Instructional Strategies
Teaching Materials
This section will help you use The Journey Inside℠ in the classroom and supplements the online learning resources. Background information, supplemental lesson plans, student handouts, and ideas for group activities you can do as a class, away from the computer, are included. These teaching materials are organized by the same units as the student materials:
Introduction to Computers
This unit provides a short history of the computer, introduces the four major components of a computer, and compares computer "brains" with the human brain.
Circuits and Switches
This unit teaches students about electricity, electric circuits, and the difference between mechanical and nonmechanical (transistors) switches.
Digital Information
This unit explores the differences between the decimal and binary number systems and how the information is represented and processed using binary code.
Microprocessors
This unit investigates how microprocessors process information, demonstrates the size and the complexity of their circuitry, and explains how they are manufactured.
The Internet
This unit defines the Internet, then explains the World Wide Web, hypertext, URLs, packets, bandwidth, connection choices, search engines, and the need to critically evaluate the quality of the information found on the Web.
Technology and Society
This unit discusses the impact technological advances have on people's lives, with examples from the past and current day. Several readings provide insights on ways the digital age is already affecting our lives, the accelerating rate of change, and what we might expect to see in the near future.
Glossary
The Journey Inside℠ uses a contextual glossary with new terms linked to their definitions. Clicking on an underlined word in lessons opens a small window containing the word's definition. The glossary includes all the underlined terms.
Quote to Note
"Students need to understand that the computer is more than a box. Before I teach them how to use software, I want them to understand what's happening inside the machine. What makes different images appear on the screen when they use a software application or go to the Internet?"
David Brear
Middle School Teacher
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