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What Is a Computer?

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Set it as homework or classwork and every answer is marked as pupils go, with feedback on what they got wrong. The scores go straight into your mark book, so you can see who needs help before the next lesson.

  • 12 questions
  • 40 marks
  • about 30 minutes
  • marked instantly

Question types: multiple choice, label the diagram, true or false, fill the gap, matching.

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Try one from this worksheet

A computer follows the Input, Process, Output, Storage model. Which stage is where the computer's 'brain' actually works on the data — calculating, sorting or deciding what to do with it?

Pick an answer: it's marked straight away, just as your pupils would see it.

About this resource

Computing — Inside the Machine, Lesson 1. What counts as a computer, the Input → Process → Output + Storage model, input and output devices, and general-purpose computers versus embedded systems.

15 slides.

Lesson outline

  1. Hook — Count the Computers
  2. Do Now — Retrieval
  3. Keywords for This Lesson
  4. How Every Computer Works: Input → Process → Output + Storage
  5. Worked Example — Sending a Text Message
  6. Hinge Check — Which Stage Is Saving?
  7. Task 1 (guided) — Click the Input Devices
  8. Task 2 (guided) — Inside a Smart Speaker
  9. Computers Are Hiding Everywhere
  10. Embedded System — What It Is and What It Is Not
  11. Hinge Check — General-Purpose or Embedded?
  12. Task 3 (semi-guided) — General-Purpose or Embedded?
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