SS 1 First Term

Lesson objectives

By the end of the week, learners should be able to:

1. Restate system software and application software definitions.
2. Name five functions of an operating system.
3. Distinguish firmware from regular system software.
4. Explain the role of a utility program such as antivirus software.
5. Classify thirty software items into system, application or both.

Key vocabulary

• Software: the programs that tell hardware what to do.
• System software: programs running and managing the computer.
• Application software: programs solving a user task.
• Operating system: manages hardware, files, memory and programmes.
• Firmware: permanent instructions on a chip such as boot loader.
• Utility program: a maintenance tool such as antivirus or disk cleanup.
• Boot loader: programme loaded at start-up to begin the OS.
• Driver: system software letting hardware talk to the OS.

Common misconceptions

• "Windows is an application." Windows is system software; Microsoft Word is the application.
• "Software is something you can hold." A CD contains hardware; the program on it is software.
• "Firmware disappears after a reboot." Firmware persists across reboots as permanent instructions.

Teacher activities

1. Starter: hold up a keyboard and a screenshot of an installer; ask which is hardware and which is software.
2. Restate the system versus application definitions and add five OS functions.
3. Introduce firmware as permanently stored on a chip and distinguish it from utilities.
4. Model naming a driver and a utility program with examples.
5. Set the thirty-item software classification task and require reasons for four items.
6. Close with the exit question distinguishing firmware from application software.

Student activities

1. State the system versus application definitions and give two examples each.
2. Name five operating-system functions in one to two lines each.
3. Distinguish firmware from a utility program with one example each.
4. Classify a driver and a utility program correctly with examples.
5. Complete the thirty-item software classification with reasons.
6. Answer the exit question in one sentence about firmware.

Practical / learning evidence

A fifteen-software classification table with columns Software, System, Application, Example and Reason. Plus a ten-item firmware-versus-utility chart. Hand in both for marking.

Resources and preparation

Keyboard, mouse and a screenshot of installed applications. Blank classification tables and item cards. Offline route: printed cards and tables. Do not let learners install or uninstall anything on laboratory machines.

Assessment for learning

Mark the classification for accuracy and reasons. Check the firmware chart for one correct example of firmware and one of utility. Watch for "Windows is an application" and correct it live.

Inclusion and homework

Provide the item cards in larger print and allow oral completion. Extend confident learners with thirty items and a second firmware example. Homework: list three application programs on any device and state the task each performs.