Modern computers can solve mathematical problems, store and find information. They control spaceships, complex machines, and even entire factories. Computers help treat people, create movies, write music and much more.
A scientist and a doctor, an engineer and a teacher, a writer and a composer, a designer and an agronomist – a computer can help everyone. A computer can look at the library catalog in a split second and tell if there is a necessary book there or not.
Airline computers are connected to each other all over the world and can immediately tell if there are tickets for the desired flight and for what time. When making a weather forecast, meteorologists use computers to process data received from satellites.
Currently, there are many types of computers: portable computers – “laptops”, electronic notebooks. With their help, you can perform calculations, print documents, store and quickly find the necessary information. There are also supercomputers that occupy large rooms. They are used to solve complex tasks, such as controlling the flight of spacecraft, making weather forecasts. There are special gaming computers, microcomputers or invisible computers – these are tiny microprocessors built into cars, washing machines, air conditioners, music centers, telephones. Special processors that recognize human speech are inserted into locks that are unlocked only by order. They are all electronic machines.
Desktop personal computers, such as those in our computer science office, remain the most common. The PC consists of a system unit, monitor, keyboard, mouse.
A system unit is a part of a computer that contains all its main PC devices.
Inside it there is a processor, RAM, a hard magnetic disk (hard drive) – the main storage device, a video board or video card that allows you to display information on the monitor screen, a sound card – a device that allows you to play audio information through speakers or headphones, floppy disks and CD drives and other devices.
The processor is the “brain” of the computer, its main device, it is the processor that deals with counting and logical operations. The processor also commands all other computer devices.
For the computer to work, devices that store information are needed. These devices are called storage devices or computer memory. There are two types of storage devices: RAM and long-term memory.
The RAM contains the programs that the computer is currently running and the data they use. RAM “forgets” everything if the computer is turned off.
Another type of memory is long–term. This memory is designed for long-term storage of information, regardless of whether the computer is turned on or not. Information is stored on magnetic and optical disks.
From the outside, a monitor, keyboard, mouse, microphone, speakers, scanner, printer, modem and some other devices are connected to the system unit.
A monitor is sometimes also called a display or a screen – it is a device for displaying information that a computer works with.
The keyboard is used to enter information. It helps us to enter letters, numbers, and various signs into the computer. The letter keys are located in the center of the keyboard. This is done in order to make them easier to use. Special keys with commands are located on the edges of the keyboard. When working on the keyboard, the finger of each hand knows its keys and should not touch others. Only the space bar can be pressed by the thumb of any hand. It is important to learn how to freely and quickly enter letters and numbers from the keyboard with all 10 fingers, without looking at the keys.
There is a huge variety of programs. They help scientists and engineers, managers and designers, but there are also programs designed specifically for schoolchildren – educational and gaming programs. With the help of a computer, you can study mathematics and Russian, the world around us and technology. Computer games are also very interesting. Games that develop perception, attention, memory and thinking will be of great benefit.
What is the child waiting for when he sits down at the computer for the first time? He’s waiting for the game. And if his expectations were met, then we can assume that the psychological barrier to the novelty is over. Often, a child playing computer games becomes a self-taught specialist and imperceptibly acquires working skills.
It is best to start getting acquainted with a computer at preschool age and with the simplest games. But of course, it’s not worth dwelling on the game stage. Information culture provides for moderation in the absorption of the same type of information and the expansion of the boundaries of awareness. The passion for computer games is an area of information culture, not an indicator of computer literacy.
At the same time, it is worth noting that in addition to toys, there are training programs, but no matter how useful they may seem to us, they cannot compete with games in terms of fascination. Let the child first make a discovery for himself, understand that a computer is entertainment and a toy, and only then learn that he is also a working tool and a teacher. The transition to serious activity can occur, of course, due to the current situation. This situation, by the way, can be provoked. Take up, for example, the design of a project, the creation of computer graphics, or just search for something on the Internet…
Parents who bought a computer for their child need to take the initiative after the first and very fruitful stage of the child’s independent development of this toy. And firmly rejoice about the education of elementary computer culture, which, if you look at it, is no different from ordinary culture.
Today, computers play an important role in learning. With their help, three-year-olds learn to distinguish objects by shape and color; six- and seven-year-olds learn to read and write; school graduates prepare for entrance exams to higher educational institutions; students investigate what happens if the temperature of a nuclear reactor exceeds the permissible limit.
A computer is a special invention of man. It helps a person to do mental work, but the computer itself does not know how to think. The computer solves complex tasks in which you need to do a lot of calculations quickly and find information, but these complex tasks are put before the computer by a person.
Is it easy to explain to the computer what it should do? Both simple and difficult. Just because the computer never forgets anything. It is difficult, because you need to be able to present any task in a form that is understandable to a computer. And the result of solving the problem by the computer also needs to be “translated” back into human language. Even there are special