2026-04-11 11:46:07cloudy-jc:
Rework Workshop 1 wiki as online companion (not booklet duplicate)
Videos, interactive tools, hardware photo gallery, deeper explanations,
binary practice answers, and parent info section. Complements the
printed booklet instead of repeating it.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
This page has the extra stuff that didn't fit in your printed booklet. Videos, interactive links, photo galleries, and deeper explanations for when you want to know more.
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## Overview
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**Got your booklet?** Good. This page goes with it.
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In this workshop you will open up computers, discover what makes them tick, learn the secret language of binary, and build your own network.
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---
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## Key Concepts
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## Watch: Video Explainers
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### Inside a Computer
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These short videos cover the same topics as your booklet — watch before class or review after.
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Every device — phone, laptop, gaming PC — has the same core components:
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- [Inside a Computer — Why AI Stole Your GPU](https://youtu.be/tNkFNDFyTf4) (1:35) — CPU, RAM, Storage, Motherboard, and why AI needs ALL the GPUs
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- [How Networks Power AI](https://youtu.be/CM-mj626lkc) (1:22) — How your message travels through switches, routers, and undersea cables to reach ChatGPT
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- **CPU (Central Processing Unit)** — The brain. Processes billions of instructions per second.
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- **RAM (Random Access Memory)** — Short-term memory. Like your desk — apps go here while you use them. Wiped when you power off.
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- **Storage (SSD/HDD)** — Long-term memory. Your photos, games, and files live here permanently.
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- **Motherboard** — The backbone connecting everything. Data flows between components like cars on a highway.
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- **GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)** — Originally for games — fast, smooth graphics. Now also powering AI with billions of parallel calculations.
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---
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### Binary
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## Try: Interactive Tools
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Computers only understand **binary** — 0s and 1s. Every photo, message, and game is stored as binary.
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### Binary Converter
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Type a number and see it in binary — or type binary and see the decimal:
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- [RapidTables Binary Converter](https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/number/decimal-to-binary.html) — quick conversion both ways
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- [CS Unplugged Binary Cards](https://www.csfieldguide.org.nz/en/interactives/binary-cards/) — the dot card activity from class, but online
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Each position is worth double the one to its right:
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### Network Simulator
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- [Firia Labs Network Simulator](https://netsim.erinn.io/) — build a virtual network with switches and routers
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- [Subnet Game](https://www.subnetting.net/) — test your networking knowledge (extension challenge)
Your booklet has diagrams. Here are the real things.
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Convert binary to decimal:
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- `00001101` = ?
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- `01010101` = ?
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- `11000011` = ?
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- `10000001` = ?
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### CPU
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A modern Intel Core i9 processor. The silver square is the heat spreader — underneath are billions of transistors smaller than a virus.
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Convert decimal to binary:
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- 25 = ?
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- 100 = ?
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- 42 = ?
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- 200 = ?
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### RAM
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DDR memory sticks. These plug into the slots on the motherboard. The gold pins are the electrical contacts. More sticks = more "desk space" for your apps.
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### How Networks Work
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### Storage: SSD vs HDD
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**SSD (Solid State Drive)** — No moving parts. Data stored on memory chips. Fast, silent, expensive.
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- **Ethernet cables** — Twisted pairs of copper wires carrying electrical signals. Up to 100m at 1 Gbps.
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- **Fibre-optic cables** — Pulses of light through glass. Up to 100km at 10 Gbps. Used for internet backbones and undersea cables.
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- **Switch** — Connects devices on a local network. Reads addresses to send data to the right device.
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- **Router** — Connects your local network to other networks (like the internet).
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- **LAN (Local Area Network)** — Devices in one location, like your classroom.
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- **WAN (Wide Area Network)** — Connects multiple LANs. The biggest WAN is the internet.
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**HDD (Hard Disk Drive)** — A spinning metal platter with a read/write arm floating above it. Slower, cheaper, still used for bulk storage.
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When you send a message, your device breaks it into **packets**. The switch sends them to the right local device. If they need to go further, the router forwards them to the internet. At the other end, packets are reassembled.
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### GPU
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The NVIDIA RTX 5060 Ti — a modern gaming graphics card. Those two black circles are fans that cool the chip during heavy work. AI companies buy millions of these (or the more powerful server versions).
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### The AI Connection
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### Motherboard
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Everything plugs into this board. You can see the CPU socket, RAM slots, PCIe slots (for the GPU), and hundreds of tiny traces carrying data between components.
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AI models like ChatGPT run on the same hardware — just thousands of CPUs, GPUs, and RAM sticks working together in massive data centres. The same type of chip that runs your Fortnite is now running AI. And it needs a LOT more of them. That's why there aren't enough GPU cards left for gamers!
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---
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## Videos
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## Go Deeper: Things the Booklet Didn't Cover
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- [Inside a Computer — Why AI Stole Your GPU](https://youtu.be/tNkFNDFyTf4) (1:35)
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- [How Networks Power AI](https://youtu.be/CM-mj626lkc) (1:22)
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### How big is a transistor?
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Modern CPUs use 3-nanometre transistors. A human hair is about 80,000 nanometres wide. You could fit roughly 26,000 transistors across a single hair. The Apple M4 chip has 28 billion of them.
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## Tasks
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### Why do computers use binary?
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Because transistors are switches — they're either ON (1) or OFF (0). It's easier to build reliable hardware with two states than ten. Everything else (text, images, video, AI) is built on top of these two states.
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### Core Tasks
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### How fast does data travel in fibre-optic cables?
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About 200,000 km/s — roughly two-thirds the speed of light. A message from Melbourne to London (17,000 km) takes about 85 milliseconds through undersea cables. That's faster than you can blink.
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1. **Laptop Autopsy** (1 lesson) — Open a broken laptop and identify at least 5 internal components. Label them in your notebook with a sketch.
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2. **Raspberry Pi Boot** (1 lesson) — Set up a Raspberry Pi from scratch. Boot it, navigate the desktop, open the file manager and terminal.
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3. **Build a LAN** (1 lesson) — Connect 3 devices using ethernet cables, a switch, and a router. Test that they can communicate.
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### What's inside a data centre?
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Thousands of server racks, each holding dozens of computers. Google has over 30 data centres worldwide. A single data centre can use as much electricity as a small city. Most of that power goes to cooling — the chips generate enormous heat.
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### Extension Tasks
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### Why can't gamers buy GPUs?
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AI training needs thousands of GPUs running together for weeks or months. Companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta are buying every GPU they can get. NVIDIA's revenue tripled because of AI demand. The same chip architecture (CUDA cores) that makes games look good also makes AI calculations fast.
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4. **Pi Network Challenge** (1 lesson) — Transfer a file between two Raspberry Pis over your LAN. Document the steps you took.
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5. **Data Journey Research** (1 lesson) — Research: How does data travel from your Raspberry Pi to Google? Draw the path including all the devices it passes through.
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---
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## Key Words
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## Answers: Binary Practice
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| Term | Definition |
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|------|-----------|
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| CPU | Central Processing Unit — the brain of the computer |
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| RAM | Random Access Memory — temporary working storage |
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| Storage | SSD or HDD — permanent file storage |
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| Motherboard | Main circuit board connecting all components |
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| GPU | Graphics Processing Unit — fast parallel calculations |
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| Router | Device that directs traffic between different networks |
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| Switch | Device that connects devices within the same network |
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| Ethernet | Wired network connection using cables |
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| Binary | Number system using only 0 and 1 |
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| LAN | Local Area Network — connected devices in one location |
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| WAN | Wide Area Network — connects multiple LANs |
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| Packet | A small chunk of data sent across a network |
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From your booklet:
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## Resources
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| Binary | Decimal |
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|--------|---------|
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| `00001101` | 13 |
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| `01010101` | 85 |
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| `11000011` | 195 |
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| `10000001` | 129 |
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- [CS Unplugged — Count the Dots](https://csunplugged.org/activities/binary-numbers) — Classic binary activity with physical cards
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- [Isaac Computer Science — Systems Architecture](https://isaaccomputerscience.org/topics/architecture) — CPU, RAM, storage deep dive
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- [Isaac Computer Science — Networking](https://isaaccomputerscience.org/topics/networking) — LANs, WANs, how data travels
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- [Raspberry Pi Getting Started](https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/raspberry-pi-getting-started) — Official setup guide
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- [Micro:bit Radio Projects](https://microbit.org/projects/make-it-code-it) — Send data wirelessly between micro:bits
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- [Digital Technologies Hub](https://www.digitaltechnologieshub.edu.au/) — Australian curriculum resources
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| Decimal | Binary |
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|---------|--------|
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| 25 | `00011001` |
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| 100 | `01100100` |
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| 42 | `00101010` |
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| 200 | `11001000` |
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**Check your working:** For each 1 in the binary number, add up the place value. For decimal to binary, find the biggest power of 2 that fits, subtract, repeat.
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---
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## Links for Parents
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Wondering what your child is learning? Here's a quick summary:
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- Students are exploring **how computers work** — opening old laptops, identifying components, understanding what each part does
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- They're learning **binary** — the number system computers use (just 0s and 1s)
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- They're building **networks** — connecting devices with real cables and switches
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- Everything connects to **AI** — helping students understand that AI runs on the same hardware they're studying
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This aligns with the [Victorian Curriculum: Digital Technologies](https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/technologies/digital-technologies/introduction/rationale-and-aims) for Years 7-8.
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---
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*Last updated: April 2026. Questions? Ask your teacher.*
