Overview

Students invent a system for representing text using binary, incorporating ideas from the previous lesson on representing numbers. Students then learn the official ASCII system for representing text in binary and optionally practice using it on the Internet Simulator.

Vocab

• Abstraction - a simplified representation of something more complex. Abstractions allow you to hide details to help you manage complexity, focus on relevant concepts, and reason about problems at a higher level.
• ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange; the universally recognized raw text format that any computer can understand
• Protocol - A set of rules governing the exchange or transmission of data between devices.

Resources

• ASCII Reference Sheet (copy as MS Word, Google Doc)