Operating Systems
In this lesson, students explore Operating Systems.
Learning Objectives:
Suggested time: 100 mins
Starter
Before the lesson, pre-prepare some devices with different Operating Systems (The more devices the better) - I usually ask the technician to keep hold of old PCs/Laptops specifically for this purpose. Suggestions:
At the start of the lesson, spread the devices around the classroom and, as the students arrive, direct them to one of the devices.
Once all the students had been allocated a device, instruct them to try out the Operating Systems in front of them and make notes on ease of use, speed etc.
Note: For command prompt users, I recommend issuing a set of simple instructions e.g. 'cd', 'dir', 'edit' etc.) I also ask students to try some simple tasks such as open a text file, copy and paste a file, draw a picture using a painting package etc. After 3 minutes, I ask each group to move to the next device and try a different Operating System. I repeat this process until each group had experienced all the different operating systems. Interesting note: I find that students seem to love playing with the command prompt!
Next, ask the students to explain the similarity and differences of the different Operating Systems they've been exploring – I encourage the students to explain the differences with the user interface and then explain that we call these interfaces the Graphical User Interface (GUI) and that this is one of the things controlled by the Operating System.
Alternatively, if you don’t have time or don’t have access to a number of different Operating Systems, instruct students to research different operating systems on the Internet and make notes about each. I have included some links below:
OSX - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hon6FqY5ZQ4
Windows 7 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LWljyZEaAM
Linux - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8ik8pDTgJE
Main:
Display some icons on the board for some popular operating systems and challenge students to try to name them all. Next, explain that these are all examples of Operating Systems. Explain that the Operating System, also known as system software, is responsible for managing:
Next, split the class in to mixed ability groups (Depending on your class size, I recommend either 5 or 10 groups). Inform students that they would be taking on the roll of the teacher for the lesson. (This is based on an idea suggested by Ryan Lowe via Computing At School. You can download the original activity here: http://community.computingatschool.org.uk/resources/1418)
Give each group a topic at random using a random name selector (see classroom management tools). Alternatively, you could place the 5 topics in envelopes and ask someone from each group to pick an envelope at random.
Finally, instruct the students to create an interactive presentation (I suggest POWToon (www.powtoon.com)) based on their topic and explain that they will be presenting their interactive presentation to the rest of the class at the end of the lesson. (see example below).
For alternatives to POWtoon, check out: 10 alternatives to PowerPoint
Plenary:
Once everyone has finished and checked their presentations for errors etc., ask each group to present one of their topics to the rest of the class. I use the random name selector again to choose each group and topic at random so that we cover each topic at least once.
See example below:
- Explain the need for the following functions of an operating system:
- user interface
- memory management
- peripheral management
- multi‐tasking
- security
Suggested time: 100 mins
Starter
Before the lesson, pre-prepare some devices with different Operating Systems (The more devices the better) - I usually ask the technician to keep hold of old PCs/Laptops specifically for this purpose. Suggestions:
- PC (with Windows 7/Windows 10 installed),
- PC with command prompt loaded,
- iOS device (e.g. iPad or iPad mini) and or Android device
- iMac/ (with OSX Mountain Lion or above installed),
- Raspberry Pi or PC (with Linux installed)
- PC with a Blackberry Emulator loaded (Download here) - I use the Blackberry Curve 9380 simulator.
At the start of the lesson, spread the devices around the classroom and, as the students arrive, direct them to one of the devices.
Once all the students had been allocated a device, instruct them to try out the Operating Systems in front of them and make notes on ease of use, speed etc.
Note: For command prompt users, I recommend issuing a set of simple instructions e.g. 'cd', 'dir', 'edit' etc.) I also ask students to try some simple tasks such as open a text file, copy and paste a file, draw a picture using a painting package etc. After 3 minutes, I ask each group to move to the next device and try a different Operating System. I repeat this process until each group had experienced all the different operating systems. Interesting note: I find that students seem to love playing with the command prompt!
Next, ask the students to explain the similarity and differences of the different Operating Systems they've been exploring – I encourage the students to explain the differences with the user interface and then explain that we call these interfaces the Graphical User Interface (GUI) and that this is one of the things controlled by the Operating System.
Alternatively, if you don’t have time or don’t have access to a number of different Operating Systems, instruct students to research different operating systems on the Internet and make notes about each. I have included some links below:
OSX - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hon6FqY5ZQ4
Windows 7 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LWljyZEaAM
Linux - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8ik8pDTgJE
Main:
Display some icons on the board for some popular operating systems and challenge students to try to name them all. Next, explain that these are all examples of Operating Systems. Explain that the Operating System, also known as system software, is responsible for managing:
- User interface
- Memory
- Peripherals
- Multi‐tasking
- Security
Next, split the class in to mixed ability groups (Depending on your class size, I recommend either 5 or 10 groups). Inform students that they would be taking on the roll of the teacher for the lesson. (This is based on an idea suggested by Ryan Lowe via Computing At School. You can download the original activity here: http://community.computingatschool.org.uk/resources/1418)
Give each group a topic at random using a random name selector (see classroom management tools). Alternatively, you could place the 5 topics in envelopes and ask someone from each group to pick an envelope at random.
Finally, instruct the students to create an interactive presentation (I suggest POWToon (www.powtoon.com)) based on their topic and explain that they will be presenting their interactive presentation to the rest of the class at the end of the lesson. (see example below).
For alternatives to POWtoon, check out: 10 alternatives to PowerPoint
Plenary:
Once everyone has finished and checked their presentations for errors etc., ask each group to present one of their topics to the rest of the class. I use the random name selector again to choose each group and topic at random so that we cover each topic at least once.
See example below:
As Ryan suggests in his post, the success to this task is providing a list of key questions to help the students think and reflect when researching and putting the information together. As Ryan also suggests, rewards such as chocolates for the best group also help!
Resources:
Operating Systems – Introduction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AjReRMoG3Y
OS PowerPoint – http://www.pwnict.co.uk/computingGCSE/computingResources.html (Click on Software, followed by Lesson 1 - OS)
BBC Bytesize - http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ict/software/4operatingsystemsrev1.shtml
Teach-ICT - http://www.teach-ict.com/gcse_computing/ocr/213_software/operating_system_functions/miniweb/pg2.htm
Resources:
Operating Systems – Introduction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AjReRMoG3Y
OS PowerPoint – http://www.pwnict.co.uk/computingGCSE/computingResources.html (Click on Software, followed by Lesson 1 - OS)
BBC Bytesize - http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ict/software/4operatingsystemsrev1.shtml
Teach-ICT - http://www.teach-ict.com/gcse_computing/ocr/213_software/operating_system_functions/miniweb/pg2.htm
