KWS Magazine 2013 Issue Two - Kinross Wolaroi School

PREP SCHOOLWorking KnowledgeComputer mystery solvedJust what goes on inside those boxes with flashing lightsthat are in all the KWS Prep School classrooms?It’s a mystery most of us don’t really understand, but Year6 students and teachers now have a pretty good idea.IT staff member David Lee recently ran a ‘How to build acomputer’ class with Year 6, with the goal of demystifyingcommon terms such as motherboard, hard drive andRAM.The students and teachers were each handed ascrewdriver and proceeded to get to know theircomputers.“Building computers involved lots of moving, connecting,adjusting, manipulating, securing, problem solving andcollaboration by the students and teachers,” David said.“This could not have been achieved by teaching from atextbook or website.“The goal was also to instil a sense of environmentalresponsibility and thrift by demonstrating that mostcomputers are modular, so if something breaks thereis no need to throw the whole computer out or pay atechnician to replace a part you can replace yourself.”Pictured: Top L to R foreground - Anneka Graham, Tupou Faiva and BellHoyle Davies; middle - Year 6 teacher Romko Hordynsky, David Leeand attentive Year 6 students; bottom - Computer building in progress.20