CERTIFICATE COURSE

During my certificate course, i learnt the basic skills needed to operate a personal computer.

I learnt that a computer is an electronic device which uses electricity to process and store data in a professional way. The computer is made up of various components such as; the hardware, the software and the human ware.

The hardware are the physical component of a computer, which can be seen and touched.
Hardware components are divided into various parts:output devices, input devices, storage devices, ports, cables, expansion cards e.t.c

Output device are devices that gives a feedback of what has been processed in the computer. Example of output devices are printer, monitor and speaker.

Input device are devices used to send in data or instructions to be processed.
Example of input devices are mouse and keyboard.

Ports are channels or sockets in which external devices or additional components can be added to the system. Example of ports are serial ports, parallel ports, USB ports, e.t.c

Storage device is a medium used in storing data and information. Examples are hard disk, floppy disk, flash disk, CD/DVD ROM e.t.c

Expansion cards are used to add additional functions to the computer system. Example of expansion card are sound cards, graphic adapter, NIC (Network Interface Card) e.t.c

Cables are used to transfer data from one place to another. e.g USB cable, power cable, e.t.c.

The software are the invisible part which cannot be seen but controls and coordinates every activity within the computer system.
Software is divided into two: System software and Application software.

System software controls and coordinates the hardware. A good example of system software is the O.S (Operating System) while

Application software are used to solve specific task or users problem. Example of application software are Word Processing, Spreadsheet, Database, Presentation, Graphics e.tc.c

The human ware are the users or computer operator.