Day 16:

I was sent the word "knCUDATE", but after discussing with my sender, I was supposed to have received "incudate". I received the binary code correctly, but the sender didn't translate ASCII into binary properly. I sent out the word "xylocarp". I could not find either of these words in an online dictionary.

With the whole class using the random method of sending/receiving, it took about an hour for me to get my 8-byte message. It took about 45 minutes for me to send my 8-byte message. I found it easier to send a message, because once you establish that it's your turn to send, all you need to do is read the numbers. When you are receiving a message, you need to record and interpret it. If you're doing this, it keeps you from sending another message until you're finished. Theoretically, you could send consecutive messages if there are no collisions, but it would be much harder to receive consecutive messages.

Some difficulties arose during the random method, because people often tried to go at the same time by blurting out the second someone else was finished. Usually more than one person had this idea, and in the lull that came after the collision, someone else could get a word in. When we tried to do sender/receiver (hot potato type approach), many people were left out of the loop and were not able to send or receive any messages.

To make the process more efficient, I would suggest moving in a circle and pausing for a moment of silence if you're finished sending. This hesitation will let the next person know they can go.