JSS 1 First Term

Learning Objectives

• Revise all topics of the term.
• Answer objective and short answer questions accurately.
• Complete the practical task for the term.
• Identify the topics that need more practice.
• Consolidate the work of the whole term.
• Practise exam technique under timed conditions.
• Correct the errors made in the Week 10 test.
• Prepare a clear plan for the examination week.

Review of the Term

The term began with ICT itself and what it means in everyday life, then moved through the parts of a computer, the functions of those parts and the information processing cycle. Input and output devices were classified, and the practice lessons covered typing skills.

Storage devices and the units of storage were studied next, followed by the internet, its services and safe use. The term closed with the word processor: its window, and the skills of creating, saving and opening documents.

Revision Method

Revise by topic, not by page. Start with the list of main topics and check what each one means. Write the definition of ICT in one sentence. Draw the four parts of ICT. Name ten devices and their categories. Name the primary and secondary storage devices and their units.

Then check practical skills. Can you locate a key on the keyboard without looking? Can you type a paragraph with capitals and full stops? Can you save a document and reopen it? Practical skills are examined just as much as theory.

Common Weak Areas

Learners commonly confuse primary and secondary storage. The quick test is simple: if the data is lost when the power goes off, it is primary. The second common weakness is mixing up input and output devices. The test is simple: data coming in means input, results going out means output.

Another weak area is file extensions. Learn the list as a set: docx for Word, xlsx for Excel, pptx for PowerPoint, pdf for a fixed layout.

Preparing for the Test

Read every question before writing. In an objective question, eliminate the answers you know are wrong and choose from those left. In a short answer question, answer the exact question asked and use short sentences.

Revise with a partner. One person asks a question and the other answers aloud. Explaining an answer to someone else shows whether you really understand it.

Consolidation

Consolidation means putting the whole term into one picture. The course began with the meaning of ICT and its four parts. It moved to the parts of a computer and what those parts do. It then looked at the devices a user touches, the skills needed to use them, and where the data is kept.

The second half of the term looked outward. The internet was introduced as the global network that carries information. Then the learner moved from using the computer to producing work with it, through the word processor, and finally to saving and managing that work as a file.

Correcting the Week 10 Test

Go back through the Week 10 test with a red pen. For every wrong answer, write the correct answer beside it. Do not just read the correction. Write the full sentence again, because rewriting is what fixes the mistake in memory.

Group the errors by topic. If five questions on storage were wrong, storage is a weak area and needs a whole evening of practice. If only one was wrong, it may have been a slip rather than a gap in understanding.

Exam Technique

Read the instructions before starting. Check the number of questions, the marks for each question and the time allowed. Answer all questions, beginning with the ones you are sure of.

Leave space between answers and write clearly. A crossed out answer is marked by the examiner, so do not leave a blank space for it.

In practical questions, follow the instruction exactly. If asked to save a file, save it. If asked to name a device, name only what is asked and not everything you know.

Plan for the Examination

Organise your notes so that each topic is on one page. Check that you can find any topic quickly during the revision period.

Prepare your materials the night before: two pens, a pencil, an eraser, a ruler and your school identification card. Sleep properly. A tired brain forgets what a rested one remembers.

Practical Work

1. Complete a forty five minute written test on all topics from Weeks 1 to 9.
2. Complete the practical task: type a passage of at least forty words and save it with a correct file name.
3. Draw the information processing cycle and label it without looking at your notebook.
4. Make a list of every weak topic found in the test and write one practice activity for each.
5. Redo the Week 10 test without looking at your notes and check the result.
6. Write one page of notes for each of the nine topics and keep them in one file.
7. Complete a past type objective paper on computer studies within thirty minutes.
8. Correct every error and record the three topics you must work on most.
9. Prepare your examination materials the evening before.

Scenario-Based Questions

1. In one sentence, define ICT and name its four parts.
2. Give one device that acts as both an input and an output device and explain the two jobs it does.
3. Explain how you would decide whether a device is primary or secondary storage.
4. Write the steps for saving a document for the first time.
5. Name two file extensions and what they are used for.
6. Explain why a pupil who types fast but makes many errors has not yet improved.
7. State two rules for safe use of the internet.
8. In a test you do not know the answer to a question. Explain what you should do rather than leaving it blank.
9. A pupil writes three paragraphs when a question asks for one. Explain how this affects the mark.
10. Explain why crossing out an answer rather than leaving a blank line is acceptable.
11. Your practical test asks you to save a document. Explain why saving it, and not only typing it, earns the mark.
12. You made the same error in two past papers on storage devices. Give two different ways of fixing this.
13. Explain why preparing your materials the night before is part of exam preparation.
14. State the steps you would follow on the morning of the examination.

Examination and Continuous Assessment Practice

These questions are taken from the First Term examination and Continuous Assessment papers for this class. Answer them in full sentences.

1. A teacher asks a pupil to trace what happens when a school enters pupil names and marks, prints a report and files it. Identify the five parts of the computer system, state the types of data the computer handles, and trace the task through the IPOS cycle.
2. (a) Define Digital Technology. (b) Differentiate between Data and Information with one clear example of each. (c) State four (4) advantages of using computers in daily life.
3. (a) Define a Computer as an Input-Process-Output (I-P-O) device. (b) Mention two (2) examples each of: (i) Input Devices (ii) Output Devices (c) Outline three (3) practical ways to care for and maintain computer hardware safely.
4. A Class 1 pupil is given three test scores, 48, 55 and 62, and is told only that this is her result. Explain the difference between data and information, and show how the teacher's report turns these three scores into information.
5. A school is preparing a display showing how people created and shared information in different periods. Name the six information ages in the correct order, and state the key development that each age introduced.
6. (a) Mention three (3) early non-electronic counting devices used before modern computers were invented. (b) Highlight the main technological component used in each of the following computer generations: (i) First Generation (ii) Second Generation (iii) Third Generation (iv) Fourth Generation (c) Who was Charles Babbage, and what was his contribution to computer history?
7. (a) Briefly describe the following Information Ages: (i) Stone Age (ii) Industrial Age (iii) Digital/Information Age (b) Define Information Transmission. (c) List two (2) ancient methods and two (2) modern methods of transmitting information.
8. A pupil is asked to explain to her class why a photograph of a drawing still looks sharp on a computer screen after it has been copied many times, while a photograph of a drawing on paper gradually becomes fuzzy. Use the difference between digital and analogue technology to explain this.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: BY THE END OF THE LESSON PUPILS SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

Rationale: The term began with ICT itself and what it means in everyday life, then moved through the parts of a computer, the functions of those parts and the information processing cycle. Understanding review of the Term, revision Method, common Weak Areas, preparing for the Test helps learners use digital technology confidently, safely and responsibly.

Pre-requisite Knowledge: In Week 10, learners studied Creating and Saving Documents, including naming a Document, saving a Document, opening a Document. The knowledge from that week is used again in this lesson.

Learning Material/Teaching Aid: Whiteboard, markers, computer or laptop where available, printed notes and charts on Revision and Examination Preparation, practical task sheets, learners' notebooks and pens.

Reference Materials: Digital Technology for Junior Secondary Schools (JSS 1); NERDC Digital Technology Curriculum; Digital Technology JSS 1 First Term Notes (Week 11); First Term examination and Continuous Assessment question papers.

LESSON DEVELOPMENT

Assignment: i. A teacher asks a pupil to trace what happens when a school enters pupil names and marks, prints a report and files it. Identify the five parts of the computer system, state the types of data the computer handles, and trace the task through the IPOS cycle. ii. (a) Define Digital Technology. (b) Differentiate between Data and Information with one clear example of each. (c) State four (4) advantages of using computers in daily life.