Introduction

A computer in general is any device that accepts input, stores the information and processes it according to a stored program, and produces an output. 

Recap last lesson and the task that they are working on. They must prove that the objects they were given are or are not a computer, explaining and illustrating their answer if possible.

Remind them to keep coming back to the simple definition of a computer we have established and think:

• Does it have inputs? If so, what are they?
• Does it have a processor? Does it need to ‘think’ about the inputs and decide what to do with them? 
• Does it have outputs that are based on the inputs? If so what are they? 
• Is there anything else that suggests it is or is not a computer?

Main task

Students can complete their research into their items and, as a team, collect together their findings and establish how they plan to give feedback to the class and how they can back up their answers with evidence. 

Give them approximately twenty minutes for this and then gather the class back together.

Ask each group in turn to feedback to the class about their items and their findings. They should explain whether they consider each to be a computer or not, and explain why they think this. 

At the end of each group’s presentation, invite brief questions from the class and probe into their answers a bit as appropriate using the notes about each item (above in lesson 1) to help if needed.

Plenary

Discuss as a class:

• Did you all agree on your answers?
• Were any of them difficult to work out?
• Why? 

Finally, ask them to talk to a partner and discuss;  how many computers do you think you’ll come into contact with today, from when you woke up to when you go to bed? Can you list them? 

So what does a computer look like? “Anything!” will hopefully be the conclusion they reach.

The tiny computers that live inside your everyday stuff are called microcontrollers. Instead of having screens and keyboards and hard drives everything fits into one tiny circuit. Microcontrollers still have a processor, memory and different input/output systems and can be considered computers. As they have become so small that they can be integrated into a huge range of products. Computers don’t all look like PCs any more.