This week, we had our first Computer Science class. We learned quite a bit.
To start with, we introduced ourselves, just like in all other classes. Then, Mr. Pete introduced the syllabus to us. The syllabus mainly consists of some basic but important computer skills. We ended class with some typing tests. Mr. Pete also gave us a little bit of homework to do. The homework includes signing up for numerous websites (zoho, icloud, etc.).
Overall, from my experience of our first class, I’m very excited about this semester’s Computer Science class for many different reasons. There are so many possibilities possible with computer technology, and the industry is not only developing extremely fast these days, but it is also boosting the development of other industries. For example, a lot of businesses sell products on their websites in order to boost their sales. Not to mention, I might choose to do IT in the future, so this class might be able to provide a good base for learning computer science later on. Also, regardless of what career I choose, it’s important to be computer literate anyways. Technology is so integrated in every aspect of our lives nowadays, if you don’t know the basics of computer science, you are at a severe disadvantage. To continue with the example of e-commerce, a lot of traditional brick-and mortar businesses (Toys R Us, Macy’s, etc.) are having a hard time selling goods and competing with e-commerce businesses. Basically, knowing computers is fun and important.
I’m also very excited about starting this new blog. I’ve never done a blog before. However, I’ve always enjoyed reading the blogs of some other people, and I’ve always wanted to start one. I think it’s great I have the opportunity to start a proper blog and be able to regularly to post my writings online for other people to see. It’s a great way for people to present their ideas and communicate.
In a nutshell, I’m really excited about Computer Science and starting a new blog. The reason why is because I think it’ll be very interesting and beneficial for me in the future.
(Starting from top left, going clockwise) Pic 1: First typing test Pic 2: Second typing test (w/ person blocking keyboard with a piece of paper) Pic 3: Zoho account
We had another few great, productive Computer Science classes.
Blog
To start with, Mr. Pete taught us how to set up a blog with WordPress. It was quite challenging at first, but after becoming more familiar with the system and the layout of the website, I found that WordPress is fairly intuitive. We learned up how to set up our own blog website with a proper home page and different reflections under a “Pre-IB Computer Science” category.
Home page of my blog.
PeteICT
Also, Mr. Pete has his own website “peteict.com”. We registered on it and entered our own personal student information. By registering our student information, we made it a lot more convenient for Mr. Pete to give and receive assignments from students and grade them.
My profile page on peteict.
What is a computer?
Next, we watched video clips on “What is a computer” and “Who invented the computer”. After watching the video, we discussed what we learned, which was mainly some tidbits about the history of the computer. By doing this, we were able to strengthen our basic understanding of the computer and how it came to be.
Computing System
A computer includes a computing system, which is composed of hardware, software and data. These three things work together within a computing system to solve problems. Hardware is the actual physical parts that the computer is composed of. So, the display, the keyboard, the mouse,etc. Software is the virtual parts and platforms the computer actually runs on, it is the programs that provide the instructions for the computer to execute. Examples would be the operating system and applications. Data are the raw statistics that the computer processes.
The Layers of the Computing System
Mr. Pete also taught us about the many layers of the computer system. Information is the innermost layer of computing. It shows how information is displayed on a computer. Information is managed by the binary code. Then there is the hardware layer (pretty self-explanatory), the programming layer, which deals with software, the operating system, which helps organize hardware and software, the application layer, which focuses on applying the computer for actual specific use, and the communication layer, which helps the computer to communicate with other computers.
Pretty self-explanatory. Information is the innermost and first layer.
Input, Process & Output
Input is to provide or give something to the computer. There are many different ways to achieve this: mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, etc. Process is (as the name implies) how the computer processes whatever input was given. For example, the computer must process the action of clicking somewhere with your mouse and locate where it is and the command it must carry out. Output is the result and the computer displaying the result to the user, usually through the display.
Afterwards, we did a group activity where we tried to come up with real life examples of input, process, and output (other than computers, obviously). For our group, we thought of an electronic fan. The input is setting it to certain wind speed (fast, slow, medium etc.), the process would be the fan changing its settings accordingly, and the output would be the fan blowing wind at the requested speed. This great activity allowed us to gain a greater understanding of the definition of input, process, and output and how it works for computers.
Computing Devices
Mr. Pete had us do a presentation to introduce a certain part of a modern computer. A computing system is mainly composed of five types of devices: input devices, processing devices, output devices, communication devices, and storage devices. Examples of communication devices are modern Wifi cards, network cards and Bluetooth. For our group, we had to introduce the different accessories of the storage group. This includes a wide variety of different devices: CD drives, DVD drives, USBs, hard drives, etc. i introduced the DVD drive.
We used Zoho to create a presentation together. Zoho is a website that allows multiple people to work on the same project simultaneously and help correct each other, so it is incredibly efficient for group projects where we have to create a single, comprehensive document together.
Then, everyone brought their group presentations to class. We did peer assessment, which is where students review the projects of other students. It’s a great way to make sure that students are not only paying attention to other people’s projects, but it also allows us to evaluate what makes a presentation great and learn from it and incorporate it into our future presentations later on. I think our group did fairly well. We were pretty comprehensive in terms of information and I felt that we communicated the ideas from the presentation pretty well.
my main slide (you can click on either of these two screenshots of our powerpoint to open up our presentation in zoho)
main title slide
CPU
Mr. Pete also had us do an interactive project together to help better understand how the CPU (aka central processing unit) works. The CPU is basically the brain of the computer. It receives information, processes it and then sends it along. The CPU is composed of different parts, such as the transporter who transports info within the CPU, and the ALU （Arithmetic Logic Unit), which is what actually processes information. Anyways, he had different people in a group act the part of different parts from the CPU. We found out that is was quite difficult, because we don’t know if the other people did their job correctly.
All in all…
I learned a lot of content from this week’s Computer Science class. The question of “what is a computer” initially seems quite simple. After all, there are computers all around us, especially now that we’ve entered a digital age. However, when you really ponder the question, it’s actually quite difficult. We seem to know a computer when we see one, but defining what is a computer is a whole another story. Eventually, a general consensus arose. A computer is an electronic device that can receive input, process, and then display the output for the user. I also learned a lot about the computer and how there were a lot of people who contributed to its creation and its transformation into what it is today. Their cooperation and thought process that lead to the creation of the modern computer can also be applied into our everyday life when we try to create something new together. Also of note, I believe that learning how to create a clean format for a blog website was very helpful. Now, I can create a proper blog post and express my opinion online.
Steven's Blog 