A quick introduction to the learning exercises in the Penny's Search game, this lesson is designed for teachers who wish to cover the material in one to two lessons.

Content in this lesson features computer careers, girls/women in technology, and learning about search engines, wireless communication, and file transfer from computer to computer. Activities include the Penny Search game, a follow-up discussion, and ideas for homework assignments.

This lesson should take one to two 50-minute class periods. Of course, if you add any of the extra activities or look into the additional resources, you'll need to schedule more time for the lesson.

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• To increase understanding of computer-related careers.
• To interest girls in computer-related careers.
• To help students gain knowledge about search engines, wireless communication, and file transfer.
• To help students realize the dangers viruses and hackers pose to computers, computer networks, and their own information.
• To make learning about how technologies work easy to understand and fun.

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1. Ask your students if they can tell you what they think the following people do for a living: a recording artist, an underwater explorer, and a veterinary researcher. Ask if these sound like interesting careers—something they might like to consider when they grow up. See if they can guess how technology might fit into these careers.
2. Explain that in the lesson they'll be using their computers to help a recording artist, an underwater explorer, and a veterinary scientist to deliver information to people in other parts of the world. To do this, they'll be playing the role of data packets or tiny pieces of information that travel through the Internet.
3. If you have completed the Peter Packet lessons with your students, they should understand what packets are, but a quick review of the information may be helpful. If you haven't covered the Peter Packet lessons, briefly go over what a packet is and what it does. See the Peter Packet Teacher Background Information if you need help.
4. Use a map to point out the destinations the students can select: Chicago, French Polynesia, and Moscow.
5. Tell your students that their packet missions will be completed using a computer game. You can distribute the Penny's Search Game Cheat Sheet to assist them.
6. Explain that while playing the game, they can take snapshots of their missions. Point out the camera icon on the computer screen. Show them that by pressing the spacebar they can take pictures and that they can view their pictures by selecting the camera icon when they come to the world map screen.
7. Tell your students that after they complete their mission, you will expect them to be able to answer the questions on the Mission Summary Sheet ( PDF - 29KB):
   • What countries did you visit?
   • What problems were facing the people you met in the countries you visited?
   • What problems did you face as you tried to travel through the Internet?
   • How did you get past the problems on the Internet to deliver your packet?
   • Who was the most interesting person or Internet character you met on your journey? Why was that person interesting?
   • Do you have any ideas about what you'd like to do when you grow up? Would your career involve using computers and the Internet?
8. Ask them to collect photographs of the recording artist, the underwater explorer, and the veterinary researcher doing their jobs.
9. Send your packets/students on their mission. If they are using the online game, go to Packet Riders section of Packetville. Then they should click on Games, followed by Penny's Search.
10. When your students have finished the game, let them show their photo albums and talk about the people they met online. Here are some sample questions for your discussion:
    • Why did the recording artist need to use technology in her job?
    • How did she send and receive the music she wanted to use?
    • Why did the underwater researcher need to use technology in her job?
    • How did she send her files out from her ship?
    • How did the veterinary scientist use technology in her work?
    • How did she get the information she needed about the goat disease?
    • Can you tell me about any other jobs/careers that use computers and the Internet?
    • Do you think you'll be using computers and the Internet in your future career?
11. You may want to add a home assignment to reinforce the learning in this lesson. Here are a few suggestions for possible assignments:
    
    
    Try Penny's Search again from your home computer or one of the school's computers. See if you can improve how you deliver the data you are given through the Internet.
    
    Imagine that you are 15 years older than you are today. How old will you be and what will be your career? What do you think computers and the Internet be like then? How will you use them? Write a story about you in the future.
    
    Penny's Search is a great game, but it also tells you lots about the Internet. Make a list of what you learned about the Internet in this game.

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Introduce your students to the Packet Riders site online. Show them how they can use the site in their free time at school and also at home.

Project several students' photo albums for the rest of the class to see. Let the students describe what is happening in each photo.

Have your class or student groups work together to create a newsletter or newspaper that features what they learned in Penny's Search. Encourage students to include graphics of the game characters in their work. The newsletter can be emailed home or copies can be printed to share with parents.

Introduce your students to some of the Web links below. Let them go online to these links to reinforce what they learned in Penny's Search.

Some sites you or your students may want to visit:

• How Streaming Media Works
  A nice animation showing how streaming media works.
• How MP3 Files Work
  Learn how your favorite music can be available to you online.
• How Computer Viruses Work
  Gives information and links about types of infection and what they can do to computers.
• How Routers Work
  An introduction to routers.
• What is the Internet?
  A tutorial that includes how the Internet works.

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Most of the assessment for this lesson can be done by observation of the students as they work through the game, complete the Mission Sheets, create photo albums, and participate in class discussions.

After students use their Mission Sheets to help them with the discussion, collect the sheets. You may want to assess student work by seeing if they completed the sheets to the best of their ability. There are 6 questions on the sheet. You might award a total of 16 points each for the first five questions and 20 for the last question.

Penny's Search includes a Vocabulary Quiz of the content and ideas for essay ( PDF - 24KB) questions. See Assessment ( PDF - 26KB). The quiz includes 10 items at 10 points each.

Click here ( PDF - 24KB) for answers to the terms quiz.

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