What is the most effective way of teaching how instructions are stored in a computer, Boolean logic, number systems, etc, etc?

It is a simple fact that teaching Boolean logic and its uses in circuits and programming is not the easiest task at KS3 and KS4.

Especially when at the same time one is teaching how numbers can be represented in binary and binary operations.

Or, come to that, how hardware and software components make up computer systems and how they communicate, and how instructions are stored and executed within a computer system.

However, there a solution, for now there is the TOM Simulator.

The unique thing about the simulator is that it gives students hands-on experience of all these things within a computer that they can control and see the logic of, while avoiding the complexity of a real hardware system.

TOM is a transparent computer so students can see what’s in the memory and in the various registers, thereby making these concepts easy to teach.

But, of course, that is only the start, for the mechanisms of interrupts, memory mapped output, stacks, recursion are all visible, not just something that happens out of sight on a chip.

Thus the TOM Simulator takes us from an abstract concept presented on paper or whiteboard into a unique transparent computer. It also allows the whole class to write programs on the very first day whilst developing an understanding of how a modern computer works.

The TOM program also includes a number of components each designed to teach the fundamentals of computing via simple interactions. This enables students to interact with information on the screen and to gain a clear understanding of precisely how a computer achieves its task.

There’s more information on our TOM program on our website at http://www.keylinkcomputers.co.uk/tomsimulator.html.

Alternately for more information call us on 01926 850909 or email us at sales@keylinkcomputers.co.uk.