Unit 3: Setting Up Computers and Connecting Peripherals

Unit Description

This is a short unit that results in students setting up a computer system, either a desktop or laptop, with common peripherals. Hands-on activities would benefit by being focused on setting up a computer system to school or district specifications for a given user profile (student, teacher, administrator, other) with commonly used peripheral devices. The activity is one that many students may have some experience in, so while the unit has a tremendous amount of vocabulary, it is likely that many students will be familiar with the parts of a computer, ports and connectors, and common peripherals. Not all students may be familiar with the accurate terminology, but it is likely that students with an interest in computers can quickly match the correct terminology with their associated understanding of devices.

There is a short unit on using File Systems that focuses on Windows Explorer as an example. The skills in this unit are also ones that many students will be familiar with; although, some students may have gaps in their learning as measured by the certification exam and would benefit from working through the lab in that unit independently.

Since many students will have been exposed to much of this information, the focus should be on actually setting up a computer system accurately and learning accurate terminology and closing the gap in terms of those items they do not know. A good pre-assessment could allow students to “test out” of much of the material.