Activity

Sharing Secrets—Information Hiding Protocols

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet
This Sharing Secrets—Information Hiding Protocols activity also includes:

Did you know that you can find the average age of a group of people without anyone having to real their age? This resource provides directions for way to do just that. After the activity, class members read a short passage that provides an explanation of why it may be important to keep some information hidden. The activity is the first in a three-part series about encryption.

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Instructional Ideas
  • Use at the beginning of a unit on cryptography
  • Because most classmates are close to the same age, use a different number that pupils would not normally share
Classroom Considerations
  • Locate the David Chaum article for the class to read
Pros
  • A quick example of showing how to gather information while keeping it private at the same time
  • Provides a way to use the same system to determine the number of votes cast
Cons
  • The class may not understand the need to hide information in this manner