Computer Awareness Programme (Module 1) － Joy to the Computer World

Module 1: All-purpose Computers?

Introduction

This module is divided into four parts: Part [I] contains a “A World with Computers”
web page which has examples to explain the functions and uses of computers,
provoking students to think with the wealth of information provided and preparing
them for later activities; Parts [II] – [IV] contain the exercises “Computers and Me”,
“My Journal on Computer use” and “Design Room for Future Computers”. These
exercises enable students to engage in information collection and analysis so they can
understand the impact computers have on daily life, as well as learn to pay more
attention to the future development of Information Technology (IT). Teachers can
refer to the Module Structure Table to select appropriate activities, so as to achieve
different learning objectives. E.g. the three exercises in Part [II] and the whole of Part
[III] share common learning objectives, so teachers can select and teach these
modules flexibly.

[I] “A World with Computers”

This series of web pages have brief text descriptions as well as pictures and videos
with narrations. They are for students to watch during class or after school, and
provide students with interesting examples to help them learn about the applications
of IT in daily life. Below are examples of content from the “A World with
Computers” web pages. For details, please refer to “Reference Room” (Reference
Room\A world with Computers\A world with Computers.doc):

Examples of IT application Narration Remarks

How to lead a lost dog Look! This dog is lost. If this dog could speak, it Below are pictures and
home? would tell us where it lives and the name of its steps on how to insert the
owner so we can lead it back home. But it can microchip from the
only bark, so what should we do? The Agriculture, Fisheries and
Government now requires dogs over 5 months old Conservation Department.
to have a 1cm (approximately) long microchip When necessary, teachers
installed under its skin. This microchip is saved can open the web page to
with the dog’s identity and the owner’s explain this to students.
information. All we need to do is use a chip http://www.pets.gov.hk/b5_
scanner [transliterate] and we will be able to dog_1_4_1.php#btop
contact the dog’s owner so the dog can be picked
up and brought back home!
Why do trains not collide The MTR is installed with a train control and The narration to this
even though MTR trains signaling system, so although MTR train trips are example is accompanied
arrive so frequently? frequent, based on the distance between trains, the with a short video.
location of station platforms, train routes and other
information, the computer can decide whether
trains need to accelerate or decelerate. This way
trains will arrive punctually and it can be ensured
that they will not crash. The system can also
prepare a train operation schedule!

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 Computer Awareness Programme (Module 1) － Joy to the Computer World

Tip:
 Before explaining “A World with Computers”, teachers can lead students into this
theme by asking questions (E.g. How do you usually use your computer every
day? Do you know what other things a computer can be used for?).
 Teachers can open the “A World with Computers” web page from the set of
materials (Reference Room\A World with Computers\A World with Computers
web page\A World with Computers.htm).。
 Information is displayed on a web page to allow teachers to freely select or delete
content according to students’ interests and abilities. Each example of computer
application has pictures, text and a sound recording. Some examples also come
with a short video or links to other web pages, which teachers can use if they need
to. E.g. pictures can help with questions or explanations; videos are multimedia
materials that can increase interest in the contents; links to relevant web pages will
allow you to find more pictures and information for enriched teaching of the
contents; the texts and sound recordings are mainly for students to use during self
study in their free time. When teachers use the information on this web page
during class, they should personally explain the information to incite the interest
of students and better align the contents with students’ needs.

[II] “Computers and Me”

Students can search for information via “A World with Computers”, “News
Clippings” or other methods such as holding interviews or reading reference books.
The following tasks can be completed through discussions:

1. “Role Play” – Students play different roles to find out different applications of IT
in their daily lives, and then they report on this to their teacher and fellow
students.

Below are some more appropriate study topics and worksheet examples for
junior primary students (Unit 1\Role Play\Role Play (Junior Primary).doc)

Group:________ Name:_____________（ ）
If I am a mother, the “computer” can help me:
1
2
3
But the “computer” can’t help me:
1
2

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 Computer Awareness Programme (Module 1) － Joy to the Computer World

Tip:
 What work does your mother do every day?
 Does she have any “helpers”? What are your mother’s helpers?
 Which of these “helpers” have “computers”?
 What else do “computers” do at home? What can’t they do?
 What things can be done very well by your mother, but not by the “computer”?

Other role play suitable for junior primary students include: Father, supermarket
goods manager/cashier, teacher, building security, and police, etc. Students can
also suggest roles they want to role play.

Below are some more appropriate study topics and worksheet examples for
senior primary students (Unit 1\Role Play\Role Play (Junior Primary).doc)

Group:________ Name:_____________（ ）

1. If you are a Scientific Officer at the Observatory and you are responsible for forecasting
the weather, what will you use a “computer” for? Please write three things that a
“computer” will help you with.

Work that a computer can help me with

1.

2.

3.

1. Do you know what things a computer can’t help you with? Collect information and discuss

this with your fellow students to find the answer!

Work that a computer can’t do

1.

2.

3.

Reference:
Hong Kong Observatory web page http://www.weather.gov.hk/

Other roles suitable for senior primary students include: shop owner, doctor,
police, Station Officer, interior designer and astronaut, etc. Students can also
suggest roles they want to role play.

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 Computer Awareness Programme (Module 1) － Joy to the Computer World

Tip:
 It is more suitable to complete this activity individually or in small groups.
 Worksheets are only provided for students to record their findings and
organise a verbal report, so they need not be graded.
 “Computer” does not simply mean the commonly used personal computer and
also includes microchips, etc.

2. “Sentence Making” – This activity is suitable for junior primary and senior
primary students. After students browse the information in “A World with
Computers” or “News Clippings”, they can explore the functions and limitations
of computers in this activity. Below are some examples:

(a) ……can……, but can’t…….

Computers can connect us to the Internet, but they can’t tell us whether the
information on the Internet is true or false.。

(b) ……able to……, but are unable to….

We are able to play games with computers, but we are unable to make friends
with them.
Computers are able to precisely calculate the Air Pollution Index , but they are
unable to prevent people from polluting the air.

Tip:
 This activity can be linked with the teaching of sentence making in the
Chinese Language subject.
 The effects will be better if students discuss this before starting to write.

3. “Debate Competition” – This activity is more suitable for senior primary

students. Students will first gather information via “A World with Computers”
and “News Clippings” and then be divided into two groups: a “for” team and an
“against” team, to debate the specified topic.
Examples of topics Reference
Computers are/aren’t omnipotent. “A World with Computers”


IT can/can’t improve our lives. “News Clippings”



Our lives will be better with/without Searching for web pages on



computers computers and computer

IT can/can’t save a lot of time for networks on the Internet will
people. tell us how widely used
computers are

Tip:
 So that each student will have the chance to participate in discussions, the
debate competition will be held in a different way to usual debates. After the
students are divided into teams, several main debaters will be selected, and
the remaining student will speak from below the stage. In addition to
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 Computer Awareness Programme (Module 1) － Joy to the Computer World

arranging speaking time for the debaters, some time can be set aside for those
below the stage to speak, so that more students can participate in discussions.
 Before students are divided into teams to collect information, the teacher can
show them how to find and organise information.

[III] “My Journal on Computer Use”

1. Activities suitable for junior primary students: Students can use computers
provided by teachers to keep a journal on the usage of computers (including
tablets and smart phones) by their family members, in order to understand the
impact computers have on our daily lives. After students complete the journal,
they can give a brief oral report, or the journals can be displayed on a wall board
as a reference for discussion if students agree to this. Below is a provided
example of a worksheet for student use (Unit 1\My Journal on Computer Use\My
Journal on Computer Use (Junior Primary).doc

Tip:
 This task does not require students to use computers to draw diagrams

2. Activities suitable for Senior Primary: Students will be divided into groups to
discuss the theme of “Applications and impact of computers in our daily lives”
[transliterate] to find the scope of the study that everyone is interested in, design
questionnaires or observation reports, analyse collected data, and prepare written
or oral reports with the findings so that they can be shared with the teacher and
other students. Example of the steps to the thematic design: (Unit 1\My Journal
on Computer Use\Examples for My Journal on Computer Use (Senior
Primary).doc)

Tip:
 To increase senior primary students’ interest, they can be allowed to develop
their own task through discussion.

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 Computer Awareness Programme (Module 1) － Joy to the Computer World

 Senior primary students can use application software that they already know
how to use, such as word processors and spreadsheets to complete the tasks.

[IV] “Design Room for Future Computers”

Student collect information or refer to tips to guess what supercomputers of the future
would be like and what the future world would be like, and then use pictures, models,
oral reports or dramas to express their visions of the future world. This activity is
suitable for junior primary and senior primary students and teachers can adjust the
scope of discussion and difficulty of tasks according to students’ interests and
abilities. The last page contains some questions and information that may stimulate
students’ thinking, which are provided as a reference for teachers.

Tip:
 The aim of this activity is to stimulate students’ creativity and imagination and
arouse their interest in the future of IT, so there is no need to fixate on whether
students’ works are correct and reasonable.

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 Computer Awareness Programme (Module 1) － Joy to the Computer World

Design Room for Future Computers

Area and shape of computers

In the past, supercomputers were massive (). Compared to supercomputers of the past, the
personal computers we use now are a lot smaller and a have a superior computing performance!
 Will future supercomputers compute even faster, be even smaller and have more powerful
functions? What will they be shaped like?
 What will the accessories of future computers be like? Will there still be “input devices,
processing and output devices”? Will there still be central processors and keyboards?

Functions of computers

Although the computers of today can be used to simulate real effects, users can only use sounds
and motion pictures to pretend they are in a real environment.
 In the future, will we be able to see, hear, smell and touch things that seem real with the help
of computers? Will our method of correspondence and communications change once again?

Computers of today can simulate artificial intelligence, namely to simulate the decision-making
method (for example: a fully-automatic fuzzy logic washing machine can determine how much
time is required to wash and clean the clothes depending on how dirty they are) of the human
brain through pre-set procedures. However, computers have no emotions, aren’t able to think and
learn consciously, and cannot handle unexpected things.
 Will future computers develop true intelligence? Will they be able to have their own feelings
and think and learn consciously like humans? Will they replace humans and rule the world?
 Can computers handle all of our daily work such as doing chores, maintaining security, and
taking care of babies and pets?
 Will computers become even more important to human life? What work can they do?

Hong Kong is already using the fourth-generation of mobile network services (4G). 4G refers to
the technical specification for the fourth-generation mobile communication technology. Its service
will be even stronger than 3G. It also allows a download transmission speed of up to 100 Mbps
even when users are on the move. With 4G, we can be freed from time and place restrictions and
use our mobile phones or mobile devices to connect to the Internet, use different services or
browse information. (*Source: “Be Smart for Smooth Net Surfing” http://www.mobilenet.gov.hk/)
 Will future computers simply be a multi-functional mobile phone? What impact will this
have on our lives?

The computers of today let us use software and online information for learning.
 How can future computers further help our learning? What kind of computer will help you
learn better?

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