How a computer works

The most important part of the computer is the motherboard. The motherboard is responsible for ensuring that all parts of a computer get power as well as are able to communicate with each other. The main function of the motherboard is to contain the central processing unit, or the CPU. The CPU functions as the brain of the computer. The speed of the processor controls how fast the computer can operate. The motherboard also contains the BIOS, Basic Input/Output System, (as it will be described below) as well as the computer's memory.

Hitting the power switch on your computer sends binary codes to the motherboard to start the boot process. The computer will start the BIOS chip to perform a self-test. The BIOS directions are stored on the read-only memory, ROM. The BIOS sends out information to the different parts of the computer to check they are working and start their start-up process. Once this is completed the operating system, OS, should be ready to work with the various input and output devices. Once you open a program on your OS sends a signal to the CPU which then needs to be broken down into procedural steps and works with the RAM, random access memory. Information sent to the CPU goes through the instruction register, IR, which gives instructions to the pointer of the location of where to store the output information from the ACC. Programmers attempt to write code that involves the fewest steps while taking up the smallest amount of memory.

Specific hardware can not work without software and vice-versa. Operating systems come with some software but do not contain all the software needed for specific types of computer use. You can not play a DVD without having a DVD drive as well as a DVD player installed on your computer. These are ways that the computer needs to interact between input, software, and output.

OS Activities - Part II

I decided to speak with a "techie" and called my friend John. He works in the tech department at a Hospital in Madison. I asked him which is his largest frustration about the OS they use at the hospital. He said they use Windows XP and gets frustrated by people who do not try to think of the simple reasons their computer has an error. Usually he wouldn't need to come if the users would know some simple maintenance. He also does not enjoy how frequent problems pop up, but it keeps him in business.

The next activity I did was update and install an OS patch for my computer. This is very easy to do on the Mac because you just simply click on the apple and then select "Software Update." The update that it cam up with was an update to JAVA so that it is more compatible with the OS X operating system. It took less than 2 minutes to do and as so as it was done, my time machine automatically started to back up the update.

The final activity I did was learn about different features of my operating system. I learned about the ability to set parental controls on the Mac (OS X 10.5.8). By creating an account for the child, you can limit the amount of time they can use the computer as well as what is the computer will log them off. You can also limit the websites they visit as well as who they can chat with and email. I also learned about expose. I have accidentally clicked on the of the F3 button and the any windows I currently have open snap into a grid on the screen. You can sort them alphabetically as well as by what type of application it is. Spaces is great because you can manage all of the windows that you have on your desktop without having to move them over and minimize them. While expose just shows what you have, spaces allows you to work. The next feature I investigated was VoiceOver, this application allows individuals with visual impairments to scroll over text and hear the words. This would be great for students with disabilities as well as ELL students. File sharing is another handy feature in the Mac. This allows you to share documents with other Macs and PCs without sharing a google.doc. We have used this with out in-laws as an easy way share pictures. Another features is Spotlight. This allows you to search your Mac for documents easily with key words as well as pictorally with thumbnails of documents.

OS Activities - Part I

Just this week I watched ht video "Pirates of Silicon Valley." It was different to watch a movie entirely on YouTube, but it worked out very well. The movie was very interesting and I watched it after I finished watching Triumph of the Nerds. I found the perspective of the film interesting that you were able to follow both groups of men and see how their stories overlapped as well as the relationships between them. After watching the film I did a little research on Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to see what they have done since the movie left off. Most of us are well away of Jobs' return to Apple but I did not know about his acquisition of Pixar. As for Wozniak, it was interesting to read more about the plane crash and the amnesia that resulted from it.

Overall it just struck me how fortunate all of these men were at the time. They were in the correct places at the perfect time. If most of them wouldn't have quite college, the history of the personal computer would be very different. All of these men displayed a sense of confidence, except for Wozniak, and it was enough to convince many people to invest and believe in them.

581 Week 1

I came into this class with very little knowledge about computers and their parts. I knew enough to manipulate the features needed for my computer. The only prior experience I had to opening a computer was when I was trying to install my wireless Internet port into my PC in college. The videos that we watched inside and out of class were very interesting. The history of the computer is very mind blowing to think about. Many of time inventions occur to fit a need or made life easier, but for some of the situations they discussed in the film, just seemed to be so removed from what was going on. The inventor who created the grate to protect trains also wanted to invent a computer. The other types of first computers were also very interesting. I have felt a little overwhelmed with the amount of acronyms used to name computer parts but I know they are easier than the true names for the parts. I am excited to see how each of these pieces play a part in the little invention we could not live without now.

Week 5

This week we spent more time talking about Twitter. Having explored Twitter for a couple weeks now I have found a couple people that I am interested in following. I have logged onto Twitter to see what people have tweeted in the past couple days. Some tweet more than others and I have found that some people are not tweeting what I have expected them to post. This summer I would like to spend more time searching for professional development sites that could enhance my teaching. I am looking for tweets to help keep me up-to-date with technologies available to be implemented into the classroom. I would also like to search for more math professionals on-line. As for posting tweets myself, I find it difficult to find ideas on what to add myself.

This week we were also asked to create a TokBox video message. This was very easy to do and I think could be very useful this upcoming year. I feel like this will be an easy way to communicate with my class as well as with my long-term sub. This would also be a great way for students to pose questions. Often they have difficulty expressing themselves through words and math symbols so I feel that many of them might be able to pose their questions more articulately if they were able to do it verbally with visuals they pose in front of the camera as well. I look forward to seeing how I can use this professionally.

New Ideas Week 4

Screencasting tools are very easy to use and I think they are a great way to communicate information with students, clients, and parents. There are so many different ways to create them and publish them. You can find them on YouTube or "How To" sites, companies have even made their money creating and editing them. You can make elaborate ones or you can simply just show the step you go through to do something. There are a lot of things we can expect students to figure out on their own, but for some learning types they need visual cues instead of just words. This is one way to get all students the necessary information in the most efficient way. I am excited to use screencasting in my classroom.

Screencasting would be a great way for students to share and express sites they have found. This would allow them to show and demonstrate how to interact with a site they have found. For me,

as a visual learner, this is a great options instead of having students write papers and reviews of sites. Students would have to create a "script" to ensure there is a flow to to the screencast instead of choppy fragments of ideas.

RSS - A Good Time

RSS aggregates are very handy. This week we have been exploring using aggregator for RSS feeds. It's so wonderful to have all the updates go to one place then you aren't wasting your time going from Blog to Blog in search of great resources and inspiration. It has been nice spending the time to search for blogs and then search the people that follow them or even ones they follow. There are some great ideas out there and blogs are one way to make the discussion grow from outside your department to outside of your district and on to the entire world! (What a idyllic fact.)
The video we watched for a group was interesting to watch as well. The guests discussed some of the problems with the current education we have in place. We seek to individualize everything for our students to meet their needs the best we can. One guest even said that the way we currently teach will look different in the year 2050 because we will just be coordinators for students from a distance. I don't think you can take teachers out completely because that is not the way the world functions. It reminds me of the movie, WALL-E. If we had less than 120 students in a day this would be great to do. Individualize every lesson and subject for our students, but a teacher's day isn't magically longer because they have more work to do. I feel that this would be very difficult to incorporate and be successful at in our current structure and under the current governmental rules.