Each iAdventure was designed with data and telecommunications networking students in mind. In the curriculum from which I am teaching, this is a Semester 4 project. The main assumption is that students are familiar with Local Area and Wide Are Networking. Without sufficient knowledge in this area, students will not receive the full benefits from the culminating project--a synthesis of formal recommendation.
Your students will need access to the following:
- Internet (for accessing the provided Web Resource links)
- Adobe Acrobat Reader (some resources are only available in Acrobat format--click here to download the FREE Acrobat Reader)
- Word processing program (for the Formal Written Proposal)
- Microsoft PowerPoint (for the Multimedia Presentation). (If your students do not have access to PowerPoint, you may have them create a multimedia presentation with another program or you may opt to eliminate this component of the project.)
I hope your students have fun with this exercise. You are able to determine the length of this project and place additional constraints, such as requiring Gigabit, Singlemode fiber, etc. I would like to recommend that you thoroughly work through each of the areas in the iAdventures before turning your students loose. There are ultimately four paths that can be chosen in each iAdventure. Each path is acceptable and can be designed to work.
Click on the links below to open the page in a separate window. Image and document webpages are also linked, in case you would like to reproduce these for the students.
Teacher Page
(You are here!)Wide Area Network:
Fiber Optic Cabling vs. WirelessWAN 1, 2, 3, 4 Fiber 1, 2, 3, 4 Wireless 1, 2, 3, 4 Aerial Buried Roof Tower Proposal Additional Links Complete Listing of Web Resources The following links are compiled from the iAdventures. I will attempt to keep the links to all of the Web Resources current. Please, verify that these links work before having your students work on this project. If you should find a dead link, please email me.
Curriculum Standards I am including an alignment to the Missouri Show-Me Standards. The full list for Network Administration Competencies may be found here.
Competencies Show-Me Standards B. Networking Concepts 1. Use networking terminology correctly CA3 3. Identify parts of a network CA3 5. Identify types of networks (e.g., LAN, WAN, MAN) CA3 9. Describe capabilities of network wiring systems 1.10 10. Explain network topologies (e.g., star, bus, ring, broadband, baseband) 1.4 11. Diagram network topologies (e.g., star, bus, ring, broadband, baseband) 1.4 D. Communications 1. Present solutions in a positive, tactful manner 1.2 2. Practice constructive problem solving with customers 1.10, 3.3 8. Present an oral proposal for a network installation CA6 9. Prepare a written request for proposal CA1 10. Create technical correspondence CA4 F. Connectivity 3. Explain advantages and disadvantages of wireless technologies 1.6 5. Interpret network diagram 1.5 8. Differentiate areas of responsibilities between the telecommunications providers' responsibilities and their clients' responsibilities 1.4 G. Software 2. Launch an application 1.10 H. Network Operations 1. Demonstrate the ability to access the Internet 2.7 J. Troubleshooting 2. Utilize existing technical resources for problem resolution (e.g., Internet, technical manuals, e-mail) 1.10 Assessment I have included a scoring guide for use in assessing each student's complete project. Feel free to create your own scoring guide, but keep in mind the students will access the link to the scoring guide that I have provided. Click on the following link to access the scoring guide. Scoring Guide
Acknowledgements The iAdventure concept was developed in the Warrensburg, MO school district, as part of the "Learning with iAdventures" program. This program was funded by a Competitive Technology grant from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
For more information on iAdventures, visit the iAdventure Home Page.