Computer Studies: Advanced Level
Goal Statement
The goals of Computer Studies at the Advanced Level are:
- to provide students with a survey of the major applications of computers
- to develop an understanding of computers and concepts to aid the students’ employment opportunities, personal productivity, and enjoyment
- to enable the student to acquire skills to contribute to, and participate productively in society.
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to demonstrate the following skills:
1. Hardware
- identify, name and describe basic components of a computer system unit:
- motherboard
- Central Processing Unit (CPU)
- memory (RAM)
- peripheral connections (USB, firewire, HDMI…)
2. Memory and Secondary Storage
- identify, name and describe Secondary Storage Devices, including:
- hard drives (fixed and removable)
- USB devices (flash drives and USB hard drives)
- solid state drives
- Memory cards (SD, SC)
- Online storage (cloud storage)
- Optical and magneto-optical storage devices (CD-ROM, DVD)
- recognize and use capacity descriptors (KB, MB, GB, TB)
- distinguish between and describe the function of RAM, ROM and BIOS/UEFI
3. Input and Output
- identify, name, describe, and distinguish among input and output devices (and associated software):
- keyboard, pointing devices, scanners
- video adapters and displays (LCD, touch screen)
- printers (various types)
- voice
- describe how various input and output devices can be used to assist people with disabilities
- option: digital camera, cell phone, other devices
4. Operating a Computer
- distinguish between System Software, Utility Software and Application Software and describe the purpose of an operating system
- differentiate among various commonly used operating systems
- employ operating system(s) to perform basic operations of disk and file management.
- assign meaningful file and folder names
- employ wildcard characters in file management
- organize files on storage devices and designate drives, folders and files
- perform management functions to locate, list, display properties of, copy, rename, move, (un)delete folders and files
- describe drive formatting (sectors, tracks, index) and defragment a drive
- recognize a variety of common program and data file types and their associated extension
- describe the problem of computer malware, (viruses and spyware), and methods to detect and remove them
- demonstrate care, maintenance, and protection of computer equipment
- demonstrate the ability to back up data
- option: identify workspace ergonomics conditions
5. Computers in Society
- identify the effect of computers on their everyday lives (databases-subscription lists, ATMs, the Internet, computer record systems, income tax)
- give examples of how computers are affecting career opportunities
- trace the history of computer technology and identify current trends
- state the purchasing considerations from the perspective of an informed consumer (warranty, service, licensing, needs assessm