Part of Lesson Plan: Know Your Motherboard - Components

Activity Overview / Details

When the students walk in your agenda should say  "Know Your Motherboard". Then hold up a motherboard and ask questions about the motherboard that my students would not yet know such as:

1. How much gold is in your computer?

This question can be used to lead into a discussion about how motherboards are made, and the materials used. Its a good idea to discuss the use of gold and the fact that gold is a conductor used in computers because it does not rust.

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2. How do you upgrad e your computer?

This question grabs their attention really well because students want to know how to upgrade their computers. You can talk about the costs related with computer repairs and explain that they can save money by learning how to fix and up grade their computers. It helps to do a price comparison with Geeksquad or a local computer repair shop. I ask the students how much they have paid for computer repairs before.

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3. Did any one find the bus on their motherboard yet?

With this question you can lead into a conversation about how a motherboard has data paths similar to a street or free way. You might compare a motherboard to a small city with bus lines. The data is like the passengers on a bus. The bigger the bus the more data you can move around. I ask the students to look at the lines on the motherboard closely.

The next thing I say is, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your chance to look closely at a motherboard, feel the motherboard, smell the motherboard just don’t taste it.

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