Identify, describe and choose the most suitable type of computer for a task
Describe the different parts of a computer system
Computer hardware is the physical computer system. It is what is called tangible.
We call the computer applications that run on hardware software.
There are several different types of computers. In this lesson we are going to look at:
Desktop computers
Laptops
Tablets
Smartphones
Smartwatches
Servers
Mainframes
Supercomputers
There are two classifications of computer system:
General purpose computer system
Embedded computer system
An embedded computer system is one which is built-in to another system (e.g. a washing machine) and serves only one purpose. For example to act as a timer or to control the temperature of the water
A general-purpose computer (like the ones in this room) is designed to be able to carry out a wide range of different tasks.
Processing power is the term used to compare different computers. It measures performance of a computer system.
This is a way to compare which computers are better for certain tasks such as playing video games or running certain programs.
It is a general rule of thumb, the smaller the device or the lower the power consumption of the device, the lower the processing power.
Computers are compared using benchmarks which are run on them.
Desktop computers are large computers that are designed to remain in one location, for example at a desk.
A separate keyboard and mouse is attached to the computer.
Desktop computers are often selected because they offer more processing power than other computers such as laptops or tablets.
Desktop computers consume quite a lot power but offer a good amount of processing power
Laptop computers are often selected for their high processing power, battery life and low power consumption.
They work just like desktop computers internally, however, it is often difficult to fix a laptop if it ever breaks as their components are often fixed to them.
Laptops use similar, scaled down components when compared to a desktop.
Tablet computers are often chosen for their balance between processing power and battery life as well as portability
The most common tablet computer is the Apple iPad.
Tablet computers, such as Apple's iPad Pro, are getting more and more powerful whilst retaining good energy efficiency.
Tablets often lack some of the things you’d expect on a desktop or a laptop such as ways to connect to printers.
Tablets are often limited in what they can do when it comes to things such as word processing tasks (writing letters, essays etc.)
Smartphones are one of the most portable computers available and have access to the Internet anywhere they can get a phone signal.
Smartphones are now so popular that around 2.7 billion people now own one.
The most popular smartphone by manufacturer on the market is Samsung.
Most smartphones run on either Android, Tizen or iOS.
Smartwatches have taken off very quickly. Each year around 75 million smartwatches are sold.
Around 400 million have been sold since 2015 when they first appeared on the market.
Smartwatches combine portability with low performance. They only perform the most basic of computing tasks.
The most popular smartwatch is the Apple Watch accounting for 46% of the whole market.
Servers are computers that are designed for doing something on behalf of another computer.
One type of server is a web server which is used to send a requested webpage to a computer system.
Server do not have to be large computers, and do not need to be extremely powerful.
Another type of server is a file server (like the one used in school) that allows users to save to it and access their files on any computer system that is connected to it.
Mr Balfour's home control server!
Mr Balfour's home Minecraft server!
Mainframes (or big irons) are huge computers that are used to process large amounts of information.
These computers are often very large (sometimes taking up an entire room) and consume large amounts of electrical energy but are capable of processing trillions of instructions per second
As well as mainframes, there are supercomputers. These computers are created for very specific, often research based, tasks.
Go to S3TYPESOFCOMPUTERS.
When you finish that you can start creating a slideshow or a poster for the classroom on the different types of computers listed below:
In this lesson pupils will learn about different types of computers, ranging from smartwatches to mainframes. They will start to think about general purpose computers and embedded systems and where they might see them in their own homes.
The task will get pupils thinking about computers and the different types they've seen.
Worksheet can be found here.
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