COMPONENTS OF COMPUTER SYSTEM
...ildren are becoming smarter. They are growing up computer literate and will have that as a huge advantage. Computer literacy is becoming a huge job qualification and feeling comfortable with one will put them a step ahead. What are the advantages of computers for young children? · Computers help children to be in control of their experience, to set their own pace, and to select the level of challenge with which they feel comfortable. · Computers help children to use all of their senses to extract information. · Computers fascinate kids and can draw their full attention, which often results in a deeper focus and concentration. · Computers enable children to learn through creating, just as they gain hands-on knowledge and understanding when they build forts, make up stories, and paint, increase their skills · As they master computers, children build positive attitudes toward technology that will pay dividends for the rest of their lives. What are the disadvantages of computers for young children? · Computers are very engaging and can exercise a strong "holding power" on children as well as adults. They really seem to mesmerize children. Since we do not yet understand the impact of this power, we need to monitor the amount of time a child spends before a computer. · If the software is not age-appropriate, children are likely to become frustrated and associate a computer with failure. · Kids with access to software that is not age appropriate may be exposed to such negative influences as violence, strong language, and over-stimulation from fast-action graphics. · Frequent and prolonged computer sessions may pose physical health risks for children. The most frequently cited are visual strain, harmful effects of radiation, and posture and skeletal problems. In the case of normal usage and normal operating conditions, however, research has shown that computer monitors are safe and do not compromise the health of our eyes and that computer monitors emit little or no harmful radiation. What does seem to pose a hazard is the strain placed on a child's posture and skeletal structure if she consistently uses a computer set-up designed for an adult. · For Surfing the Internet, parental involvement & control is a must. Types of Keyboards Keyboards have changed very little in layout since their introduction. In fact, the most common change has simply been the natural evolution of adding more keys that provide additional functionality. The most common keyboards are: · 101-key Enhanced keyboard · 104-key Windows keyboard · 82-key Apple standard keyboard · 108-key Apple Extended keyboard Portable computers such as laptops quite often have custom keyboards that have slightly different key arrangements than a standard keyboard. Also, many system manufacturers add specialty buttons to the standard layout. A typical keyboard has four basic types of keys: · Typing keys · Numeric keypad · Function keys · Control keys The typing keys are the section of the keyboard that contain the letter keys, generally laid out in the same style that was common for typewriters. This layout, known as QWERTY for the first six letters in the layout, was originally designed to slow down fast typists by making the arrangement of the keys somewhat awkward! The reason that typewriter manufacturers did this was because the mechanical arms that imprinted each character on the...