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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Memory in Your World

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Students identify similarities and differences between machines with memory and machines without memory. They illustrate how a machine with memory might fit into the student's world.
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Online Course
Cosmo Learning

Cosmo Learning: Computer Architecture

For Students 9th - 10th
A series of 38 video lectures on computer architecture by Prof. Anshul Kumar. With comments section at bottom of the page.
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Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: How Many Letters?

For Students 3rd - 5th
Can you remember all of your ABC's? Computers need to "remember" letters too. Every time we use a computer to write a story, the computer needs to "remember" the letters in the story by saving them to the computer's memory as a file. In...
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Unit Plan
Technology Student

Technology Student: Computer Control

For Students 9th - 10th
This site describes and illustrates the most common hardware components found in a computer.
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Website
PC Technology Guide

Pc Tech Guide: System Memory

For Students 9th - 10th
Use this site to gain a better understanding of computer memory. Detailed information about the cache levels and various types of memory.
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Website
Computer History Museum

Computer History Museum: Core Memory

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief description of Core Memory, a reliable high-speed storage device developed during the 1950s. The various memory artifacts are on display at the Computer History Museum. This site provides a glimpse into the development of the...
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Website
Computer History Museum

Computer History Museum: Delay Line Memory

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief description of Delay Line Memory, a slower serial based design. This site provides a glimpse into the development of the information age from their large collection warehoused in the Computer History Museum located in Mountain...
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Website
Computer History Museum

Computer History Museum: Williams Tube Memory

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief description of Williams Tube Memory, the first randam-access memory used by many first generation computers. The various memory artifacts are on display at the Computer History Museum. This site provides a glimpse into the...
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: How Computer Memory Works

For Students 9th - 10th
In many ways, our memories make us who we are, helping us remember our past, learn and retain skills, and plan for the future. And for the computers that often act as extensions of ourselves, memory plays much the same role. Kanawat...
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Handout
Other

Linda's Computer Stop: Ram, Ram, I Need More Ram

For Students 9th - 10th
If you need to know about RAM this article is extremely beneficial. The article includes common misconceptions about memory, types of RAM, why you may need more RAM, and how to install RAM.
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Unit Plan
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Magnet Academy: Magnetic Core Memory

For Students 9th - 10th
Magnetic core memory was developed in the late 1940s and 1950s, and remained the primary way in which early computers read, wrote and stored data until RAM came along in the 1970s. (Java tutorial)
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Article
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Magnet Academy: Giant Magnetoresistance: The Really Big Idea Behind a Very Tiny Tool

For Students 9th - 10th
This itsy-bitsy phenomenon makes your iPod and hard drive tick.
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Handout
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Magnet Academy: Magnetic Core Memory 1949

For Students 9th - 10th
At the dawn of the computer age, magnetic core memory helped make data storage possible, and showed surprising staying power in a field where components are constantly being replaced by new and improved products.
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Graphic
National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation: Supercomputer Gordon

For Students 9th - 10th
Located at the San Diego Supercomputer Center, Gordon is a completely new kind of supercomputer that uses massive amounts of flash memory to retrieve randomly organized data.
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Handout
Other

Karbos Guide: The Pc and Its Motherboard

For Students 9th - 10th
An easy-to-understand site that details the basic components of the PC hardware system. Charts and pictures included with links to other modules.
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Handout
Other

Caching Tutorial for Web Authors and Webmasters

For Students 9th - 10th
This site, provided by Mark Nottingham, defines the term "Cache," describes the different types of caches, and how caches work. Tips for using caches correctly in a site are also provided.
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Handout
Other

Pc Guide: System Memory

For Students 9th - 10th
This article from the PC Guide describes various aspects of the system memory, including how the system memory works, the different technologies used, packaging styles, and how operating systems and programs organize and use the memory...
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Website
Other

Try Nano: Applications: Applications of Nanotechnology

For Students 9th - 10th
Article discusses promising applications of nanotechnology to computing and processing technologies and to the consumer goods, materials and manufacturing, energy, and transportation industries.