Mission 1: Restore copper connectivity in the North West district
In the first mission, your students will assemble and crimp 568B standard copper cables with FTP shielding. The length of the assignment will vary depending on how familiar your students are with this type of wiring.
2×50 minutes
Easy to intermediate
Teacher support
- According to a request, choose and use a given type of cable;
- Be able to identify the different categories of network cables and be able to state their characteristics and differences;
- Using appropriate tools, crimp a cable;
- Using appropriate tools, measure the continuity of a cable in order to check the accuracy of the connections;
- Copper cable ;
- RJ45 plugs ;
- Crimp pliers ;
- Network tester ;
More information: how are houses connected to the internet in real life?
Want to know more about how the Bbox works: Bbox manual.
WBE – Regular full secondary education
Vocational and technical humanities
Third degree
Residential Electrician`
https://www.wallonie-bruxelles-enseignement.be/progr/431-2012-249.pdf
3.3. Prepare the material
3.3.1 Identify the different materials used for wiring the elements
3.3.2. Draw up a list of materials
3.3.3. Check the conformity of the material and the quantities
3.7. Assemble equipment
3.7.1 Assemble and wire equipment
3.7.2. 3.7.2 Attach and connect devices and equipment (cabinets, lighting, heating, switches, modules or devices of Dominique, multimedia, etc.)
4.1.2 Use different (analogue and/or digital) control and measurement devices, interpret their readings
(The learner uses the different measuring and continuity devices (network wiring) according to the work to be done, a given situation or a particular request).
Prepare
Before the lesson, make sure that you have tested the materials that the students will be using: ferrules, crimping pliers, cables. These tests will help you to support the students during the classroom use of Connect City.
It is recommended that you attend a « Using Connect City in the classroom » training with a partner beforehand.
As a teacher, you are the master of the game. The advisor on the students smartphone relies on your help. You are the custodian of the necessary materials and time. At several points, you will be able to differentiate your approach according to your pupils, through the use of alternative materials/tricks that you will find in these lesson sheets.
Lesson plan
| Content | Timing |
|---|---|
|
The teacher introduces Connect City to the students. They are the new technicians of Connect City, whose physical board is placed in the classroom. The objective is to solve 6 missions, guided by "the advisor", a character who sends messages to the students via their smartphones. |
5 minutes |
|
The advisor will ask the students several technical questions. These questions ensure that the students understand the working principle. They will have to create a copper cable for a residential area.
|
5-10 minutes |
|
The teacher (game master) gives the students, after confirming their correct choices in the application, a box containing the identified material. |
1 minute |
|
The students (technicians) must crimp the cable: they have the necessary tools at their disposal, as well as a descriptive sheet to help with assembly. They have to crimp the 2 ferrules. |
30-60 minutes |
|
Points for differentiation: it is quite possible to adapt the difficulty of the activity.
|
|
|
When the cable is finished, the students should come and check the cable with the teacher (game master). The advisor, in the application, will ask if the cable is correct. The answer "yes" can only be given after checking with the teacher. With a tester, the cable is tested and the functional and defective pairs are identified.
|
5 minutes |
|
Now the students have to place their cables in the city: a puzzle piece in their box will identify the house to be connected. It is important that each house is connected in the right order, as this will determine the rest of the mission. A red LED will light up next to the house when the cable is connected. |
3 minutes |
|
The mission only ends when all houses are connected!
|
|
|
When the students connect the neighbourhood to the Bbox, a path of LEDs lights up: bravo, mission 1 is over! It's time for the teacher to debrief. |
|
|
The debriefing is an important phase for the class and will focus on two main aspects: the debriefing of the game experience, in order to identify possible remedies for the continuation of the game, and a technical debriefing on the material aspects of the experience.
|
10 minutes |