Unit Two - Hardware
Objectives
At the conclusion of this unit, you will be able to:
- identify the parts of a modern mobile device.
- understand the practical uses of the parts.
Instruction
In unit one we looked at digital media. Let's look at how we access and interact with it. Hardware is the way in which we connect to the content in the physical world.
In figure 3 we see a modern mobile device. It could be a media player, a cell phone or even a larger tablet. Let's look at some of the basic parts of this device that have been around. Color screens have been around but they are much larger, taking up most or all of the front, and of higher resolution than previous versions. Of course we see a microphone for verbal or other sound recordings and a speaker to listen to any audible content. Are you thinking, sure great I talk to my phone and it talks to me. This article asks, "Is there anything students can learn on a voice-only phone? You bet!" (2004, Prensky, p.4)
Some more recent and important additions to the recent mobile devices have made it the success that it is today. First is the portability; light, small and great battery life. Battery life is key to un-teathered devices. Another key to wireless use is the inclusion of various radio-wave based communication hardware so a user can communicate at school, away from buildings or directly with other devices. Another list that is growing is the list of sensors they use. Sensors that sense the real world for example light and motion. There are others that even humans cannot sense as in direction and location. There are more sensors that can be plugged in or connected wirelessly and more are sure to come. The reason why I chose to put keyboard in this section is because it is now a digital keyboard, which means there are no physical keys and technically not even hardware. Digital keyboards can be changed through software to be any language, but more useful to teachers, be programmed by engineers to be a limited set of letters or perhaps in alphabetical order. I saved the best and most relevant for last. The simple interface is also technically not hardware but it is the devices logical and organizational connection to the user. The other breakthrough was the touch interface. This mechanism brought the user and device the closest together than ever before. These two are important because one just has to search for toddler and iPad to see it for themselves. The demonstrations you witnessed are a testament to the simplicity of user control over the modern digital device.
Check Your Knowledge
Print out this illustration and see if you can remember all the functions of the hardware parts on a digital device.
Evaluation
Do you feel your objectives were not met? Was there material that was unclear or confusing? Please leave a comment in the discussion area so that I can improve the lesson. Thanks.
References
Prensky, M. (2004) What can you learn from a cell phone? Almost anything! Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/prensky-what_can_you_learn_from_a_cell_phone-final.pdf
- Continue on to Unit Three - Software
- Go Back to Unit One - Digital Media