Unit 2: Components

This activity demo would go so much better if you create an account and log in :)

This unit discusses hardware components, the "building blocks" of modern computers.

Did you know? The following activities can be customized as desired by the teacher or school pedagogue.

Basic activities (computer-graded)

Vocabulary Builder Activity

Students will learn the following key terms and phrases:

Reading Activity: Computer Hardware Components

Students will be able to correctly answer true/false questions after reading and listening to topical short articles and dialogs featuring topical vocabulary.

Due to convergence, the traditional categories we divide computing into are blurring. But for practical reasons, IT professionals can still divide hardware into two main classes: components and peripherals. Components are primarily core internal devices of a computer which help define what type a computer is, what it is capable of doing, and how well it is capable of doing it. Nothing affects the… Continue

Multiple Choice Activity

Students will be able to select the best match between unit terms and their definitions.

You must sign in to try this activity.

Listening Comprehension Activity

Students will be able to listen to short audio clips in English and then spell them correctly.

You must sign in to try this activity.

Spelling and Recognition

Students will be able to identify and spell a vocabulary term correctly given only the definition.

You must sign in to try this activity.

Advanced activities (optionally teacher-graded)

Speaking Practice Activity

Students will be able to speak and record 5 example sentences from the unit vocabulary and then submit them for grading by the classroom teacher. If no teacher is available or desired, then the students will be shown good examples of other students' work.

Speccing a low-end chipset is not a good way to save money when building a new PC.

The processor, RAM, and PCI cards plug directly into the motherboard.

Many older microprocessors included a coprocessor to speed up floating-point calculations.

The SSD storage device came with a SATA connection running at 6 Gbit/s.

The boy grinned ear-to-ear when he received a new PCI Express graphics card for Christmas.

You must sign in to try this activity.

Writing Practice Activity

Students will write a short essay to be graded by the teacher. If no teacher is available or desired, then the student is shown previous examples of other writings by students.

What components are in your computer right now? Make a list of them. If you can't take your computer apart, look up the model number on the Web.

If you could upgrade any three components inside your computer, which ones would you replace and why?

Imagine you are a system administrator and your manager is asking you to spec a new workstation for some game testers. Your budget is $2,500 per workstation, not including the monitor. What components would you spec?

You must sign in to try this activity.