Computers have lots of different parts and each has a special job.
Some will be inside the computer and others will be outside. Some parts are attached by wires and others are wireless.
The parts that make up a computer are called "hardware." Programs which tell a computer what to do are called "software." The hardware needs the software to tell it what to do.
Students will identify computer parts in a clickable activity as well as a game.
This site offers informational text, video, and interactive activities to help students understand input and output devices.
Input is data that a computer receives. Output is data that a computer sends.
Computers only work with digital information. Any input that a computer receives must be digitized.
Often data has to be converted back to an analog format when it's output, for example, the sound from a computer's speakers.
In this activity, students examine how computers sort numbers, gaining an understanding of input, processing, and output. This activity may be integrated easily across the curriculum as a sorting activity.
This activity was demonstrated during the Exploring Today's Classroom (ETC) Summit.
