Hello,
Sorry to hear that this is such a frustrating lesson for you. Its really useful to know where students are getting hung up and how we can continue to make information clear for them.
There is another thread (here) on the forum right now in which a teacher posted a pre-assignment that might help with protocol design. (This might be the thread you mentioned above. If not, perhaps this is something that you could use with your students this year or in the future?)
Madeline