Robert Crawford, MBA West Middle School
Distinguish among four types of input. Compare and contrast basic input devices. Discuss the health risks of using some input devices. Essential Question What are the four types of input and what devices are best suited to each type of input?
Command Digital Camera Ergonomic Pointer Pointing Device Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) Scanner
Pages 28 & 29
This is a good place to start, what is input? Input is any kind of information, or instructions, that are put into the computers memory. We are going to look at four kind of input: ◦ Data ◦ Software Instructions ◦ User Commands ◦ Responses
What is data? Data is the information that is entered into, or provided to, the computer. Examples of data include: ◦ Words ◦ Numbers ◦ Images ◦ Sounds
What must a computer do to perform a job? To perform any job the computer must follow instructions from software programs. ◦ How do software programs typically get into your computer hard drive? You can install them from a CD or download them. ◦ After installing a program, you must launch it. launching the program moves the program to the RAM where it is accessible to the CPU. This is part of the reason that more RAM helps the computer work better.
What is a user command? A user command is an instruction to the computer that tells a software program what action perform. ◦ Examples of commands that you use in Word or Excel include: Open Save Close Print To do these things you issue commands to the computer.
When the computer asks you for information before it can carry out a command, what is it asking for? ◦ (one word, starts with ‘R’) When the computer asks you for information before it can carry out a command, it is asking for a response.
We have been discussing the basic types of input. ◦ What are the four basic types of input? The four basic types of input are: ◦ Data ◦ Software Instructions ◦ User Commands ◦ Responses
Pages 29 & 30
This is a good place to start, what is an input device? An input device is any hardware used to input data. ◦ The two most common input devices are the keyboard and the mouse. ◦ As we mentioned, there are other devices that perform similar tasks to a mouse: Track pad Trackball All of these input devices are, primarily, used to move the pointer/cursor, as such, they are called “pointing devices.”
There are also specialized input devices X/Y motion ◦ Joystick Tactile feedback Sound ◦ Microphone Video ◦ Digital Cameras ◦ Webcams ◦ Scanners Communication ◦ Modem
Page 30
A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is an "injury to the musculoskeletal and nervous systems that may be caused by repetitive tasks, forceful exertions, vibrations, mechanical compression, or sustained or awkward positions.“ Specific sources of discomfort have been popularly referred to by terms such as Blackberry thumb, iPod finger, gamer's thumb, among others.
Ergonomics is concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance. —International Ergonomics Association
Ergonomics is about making machines, and systems, fit people rather than telling people to fit machines.
Distinguish among four types of input. ◦ What are the four basic types of input? Compare and contrast basic input devices. Discuss the health risks of using some input devices.
Distinguish among four types of input. Compare and contrast basic input devices. ◦ Name two types of input devices The type of input they are used for ◦ What is a modem? Discuss the health risks of using some input devices.
Distinguish among four types of input. Compare and contrast basic input devices. Discuss the health risks of using some input devices. ◦ What kind of injury can occur when you make the same movement over and over again? ◦ What is the field of science devoted to avoiding these types of injuries?
Command Digital Camera Ergonomic Pointer Pointing Device Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) Scanner