This week, we learnt about different parts of a computer.

9/21/2017 📅

At the beginning, we clarified some conceptions about computer, computing system, the difference between information and data, and separate parts of a computer. During investigations, people collect raw data. After analyzing and processing, people turn raw data into usable information. A CPU is the central processing unit, which is basically the heart of a computer.

Then we talked about the computing system of a computer. A computer is made up of various parts, which from outside to inside is communications, applications, operating systems, programming, hardware, software and information. However, when we are talking about using an computer, we are always talking about the outer layers of the computing system, which is visible and easy to understand. However, to learn more about computer, we have to look inside the computer.

After that, we watched a short video concerning the history and development of computer. At first, computer was unsophisticated with only limited functions and computing abilities. With the cooperation of various scientists, it grown increasingly powerful and convenient. A

The we learnt something about input and output. They are two vital role in a computing system which would interact with users. Input is the process that we tell the computer what to do. Input devices include keyboard, mouse, touch screen, scanner, microphone, OCR reader and so on. Output devices include printer, monitor, projector, speaker, screen and so on.

Nowadays, new forms of input and output devices is popping up. Surface dial on the Surface series and Multi-touch Bar on the MacBook Pro series lightened a new way of interaction.  With these input devices beyond traditional devices, designers and artist would benefit a lot by working more efficiently, and normal users may also regard creating and designing more fascinating.

9/26/2017 📅

Today, we talked about the CPU in the computing system. CPU is the brain of the entire computer. It is a brilliant multi-tasker, but it can only understand 0 and 1. When we input something into the computer, the control unit in CPU would tell the rest of the CPU what to do. Then the arithmetic logic unit would do the calculating work, while the displacement would show the final answer. Based on these knowledge, the whole class was divided into two group, each represented a processing unit. I was the display devices, who draw small black squares on a page according to the data calculated by the ALU. During the game, we made some mistakes, but finally we ended with a smiling face on the “screen”. That was an impressive class!