The computer environment

Presentation & objectives

The objective of session 1 is to introduce the computer science teaching unit. It is a mandatory first step to students discovering these fields, and also a useful reminder for the others to ensure we all use the same terminology.

At the end of this first session you should understand the components of your computer, and be able to use of a terminal to run commands.

Before the class

Technical requirements

To be able to start working on the activity, you should meet the following requirements:

• Please bring your own computer.
• Make sure to have a functional network connection.

During the class

Knowledge acquisition

In the first class, we will study the following articles:

• What is a computer ?
• The operating system.
• The terminal.

Here are the slides used to introduce them. Note that the articles provide more details than the slides, which should be seen as introductory material. Thus, you have to come back to the articles between sessions:

• Slides of the session.

You can verify your understanding of these articles here:

• Self-assessment quiz.

Practical activity

The second class is dedicated to a practical activity. When ready, click on the link below to start:

• Practical activity.

After the class

Complete the current session

Before the next session, you should:

• Review the contents of the articles above.
• Complete the non-optional parts of the practical activity.

Prepare the next session

Also, you should:

• Check the “Before the class” section of the next session, and make sure you do everything required to prepare it.