PC Architecture Learning through the Combination of Hardware Examination and the Use of System Information Software

This work proposes an approach for Personal Computer (PC) architecture teaching, which merges a visual lecturing of the main components of a desktop PC and a posterior system information software inspection of the performance and characteristics of its components. The study of the PC architecture is essential in any introductory computer science course. However, it is very often observed that the students do not associate the theoretical PC architecture studied with the real components structured in a PC. The proposed methodology has shown to boost the students’ comprehension of a general desktop PC architecture. For the proposed approach any personal computer under any platform could be used, with the corresponding available system information software. In this work we will use a laboratory desktop PC, using MS-Windows as the operating system and a well known free system information software. The proposed interactive learning approach is flexible and can be level-adapted depending on the desired plane of detail that wants to be tackled.