Inside A Computer

Computers: everyone uses them, but how do they actually work? This video goes beyond the desktop and program software to grapple with the system hardware itself.

After a quick history of the computer, Inside a Computer takes a close look at the motherboard, with its central processing unit, RAM, and system clock; input devices such as the keyboard, mouse, and joystick; output devices like the monitor and printer; and storage devices, including internal and external hard disks and flash drives. The binary system of data management is also examined. Designed for computer novices, technicians-in-training, and experienced software users who want a better understanding of how a computer does what it does.

1. History of the Computer From the desktop calculators of the 1930s, to the technological advances on computers during WWII, the computer proves its value as a super-calculator.

2. Computers and Technology From the Fifties, through the Sixties when the first personal computer appeared, to the microprocessors of the Seventies and the software of the Eighties, computers develop as technology advances.

3. Computer Hardware Computer hardware consists of Input devices such as the mouse, the computer itself (CPU), output devices (peripherals such as the monitor, and storage devices such as the hard disk drive, digital versatile disc (DVD), and portable flash sticks.

4. Computer System Unit Every computer has a system unit that consists of a motherboard that coordinates the CPU, system clock, memory module, drives, fans, power supplies, cards & expansion slots, and ports.

5. Language of Computers The computer processes all information in the binary code, a system of 1s and 0s.

6. Importance of Software to Computers Software allows computers to translate instructions from English (on the keyboard) into binary code, and then back into the language of the user. Such software is necessary for word process, spreadsheets, and Internet search.

 

Grade: 6-8, 9-12

Inside A Computer (DVD)
© 2008
Time: 27 Minutes