Blog # 4

Chapter 4 is about hardware and the many types of hardware that can help teachers do their job more effciently. Teachers having the knowledge about what hardware can make their job easier is great because it will reduce the stress level and the amount of time they spend on their work. I learned many things that I didn't know about previously from this chapter. The first thing that I thought was interesting was the American Standard Code for Information Interchange also called ASCII. This coding scheme makes it possible for humans to interact with digital computers that recognize only bits. For example, when you press a key on a keyboard the keyboard converts the action into a binary form that the computer understands. It seems simple but without this process no one could communicate with each other through computers.
Another thing in the chapter that many teachers have already taken advantage of is the expansion cards that go into the expansion slots on the computer. With this extra memory teachers can easily transfer files from their classroom computer onto the expansion card and take it home and grade papers from their home computer. Also teachers can make power point presentations at home and store them on the card and present them to their class.
Audio and video input and the flash drive are some other useful pieces of hardware in the classroom. It allows teachers to use more interesting things in their lectures.