1. Computers Merit Badge Hale Strasser, Counselor Computers Merit Badge

2. Computers Merit Badge ***Raise your hand if you would like a Merit Badge Blue Card*** There are 9 requirements… Tonight we will cover #’s: 1,2,3,4,8,5 Your homework will be #’s: 5,6,7,9

3. 1.Discuss with your counselor the tips for online safety. Computers Merit Badge

4. 2.Give a short history of the computer. Explain how the invention of the computer has affected society and science and technology. Computers Merit Badge

5. Short history of the computer: The history of computers starts out about 2000 years ago in Babylonia (Mesopotamia), at the birth of the abacus, a wooden rack holding two horizontal wires with beads strung on them. Source: http://www.seattlecentral.edu/~ymoh/history_of_computer/history_of_computer.htm

6. Blaise Pascal credited for building the first digital computer in 1642. Added numbers entered with dials and was made to help his father, a tax collector. The basic principle of his calculator is still used today in water meters and modern-day odometers. Short history of the computer: Gear train supplied a mechanical answer equal to the answer that is obtained by using arithmetic. This first mechanical calculator, called the Pascaline, had several disadvantages. Though it did offer a substantial improvement over manual calculations, only Pascal himself could repair the device and it cost more than the people it replaced! The first signs of technophobia emerged with mathematicians fearing the loss of their jobs due to progress. Source: http://www.seattlecentral.edu/~ymoh/history_of_computer/history_of_computer.htm

7. 1937, First electronic digital computing device, Atanasoff–Berry Computer (ABC), which was not programmable, being designed only to solve systems of linear equations. Successfully tested in 1942. ABC’s intermediate result storage, a paper card writer/reader, was unreliable. When inventor John Vincent Atanasoff left Iowa State College for World War II assignments, work on the machine was discontinued. ABC pioneered important elements of modern computing, including binary arithmetic and electronic switching elements, but its special- purpose nature and lack of a changeable, stored program distinguish it from modern computers. Short history of the computer: 1942, John P. Eckert, John W. Mauchly, and their associates at the Moore school of Electrical Engineering of University of Pennsylvania decided to build a high - speed electronic computer to do the assist with WW II ballistics calculations. This machine became known as ENIAC (Electrical Numerical Integrator And Calculator) ENIAC: about 1,000 times faster then the previous generation of relay computers, used 18,000 vacuum tubes, about 1,800 square feet of floor space, and consumed about 180,000 watts of electrical power. ENIAC had punched card I/O, 1 multiplier, 1 divider/square rooter, and 20 adders using decimal ring counters, which served as adders and also as quick-access (.0002 seconds) read- write register storage. The executable instructions making up a program were embodied in the separate "units" of ENIAC, which were plugged together to form a "route" for the flow of information. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atanasoff%E2%80%93Berry_Computer

8. Short history of the computer: 1971: Development of the first microprocessor 1977: Apple II 1981: IBM PC 1984: Apple Macintosh (128k RAM) 1989: Introduction of the World Wide Web 1990’s: Attack of the Windows/Intel (IBM) clones 2001: Introduction of the iPod 2012: Introduction of the iPad

9. 3.Do the following: A.Describe four uses of computers outside your home. B.Describe three ways you and your family could use a personal computer other than for games and entertainment. Computers Merit Badge

10. 4.Explain the following to your counselor: A.The five major parts of a computer B.How text, sound, pictures, and video files are stored in a computer’s memory C.How file compression works and how compression affects the quality of the file D.Describe two computer chip-based devices, and describe how they are “smarter” because of the chip and its program. Computers Merit Badge

11. The five major parts of a computer 1. Motherboard (or Mainboard) The motherboard is the central nervous system of the computer. It routes signals between all the other parts of the computer via the busses, or circuits, which are similar to nerves in that they send signals back and forth to coordinate various functions. The bus speed of the motherboard, expressed in Gigahertz (Ghz), is a measurement of how much data can be transferred at once. 2. CPU (Central Processing Unit) If the motherboard is the central nervous system of the computer the CPU, or Central Processing Unit, is the "brain" of the computer. Although many people call the main box of a desktop computer the CPU, it is actually only a small part of the computer. The CPU's speed, also expressed in Ghz, is the "speed" of the computer. Newer computers often have 2.66 Ghz processors. For those of you who have no idea what that means, the operative word is "fast." 3. Memory (RAM – Random Access Memory) Memory in a computer is like a human being's conscious thoughts. It holds the data, commands, etc... that have been loaded from the hard drive or other components. The main memory in a computer is volatile, which means it is lost when power is no longer available. Early computer could not handle more than 640 megabytes of memory. Computers today can hold much more. Most desktops purchased today come with about 8 GB of memory (RAM). 4. Hard Drive (Storage) Used for storage of data files, music, photos, etc. Using the same terminology as before, if the memory in a computer equates to human conscious thought, the hard drive of a computer is similar to a human being's long-term memory. The computer stores information, in other words programs and data on the hard drive. Whereas computer memory is volatile, hard drives are non- volatile. Otherwise you would have to install every program as you needed to use it. 5. Input/Output Devices (I/O) Means by which programs and data are put into and retrieved from the computer. Today the most common input devices are the keyboard, mouse, CD's, and DVD's. The most common output devices are the monitor, speakers, printer, etc... Basically, without I/O devices we would have no way of affecting a computer's operations or knowing its output, so it would be nothing more than a doorstop.

12. 8.Explain the following to your counselor A.Why copyright laws exist B.Why it is not permissible to accept a free copy of a paid, copyrighted computer game or program from a friend unless the game or program is considered freeware or shareware. C.The restrictions and limitations of downloading music from the Internet Computers Merit Badge

13. 5.Do the following: A.Explain what a program or software application is and how it is developed. B.Name three programming languages and describe their uses. C.Name four software packages you or your family could use, and explain how you would use them. D.Discuss ways you can help protect a computer from viruses and how to protect the information stored on a computer. E.Describe how computers are linked to generate and access the Internet and the World Wide Web. Computers Merit Badge

14. 6.Do any THREE of the EIGHT choices below: A.Using a spreadsheet program, develop a food budget for a patrol weekend campout. B.Using a word processor, write a letter to the parents of your troop’s Scouts, inviting them to a court of honor. C.Using a computer graphics program, design and draw a campsite plan for your troop. D.Using a computer graphics program, create a flier for an upcoming troop event, incorporating both text and some type of visual such as a photograph or illustration. Continued on next page… Computers Merit Badge

15. 6.continued… E.Using an Internet search engine (with your parent’s permission), find ideas about how to conduct a troop court of honor or campfire program. Print out a copy of the ideas from at least three different websites. Share what you found with your counselor, and explain how you used the search engine to find this information. F.Using a presentation software program of your choice, develop a report about a topic that has been approved by your counselor. For your presentation, create at least 10 slides. G.Using a digital camera, take a picture of a troop activity. Transfer the picture file to a computer and use photographic software to make it small enough to send easily as an email attachment. Then, using a computer connected to the Internet (wit your parent’s permission), send an email to someone you know. In your message, include the photograph as an attachment. Verify that the person received your email and was able to view the attachment. H.Using a database manager, create a troop roster that includes the name, rank, patrol, and telephone number of each Scout. Show your counselor that you can sort the register by each of the following categories: rank, patrol, and alphabetically by name. Computers Merit Badge

16. 7.Do ONE of the following: A.Using a database program of your choice, create a troop roster that includes the name, rank, patrol, and telephone number of each Scout. Create a form within the database manager to access each Scout’s information individually. Show your counselor how the form works. B.Using a software package of your choice for computer-aided design (CAD), create an engineering-style drawing of a simple object. Include the top, bottom, and at least one side view and the dimensions. C.Create a blog and use it as an online journal of your Scouting activities, including group discussions and meetings, campouts, and other events. Your blog should have at least five entries and two photographs of illustrations. You need not post the blog to the Internet, but you will need to share it with your counselor. If you decide to go live with your blog, you must first share it with your parents AND counselor and get their approval. D.Create a web page for your troop, patrol, school, or place of worship. Include at least three articles and two photographs or illustrations. Your web page should have at least one link to a website that would be of interest to your audience. You need not post the page to the Internet. However, if you decide to do so, you must first share it with your parents AND counselor and get their approval. E.Visit a business or an industrial plant that uses computers. Observe what tasks the computers accomplish, and be prepared to discuss what you have learned. Computers Merit Badge

17. 9.Find out about three career opportunities in the computer industry. Pick one and find out the education, training, and experience required for this profession. Discuss with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you. Report what you learn with your counselor. Computers Merit Badge

18. Questions?