What Are the Main Parts of a Computer?

Title: Identify parts of computer Contributors: Meera Hirani

Submission Date:

Standard 1 Reviewers: Approval Date: REF No: Brief Description: This Unit covers the different parts of computers, namely, CPU, Keyboard, Mouse and The Monitor. It details the uses and the functions of each part. Goal: The child will be able identify different parts of computer if shown an illustration, diagram or in laboratory. Pre-requisites: The existence of a device called computer. Learning Outcome: It is a step towards knowing the functions of computer. And it will help the child to learn logging in and typing and see the output. Assembling a computer model with cutouts reinforces their understanding of computer terms. Duration: 2 - 40 minute sessions References: COMPUTER PUZZLES . A picture is shown and answer is also given . It is a good way of teaching kids what are the different parts of comp. http://familyinternet.about.com/library/game/blwhat5.htm

Good site and one can learn about the insides of computer by just clicking on the image. http://www.kids-online.net/learn/clickjr/clickjr.html A site in which few introductory lessons are given which introduce computers and logging in etc. www.kckps.org/courses/intro_comp.html

Detailed Description: ATTACHED page 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Lesson Plan: ATTACHED page 9,10

Worksheet: ------Other Notes: ATTACHED page 10

DETAILED DESCRIPTION What are the main parts of a computer?

1.Here , The teacher first finds out how many students know what a computer is and how is it useful.  The typical computer system that is found in homes, schools and offices are called microcomputers and are also known as personal computers or PC's. 2. The Teacher can now show a diagram or a photo of a desktop computer such as given below. 3. Pointing out each part, one can introduce the name for each such as:  A computer is a machine for performing calculations automatically.  A multi-function electronic device that can execute instructions to perform a task.  The computer is a device that accepts input, processes/stores data, and produces outcome.  One can not only do mathematic calculations but also write letters , applications , one can draw images and also play games!

The following are the major parts of a computer.

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT  The tower usually holds the CD-ROM drive(in which CDs are put to view details), floppy drives(A square diskette, black in color is put inside this to view details), and the on/off button.

 After you turn it on(by pressing the round button with the icon of inverted “Q” inwards), the computer goes through the standard startup procedure, and technical information pops up on-screen that scrolls on and off the screen quickly.

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) performs the actual processing of data just like our brain. In addition to computation the CPU controls and co-ordinates the operation of the other major components. The CPU has two main components, namely:

1. The Control Unit 2. The Arithmetic/Logical Unit (ALU) Introduction to these two terms will be useful for further lessons.

 Modern CPUs are very fast. At the time of writing, the CPU of a typical PC is capable of executing many tens of millions of instructions per second!!!!! Multitasking is doing many tasks / works at the same time /simultaneously.CPU has the ability to do many tasks simultaneously such as: One can dowload a program from the internet, listen to music on the computer and simultaneously type a report in a Word File! (Here examples of multitasking can be given to make students understand that CPU does many things simultaneously, For Ex: Mother can cook, wash and guide her children through their homework all in the same time!)

Before proceeding further , it will beneficial to students if the meaning of INPUT and OUTPUT is given with examples such as Putting dried corn in microwave( Input) and after processing the output is Pop Corn, Or else , Mother puts Rice and Water as an Input in the Cooker and after processing The Output is cooked rice.

THE MONITOR

 The monitor on/off button is usually on the front of the monitor, with a light indicator beside the button.

 Pressing the on/off button to shut off will turn off the screen. This does not turn off the “computer” – so don't worry if it is accidentally pushed – push it back on and nothing is lost.

 Other buttons on the monitor control the volume, screen color, brightness and several other controls that help with the look of the screen.

 Here , The difference between screen and monitor should be Monitors are sometimes called displays or screens. "Screen" refers to the glass front only, while "monitor" refers to the screen, the case and everything inside the case.The term monitor, however, usually refers to the entire box, whereas display screen can mean just the screen. In addition, the term monitor often implies graphic capabilities.

 A monitor is an interface or the mediator between the computer and the operator to tell you what you have typed and what the CPU has processed and giving out . CPU instructs the monitor what to display. Information on a monitor is displayed in pixels.

THE KEYBOARD

 The keyboard is the primary input device for most computers. You use the keys to input commands, respond to prompts, and type the text of documents. Before the mouse was used, the most common input device was the keyboard. Keyboards provide another way for users to "talk" to their Physically, computer keyboards are an arrangement of rectangular or near-rectangular buttons, or "keys".

Keyboards typically have characters engraved or printed on the keys; in most cases, each press of a key corresponds to a single written symbol.

However, to produce some symbols , several keys simultaneously or in sequence are pressed and held ; other keys do not produce any symbol, but instead affect the operation of the computer or the keyboard itself.

THE MOUSE A mouse is a computer pointing device .Its name is derived from its shape, which looks a bit like a mouse, its connecting wire that one can imagine to be the mouse's tail, and the fact that one must make it scurry along a surface. It consists of a small case, to be held under one of the user's hands, and one or more buttons.

 A device that controls the movement of the cursor or pointer on the monitor . A mouse is a small object you can roll along a hard, flat surface usually a Mouse Pad.

 As you move the mouse, the pointer on the display screen moves in the same direction. A mouse contains at least one button or sometimes three!! It also has a scroll which scrolls through long documents.

In case the children already are familiar with the computer the following parts can be introduced however getting too much in detail should be avoided.

THE SCANNER

 A scanner is a computer input device that transforms printed matter (photos, illustrations or text ,an ornamenteven your hand !!) into electronic data.

 There are Different types of scanners, most common of them is desktop (or flatbed) scanner and used in offices. Hand-held scanners, where the device is moved by hand, but now not much in use.Another category of scanner is a rotary scanner used for high-speed document scanning.

THE PRINTER

 A computer printer, or more commonly just a printer, is a output device that produces a hard copy or into physical print media such as paper or transparencies.

 It is a machine attached with the computer where the letters that you type or the sketch that you make can be printed on a paper! It is very useful and if one needs only one page then he doesn't have to take the whole computer with him: ) He just has print out that page : )

THE SPEAKERS.

 Computer speakers, or multimedia speakers, are usually a simplified stereo system without a radio or other media sources built Computer speakers range widely in quality and in price.

 Typically, the simplest computer speakers come with computers when bought and have two controls for increase and decrease of volume and treble but there are other high end speakers available which have more than 5 controls!!!! computer icon representing speaker.

computer with speakers and mike!

LESSON PLAN:

Science/Technology Children learn the names of the parts of a computer and get a basic introduction to how it works. Assembling a computer model with cutouts reinforces their understanding of computer terms.

What You Need

 scissors  paste  light-colored construction paper  printed copies of a computer diagram  printed copies of computer cutouts

What to Do

 Begin with a brief discussion about computers. Some children may have computers at home. Ask children to share what they know about computers. What kinds of things do they do with computers?Explain that the computer is like a friend who works for you but it will not do anything until you tell it what to do./Command it what to do for you. Explain that a computer is a machine made of several parts that work together just like our human body and the main part of the computer is CPU/Tower just like our brain. Tell children that they are going to learn the names for the parts of a computer and how the parts go together.  Distribute the computer diagram to children and read the words at the top. Tell children they can use these words to fill in the missing labels in the picture. Then point out each computer part in the diagram. As children label their diagrams, you might explain each part as follows:  The screen: This shows you what work you and the computer have done.  The computer: This is the most important part. It does most of the work. It follows your directions to solve problems or to create new work.  The keyboard: You use the keyboard to tell the computer what to do.  The mouse: The mouse is another tool you can use to tell the computer what to do.  The Hard disk: The disk is like a book. It has information that the computer can read. You can use the computer to read what is on a disk or to put new information on a disk.  The CD-ROM: This is another kind of disk. It can store even more information than a floppy disk, including pictures, sounds, and video.  Distribute the computer cutouts. Have each child cut out the pieces of the computer and paste them onto a piece of light-colored construction paper. Children can refer to their diagrams to make sure they assemble the computer correctly. Encourage children to draw a picture around the computer. They may want to draw a picture on the computer screen, as well. Let them do it. Remind them to draw wires to connect the keyboard to the computer and the mouse to the keyboard. This will help them to learn later as to how the Input and Output Devices are connected to the computer.

Teaching Options

 If most of the children in your class are already familiar with the computer, you may want to introduce the computer parts with a guessing game. For example, “This part of the computer is named after a small furry animal (mouse). This part of the computer is long and flat and shaped like a board (keyboard). This part of the computer is really the brains of the machine (computer). This part of the computer looks like a TV (screen or monitor). This goes in and out of a computer carrying information (disk). This can hold a great deal of information, including video (CD- ROM).”  You may want to play a game where children act out being a computer. Individuals or groups can take turns being different parts of a computer. One person can be the keyboard and can give the computer a job to do or a problem to solve. Another person can solve the problem and can tell the answer to the person pretending to be the screen. That person can display the answer. To include more students some children could act out as the wires that connect and send the information from the CPU to the Monitor.

OTHER NOTES If colorful pictures are included in the lessons it not only interests children but also gives them a mental image of the concept being taught.

Nowadays there are a lot of computer peripherals that are used , if the teacher feels that introducing the computer peripherals might benefit the children then she may do so otherwise these major parts of computer are most commonly found in any PC.