Computer Science

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In this course you will learn what Computer Science is all about. You’ll explore computer architectures, hardware, operating systems and applications. You will also do a small project to get some hands-on experience. This course does not require any programming expertise, nor is any technical background required. It is designed to introduce the basics of Computer Science to anyone.

COURSE CONTENT

Lesson 1: Computer Systems.

In this lesson, section, basic terms used in Computer Science will be covered which will describe the components of a computer system. It also provides a detailed description of the peripherals of a computer system, i.e. those extra systems that are often connected, along with the software that makes the hardware components operational.

Included will be:

• Mainframe computers, laptops, microcomputers
• Bits, Bytes, Mega bits and Bytes,
• Binary systems
• CPU
• RAM, ROM
• Hard disks and SSDs
• GPUs
• Peripherals including displays, keyboards, mice, printers.
• Operating Systems such as Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS and DOS

Lesson 2: Operating Systems

In this section the basic software and data organization of a computer system is explained, which is stored in various memory locations and the part they play in the start up and running of a computer system.

Included will be:

• BIOS
• The Registry
• RAM
• ROM
• Large storage devices (hard disk and SSID)

COURSE DATES

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

• Explain the important parts which are used to construct a computer.
• Describe the parts of a computer system which affect its overall performance.
• Describe what happens when a computer is switched on to then be ready for use.
• Understand how memory is used for data, programs and the operating system.

SUGGESTED OTHER COURSES

• Autonomous Vehicles 
• Artificial Intelligence
• The Metaverse/AR/VR/XR 
• Computer Programming
• Robotics