Evolution

of a Teaching Tool
Dale McCormick

For my first two years teaching Computer Networking at RTC I used the
“Subnetting Worksheet” on the following page as an aid to teaching network
subnetting. It was designed to be a mnemonic device but by the Winter quarter of
2016 I had determined that this template was being used more as a crutch than as an
aid to memory. Students were not remembering the values shown on the page
because they did not have to do so to complete the exercises.
I went “back to the drawing board” to design a subnetting template that
would help the students to develop the skills to calculate the divided networks
rather than simply using a visual tool that in all likelihood would not be available on
the job. I created the worksheet shown on the last page to be used in conjunction
with a lesson plan emphasizing the use of the formulae displayed in the header of
the new worksheet to calculate the values in the body of the page. The digits in the
footer of that page are used as the only visual aid to calculation on the page.
Since the new system was implemented my students learn subnetting more
quickly and have higher average scores on subnetting tests.
Subnetting Worksheet
24-bit Network

16-bit Network

8-bit Network

 # Networks = 2FlippedBits # Hosts/Subnet = 2HostBits - 2

Subnetting Problem ___

Number of needed subnets ________________

Number of needed assigned hosts/subnet ________________

Network Address ___________________

Default Subnet Mask _____________________

Default CIDR network ______

Total number of IP addresses ______

Number of bits flipped ______

Total number of subnets ______

Custom Subnet Mask ______________________

Custom CIDR network _____

Number of IP addresses/subnet ______

Number of assignable addresses/subnet ______

Total number of assignable addresses ______

255 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0