Using Computers, Week 1, 31st July 2007

Lecture week 1

personal computers(PC) are essential tools used for:

• business
• personal productivity
• leisure

As an undergraduate at university a PC is essential for:

• research
• word processing
• creating presentations
• communicating with your peers, tutors and the outside world.

Equipment needed for UPC0004:

• a working myECU profile
• a thumb-drive
• a ECU email account
• internet access at home

Skills required:

• basic understanding of Windows OS
• knowledge and experience with MSWord and MSPowerPoint
• ECU's online SIMO system
• ECU's online learning mangement system Blackboard
• file formats and the applications that use them
• logical file/document management and retrieval skills
• ability to search and find useful information on the internet
• utilise Endnote to identify and manage references

Workshop

Title: introductory workshop

Tasks

Log on to the ECU network and SIMO by visiting http://www.ecu.edu.au/

• use the ECU homepage to navigate to current students followed by clicking on the link SIMO
• log into SIMO
• Simo contains information on enrolement , timetable, course info, results and fees
• make sure you log out

Check that you can send recieve emails using your ECU account:

• use the ECU home page to navigate to myECU
• click on email, make sure you can send and recieve emails

Log into blackboard (MyECU) click on UPC004- explore the links:

• use the ECU homepage
• click on currrent students followed by MyECU
• MyECU contains all the materials from your course including each unit resources
• the quicklinks on the left side allow you to check: Announcements Staff Information Unit Outline Schedule Unit Resources Assessment Communication Discussion Board External Links

• set up a weblog http://www.blogger.com/
• produce a screen capture

Set up an image storage account http://www.imageshack.us/ or http://www.photobucket.com/

• use the Photobucket site to upload your screen captures
• create an account choose a username, password and enter your email
• use the browse option to find the image you have saved as a JPEG
• click upload
• after the image has uploaded copy the HTML tag and transfer to the blog

(print screen of photobucket use)

Readings

1. Welcome to PC Lube and Tune http://yale.edu/pclt/default.htm

PC Lube and Tune is designed to supply users with technical information about computers such as usable introductions, tutorials and education on technical subjects. There are articles available for individuals to browse onmany topics:

• An Introduction to PC Hardware
• exception handling in java and c#
• the graphic user interface
• Computers, video files, and HDTV
• technical perspective on the microsoft antitrust case
• and many more...

2. How PC's work http://www.howstuffworks.com/pc.htm

This website provides an overview of how a PC works including informations about its main components: Central processing unit (CPU) - The microprocessor "brain" of the computer system is called the central processing unit. Everything that a computer does is overseen by the CPU. Memory - This is very fast storage used to hold data. It has to be fast because it connects directly to the microprocessor. There are several specific types of memory in a computer: Random-access memory (RAM) - Used to temporarily store information that the computer is currently working with Read-only memory (ROM) - A permanent type of memory storage used by the computer for important data that does not change Basic input/output system (BIOS) - A type of ROM that is used by the computer to establish basic communication when the computer is first turned on Caching - The storing of frequently used data in extremely fast RAM that connects directly to the CPU Virtual memory - Space on a hard disk used to temporarily store data and swap it in and out of RAM as needed Motherboard - This is the main circuit board that all of the other internal components connect to. The CPU and memory are usually on the motherboard. Other systems may be found directly on the motherboard or connected to it through a secondary connection. For example, a sound card can be built into the motherboard or connected through PCI. Power supply - An electrical transformer regulates the electricity used by the computer. Hard disk - This is large-capacity permanent storage used to hold information such as programs and documents. Operating system - This is the basic software that allows the user to interface with the computer. Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) Controller - This is the primary interface for the hard drive, CD-ROM and floppy disk drive. Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Bus - The most common way to connect additional components to the computer, PCI uses a series of slots on the motherboard that PCI cards plug into. SCSI - Pronounced "scuzzy," the small computer system interface is a method of adding additional devices, such as hard drives or scanners, to the computer. AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port is a very high-speed connection used by the graphics card to interface with the computer. Sound card - This is used by the computer to record and play audio by converting analog sound into digital information and back again. Graphics card - This translates image data from the computer into a format that can be displayed by the monitor. In the next section, we'll look at how your computer connects to the outside

Reference

www.howstuffworks.com/pc.htm