AP CSP: The Internet is for Everyone September 9, 2016

Introduction: So far we’ve solved a few problems by creating and using relatively simple/small protocols for transmitting data over a wire to one other person. The internet is much bigger than single wire. It’s a system that connects billions of people and even more machines. In the upcoming lessons, we’re going to look at some of the technical issues involved with having lots of machines trying to communicate at the same time. We’re going deep into the interwebs!

KWL – The Internet: You may know a few things about how the internet works or maybe you don’t. All of you have questions probably though regarding the internet and how it all works. Right now you’re going to write down what you know and what you would like to know about the internet and all its hidden magic. It’s okay if you don’t know much, write what you do know. Think about the when you type in a web address into a browser and hit enter, what happens? At some point you see the web page in the browser, but what happens in between? What are all the steps? Write down what you think and what you want to know?

Somethings to think about: How does a web page come back to you and not someone else? Is a web page one big message? or multiple messages? How does a website remember who you are? What happens if a cable gets cut? Does the Internet fix itself? Who is in charge of the Internet? Who pays for the Internet? Where/how might someone spy on you? Who controls what you are allowed to see? If a government wanted to restrict access to the internet, how would they do it? Who can see your Internet activity? how? Are there parts of the internet you’re not allowed to see? Where/how would a hacker steal your identity? What exactly is being attacked during a cyber attack?

Internet Protocols: Vint Cerf says nobody and everybody is in charge of the internet. But the reason it all works is that everyone uses the same protocols? Who develops these protocols?  Who makes the final decisions? Who is in charge? The amazing thing is that no single person, government, or corporation is in charge. It is a collection of citizens and volunteers interested in defining the standards who formed a volunteer organization called the Internet Engineering Task Force to develop and promote voluntary internet standards IETF. You can learn more about IETF at the link below. https://www.ietf.org/

Internet Protocols Continued: After the attacks of September 11, 2001, Vint Cerf was concerned about maintaining the principles of openness and access upon which the Internet was built and founded. He wrote a memo called The Internet is for Everyone as a plea to tell the people to the IETF to make sure the way the Internet continues the philosophy that the Internet should be available and useable by everyone in the world, regardless of race, gender, creed, location, or wealth. The memo lays out the state of the internet in 2002. It predicts the  future, and then presents a series of nine challenges or threats to the idea that the Internet is for everyone. The last several paragraphs begin with the phrase: “Internet is for everyone - but it won’t be if…

Classwork: Read the abbreviated version of the document that was handed out to you in class. Pick one or two challenges that are most meaningful to you, or relate to some experience you’ve had in your life. Write at least a decent sized paragraph starting with the statement: “Internet is for everyone – but it won’t be if…”. Then explain in your own words what it means. Explain why that particular challenge is meaningful to you or relates to some experience you’ve had.

Foreshadowing: At the end of this unit you will do a Practice PT about one of these societal issues. You will research one of these modern issues and prepare a flash talk (a 2 minute presentation) that explains the technical aspects of the Internet that underlie that issue. As you go through these lessons keep you ears and eyes open for how things work. Many of the issues are related to people taking advantage of the open protocols that make the internet function and present us with tricky dilemmas. There are two major issues to think about: Net Neutrality Internet Censorship

Vocabulary: IETF - Internet Engineering Task Force - develops and promotes voluntary Internet standards and protocols, in particular the standards that comprise the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP). Internet - A group of computers and servers that are connected to each other. Net Neutrality - the principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally by Internet Service Providers

Internet Issues: Net Neutrality: is a raging legal debate about the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites. Internet Censorship: is the attempt to control or suppress of what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the Internet by certain people. This can be used to protect people (i.e. human trafficking) but can also be used to limit free speech.