The Network · Workshop 01 · Rung 1
Two Computers, One Message
Five steps. About 30 minutes. Up to 7 stars. The constellation you're building is called First Network.
The Network · Workshop 01 · Rung 1
Five steps. About 30 minutes. Up to 7 stars. The constellation you're building is called First Network.
Two computers wanting to talk to each other have the same problem two people in different rooms have: how does the message get there?
A network solves that problem. At its simplest, a network is just a way for messages to travel between computers without getting lost. Add more computers and the network gets bigger. Connect networks to other networks and you've got something even bigger — the internet.
Every computer on a network has an address. Like a house number. Every message has a destination — that address. The network's job is to figure out the path between sender and receiver. That's it. That's the whole job.
By the end of this workshop, you'll know what an address is, how a path works, and why this is the foundation of everything from texts to video calls to multiplayer games. The math you don't need to do. The thinking you do.
That's the foundation. When you've actually read it — not skimmed — tap below.
Pick all that fit. Hint: a network is anything where messages move between two or more devices.
The four pieces every message uses to get from sender to receiver. Click one on the left, then click what it does on the right. Match all four.
Imagine you want to send a text from your phone to a friend across town. Both of you have phones. The message has to travel.
Walk through the journey. Where does the message start? What does it pass through? How does it know where to go? Where does it end up? Use your own words — you don't have to be technical, you just have to be specific. At least 120 characters.
Now that you know how messages travel, name one thing you used today — a text, a video, a game, a video call — that wouldn't work without the network doing its job invisibly.