus, Ring, Star, Mesh, Extended Star, Hierarchical, its advantages and disadvantages
Students will understand how the different logical network topologies work:
Broadcast and Token Pasing.
Network Topologies
- Computer Lab
- 45 Minutes
Standards
California Career and Technical Education Standards
Objectives and Goals
Activities in this Lesson
- World's Craziest Highways - Hooks / Set
Use this video to establish the analogy of the computer network function with the transportation of vehicle through roads and highways. Many small lanes are connected to road which provide access to highways. Transfer of traffic takes place at the interconnection of roads with highways. Explain the analogy of highway transportation and information transfer.
The primary function of a network is to transfer information from a source to destination. Its basic capability is to provide "connectivity" for information (data, voice, video, bits, characters, etc.) to flow among the users through the "transmission systems" (made using various media such as wires, ables, radio, optical fiber, etc.)
- World's Craziest Highways-video 3:08 minutes [ Watch Video ] [ Download Original Video ] Using Highways as an analogy for Networks (like Internet as an information super highway)
- Highway Animation Video 1:20 minutes [ Watch Video ] [ Download Original Video ]
- Connecting Citites - Projects
Use the following project to introduce the concept of network topology to the students. This project uses cities and freeways interconnected to allow traffic to flow. The cities can represent computers, and the freeways can represent media. The connection of media and computers will represent the different types of network topologies.
Teacher give the instructions on the first page of the attached file to the students, and answer questions if need it.
Students answer the worksheet base on the assumptions.
Teacher helps the students to analyze the 4 possible configurations of connecting cities with freeways, and relate the concepts to network topologies.
- Network Topologies - Lecture
Use this Power Point presentation to lecture about physical and logical network topologies
- Physical and Logical Netowrk Topologies.ppt [ Download ] null
- Identifies the network topology - Group Work
As a group use the attached slides to discuss and identify the network topology on the graphic.
- Identify network topoloties [ Download ] null
- Network Topology Summary - Assessment
Students will fill the attached chart to list the advantages and disadvantages of the different physical network topologies
Assessment
- Assessment Types:
- Teacher-Made Test,
Refer to the previous assesment activity
