At the end of this unit, students should be able to:

• Define the nature of hardware and software and identify the general types of components that make a computer system,
• Discuss the roles of applications and operating systems,
• Understand the characteristics of analogue/digital data and where they fit into today's technological world,
• Identify the interfaces associated with different operating systems,
• Compare the advantages and disadvantages of computer systems for different scenarios,
• Discover how emerging technology is impacting on everyday life.

Topics in this unit are:

• Hardware and Software,
• Analogue and digital data,
• Operating systems,
• Types of computers,
• Emerging technologies.

Assessments will take the form of:

• Class activities that apply practical skills,
• homework task sheets
• skills-strengthening quizzes,
• an end-of-unit test (past paper questions).