Rack of server in the Computer Center, CERN

Lesson plan
created with

Beyond the Computer

Introduction

Beyond the Computer

Things you’ll need to complete this lesson.
Join us as we explore the world of computers. You will
discover what they are, the development of computing
technology and where computing is going in the future. Tablet, laptop or computer with
internet access.
This lesson plan is designed to support you as you explore Google Arts & Culture
stories related to the lesson topic. This lesson is suitable for anyone but is
Paper, or a notebook, and pen to
recommended for students aged 11-13 years. make notes as you go.
You can complete the lesson on your own working at home, with a group of friends,
or in your classroom. They are designed so that you can work through them at a
Drawing materials, such as coloring
pace that suits you. pens and pencils, paper etc.
If you get stuck, you can talk to a teacher or parent.
Throughout the lesson you will find tasks to complete and questions to answer, so Scissors, glue, scrap paper and
when you reach the end, you will have used a range of skills to create something on general stationery items.
your own that demonstrates your knowledge and understanding of the subject.
All you need to get started is any device with internet access.
Art materials, specifically paints and
brushes.
In this lesson, discover more about the inventions that led to the computer
and then technology like smartphones. Learn more about how computers A printer would be beneficial but not
have been used and then find out more about the people involved in this field. necessary – why not draw instead?

2
Explore & Discover

Beyond the Computer

What can you expect to learn?
Computers play a significant role in modern life. They come in all shapes and forms and Look out for the following tips which tell you
can be tiny, hand-held or even fill a room. In this lesson, you will learn about early what to do when during the lesson.
machines, and then explore the latest developments, including artificial intelligence (AI)
and robotics. Find out about some of the people who have played important roles in the
history of computing and some individuals who are leading innovation and building the Key information to remember and to
future of computing. help guide you through the lesson.

Activities to complete
Estimated time to complete a
1. Test your knowledge of new terms in a special anagram test. section or activity within the lesson.
2. Draw a timeline showing the history of computers.
3. Test your skills with binary, by taking a real-world technical test.
Optional headphones to listen to
4. Take the end of lesson quiz to test the knowledge you have gained about computers videos and audio recordings.
and computing.
Outcomes you will achieve Explore online content. Discover videos,
stories, and zoom into pictures.
• Learn about the history of computing, from mechanical to electronic devices.
• Appreciate the inventions that were needed to create the smartphone.
Activity - time to design, make or
• Explore a range of areas where computers have made an impact.
write something of your own.
• Discover the next steps in computer technologies.
• Learn about some of the people who have been involved in the development of
computing.
3
 Emulator II (1), Deutsches Museum

Vocabulary
Words to look out for in the lesson

abacus, AI, algorithm, analogue, Apple I, Arpanet, artificial

intelligence, automate, automatics, BBC Micro, binary, byte,
calculator, camera, cassette, central processing unit, chip, cipher
circuits, Colossus, communications, computer games,
computing, continuous, cordless, CPU, cryptanalysis,
cryptanalyst, data processing, digital, ENIAC, Enigma Code,
handheld, hardware, HTML, HTTP, humanoid, hyperlink, hypertext,
IBM PC, information flow, information processing, infrastructure,
innovation, input, interactions, Internet, invention, LAN, machine
learning, mainframe, mathematical, mechanism, memory,
microchip, microphone, microprocessor, model, networks, output,
packets, pattern recognition, processor, protocols, recorder, reel-
to-reel, robot, robotics, smartphone, software, storage,
telecommunications, terminal, transistor, Turing machine, URL,
valve, voltage, WAN, web browser, web server, World Wide Web

4
Princess Playing Polo (Jodhpur) Unknown, National Museum - New Delhi
 Dekatron Random Access Memory (RAM) Unit (The WITCH), Ted Cooke-Yarborough, 1951, The National Museum of Computing
Beyond the Computer

Introduction
Computers are all around us, powering everything from our washing
machines and fridges, to the devices we use to communicate. We interact
with them, not just in the home, but in most aspects of modern life. In fact,
computers are such an intrinsic part of everyday life, it is hard to imagine a
time without them.

The history of computing goes back further than you would think. Even before
we had digital computers, the idea of computing can be traced back
thousands of years to the invention of the abacus. However, the evolution of
the mechanised and digitised computers we know today really began around
200 years ago, with the invention of the Difference Engine in the 1820s.

Significant developments were made as a result of World War Two (WW2)

and then the invention of the transistor created the opportunity for computers
to become smaller. This made computing more practical and expanded the
potential for computing to revolutionize how we live and work.

In this lesson we will explore how this history has led the world of computers
we live in today and how they have changed the way that we do things.

If you make notes on the stories you read, this will

help you for the end of lesson quiz.
5
 EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator), Maurice Wilkes, 1949, The National Museum of Computing

What is this lesson about?

In this lesson we will look at a brief history of computers and computing. You will see how computers have
changed over time and explore some areas where computers have altered the way we do things. People
are at the heart of computing, here you will get to learn more about some individuals who helped shape
computing in the past and those who are innovating in computing today.

This lesson will take around 120 minutes. 6

 Acorn Archimedes Personal Computer, Acorn Computing Ltd, 1987, The National Museum of Computing

What is a Computer?
Explore a brief history of computing and then will learn about the inventions that led to the smartphone.
Finally, find out more about artificial intelligence and machine learning.

This chapter will take around 45 minutes. 7

 ENIAC (Electronic Numerical ATS Girls, John Robertson, 2011, The Guys with smartphone, Facial recognition, Città della
Integrator And Calculator), United National Museum of Computing Vincenzo Scarantino, 2020- Scienza, 2017, Città della
States Army Solider/Employee - 10/2020-10, Tempio del Futuro Scienza
United States Army Photograph, Perduto
1946, The National Museum of
Computing

History Communications Smartphone Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Explore a brief and concise Modern computing devices that Smartphones are a common Ever wondered how your
history of computers. Learn we use everyday need to be part of modern life, changing smartphone autocorrects your
about what analogue devices connected together. Learn the way we communicate, spelling? Or how it often wants to
are and how they were used. about how computers were socialize and work. This enter phrases that you commonly
powerful computing device use? This is an example of AI in
Then follow the development used to develop modern was developed due to action. There are many examples
of digital devices and the communication systems, which innovations in other of the use of AI in everyday life.
creation of the microchip, a are used today through the technologies. Discover more Find out more in this chapter.
core component powering Internet, smartphones and in this chapter.
computing devices today. cloud computing

8
 PACE TR48 Analogue Computer, Electronics Associates Incorporated (EAI), 1961, The National Museum of Computing
A Concise History
From analogue devices to microchips
As humans, we use innovative ideas to invent ways to solve problems.
The is true in the on-going development of the computer. If we take the
word computing back to its origins, it means ‘to calculate’. Therefore,
we could say that the first computer was the abacus, which was used
to record complex calculations. This is evident in ancient civilisations
in China, Greece and Egypt and is thought to go as far back as
Mesopotamia, in around 2700BCE.
An ancient Greek artefact, the Antikythera Mechanism, is thought to
date back possibly as far as 205BC. It is credited as the world’s first
computer, calculating the movement of the solar system.
The first steps towards a mechanised computer were made in the
1820s by Charles Babbage, a Mathematics professor at the University
of Cambridge. His idea was to create a machine that would calculate
and print mathematical tables.
The development of digital computing was accelerated by Alan Turing
during the early 20th century, with the creation of the Turing Machine, a
precursor to digital computers. With WW2 came the construction of
the Colossus and ENIAC computers, the world’s first digital,
programmable computers.
The creation the transistor, changed the face of modern computing as
it made it possible for computers to be made smaller. Computing
today would not have evolved the way it has without this important
invention.
9
 Motherboard of the desktop computer 141-PF, Busicom Corporation, 1971, Deutsches Museum

Analogue to Digital
Computers have evolved over
thousands of years. From
early analogue machines
designed to calculate and
automate, to the digital
computers we use today.
Learn about the different
stages of the development of
computing from early
analogue machines to digital
and how computers became
part of everyday life. Here you
will also explore the
fundamentals of how
computers work, including the
importance of circuits and
switches and the use of
binary code.
Find out more by clicking on
the ‘Explore’ button below.

Explore

10
 Communications
How computers transformed communications

The use of computers and the invention of the Internet has changed
the way we communicate. We have moved from telephone exchanges,
where people connected calls manually using different plugs and
switches, to being able to talk to someone via video on the other side
of the world at the press of a button.
To understand how computers communicate with each other, we need
to know how networks operate. Before data is transferred across a
network, it is broken down into packages called data packets. The
packets are then sent across the network.
Computers can be connected to each other on a local area network
(LAN). Using this method, computers in businesses and homes can
communicate with each other and share resources across the
network, like printers and internal file storage.
For different networks to communicate with each other, they need to
speak the same language, which was why it was so important that a
universal set of rules was created. The invention of TCP/IP internet
communication protocols showed us that it was possible for multiple
different computer systems to communicate across a wider network.
However, it was the invention of the World Wide Web in 1989, that
simplified the way data packets were handled and this led to the
internet being available to be used by everyone.

IBM System 360 195 computer, manufactured by IBM,

United States, IBM, 1971, Science Museum
11
11
 PS by Paul Smith Store, Mobile Phone Wall, Paul Smith, The National Museum of Computing

There have been many developments in

the way we use technology to
communicate and the impact of these
can be seen all around us.
Important milestones are often linked
with military defense and university
research, including the invention of
ARPANET. This was the first network to
span a wide geographical area and one
of the first to use TCP/IP protocols. It is
the precursor to the Internet that we
know today.
The World Wide Web was invented by a
computer scientist at CERN, looking for
a simpler way to share information using
the Internet. His innovation completely
changed how we communicate today.
Click on the ‘Explore’ button below to
learn more about these milestones and
other important events in the
development of digital communication.

Explore

12
 Crystal receiver onbekend, 1900/1925, NEMO
Science Museum NEMO Science Museum

The Smartphone
Innovation at our fingertips
How would you describe a smartphone? A small computer than
can make calls? A phone with a camera? Smartphones have been
evolving over the last 30 years, bringing together many of the
innovations we have looked at so far. They are the result of many
different inventions and technologies, brought together in one
hand-held device.
Inventions like the transistor, the development of the
microprocessor and the introduction of the internet have all
played important roles in the creation of the smartphones we use
today. There are other key innovations that are included too, like
the lens of the camera, lithium batteries and radio frequency
antennas. All of these were developed for other purposes but
have become essential elements in modern smartphones.
Early mobile phones, produced in the late 1980s and early 1990s,
had the capacity to make calls, receive voicemails and send text
messages. They often had software applications like notes, a
calendar, an address book and simple games. However, their
primary purpose was as a phone.
The biggest change came when early smartphones were able to
connect to the internet, through the introduction of 3G. This
accelerated the development of the smartphone significantly and
vastly changed how we use them.

13
 View 2, NEMO Science Museum

There are many inventions, which

have contributed to the smartphones
we use today.
The invention of the telephone is a
good starting point. As is the
invention of the personal computer
and the development of the Internet.
We could add to that the invention of
the transistor and subsequently the
transistor radio. Giving us an early
portable device for playing music.
Let’s include the design of the
television, which gives us the display
of the phone. We shouldn’t forget the
invention of the camera lens either, as
the camera is an essential part every
smartphone.
There are many other innovations
that have helped to bring the
smartphone to life.
Click on the ‘Explore’ button below to
take a journey though the inventions
that led to the smartphone.

Explore
14
 Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Learn about AI and Machine Learning

What is AI? Simply put, artificial intelligence is where computers take

the place of humans in tasks that would normally require the human
brain to complete. A simple example would be using Google Maps to
get directions from one place to another. Historically, this is a task
that would require a human to use map-reading skills to plan the route
manually.
If we think of typical computing, computers have been programmed to
carry out specific tasks depending on how we interact with them.
Machine learning, doesn’t work on this typical principle. Instead, the
computer has been programmed to use data to learn what tasks to
perform and it does these without specific instructions. For instance,
when the computer tries to predict what you are intending to type or
when your favourite streaming service recommends things you might
want to watch or listen to, based on what you have played previously.
The idea of non-human machines and statues that take on human-like
thought has been written about as myth and science fiction as far
back as ancient Greece. However, we are now beginning to see the
reality of AI and robotics working together and there is a growing
relationship between the two different areas of technology.

Installation photo from the Barbican's AI: More than Human exhibition, featuring Universal 15
Everything's Future You, Barbican Centre and Universal Everything, 2019 Barbican 15
 AI has become an embedded part
of modern life. Through AI, we are
using data to get a better
understanding of the world and to
develop how technology can solve
problems.
Both AI and machine learning give
us are being used extensively, in all
aspects of our lives, from home and
school to business and retail. It is
even being used on farms.
There are also challenges
associated with AI and machine
learning. Preventing machine
learning from picking up on the bias
present in real human data and
using it to discriminate is an
important issue faced by those
people developing AI.

Explore

Installation photo from the Barbican's AI: More than Human exhibition featuring Es Devlin's POEMPortrait's 16
installation, Es Devlin, 2019, Barbican
 You may need help from an adult
with this activity
Activity 1

Create a Computing Timeline

Review what you have learned in this chapter. Consider key
dates for items that you feel are important in the development
of the computer. Then choose your top ten and create a
timeline for when these ten dates occurred. Your timeline
should begin at the earliest date point you have chosen, either
at 200BC, 1800 or 1935.

Cray-1A Supercomputer, 1976, Computer

History Museum

-200 or Today
1800 or
1935 or
Extra Challenge
Consider what you have learned about the development of the smartphone. Think about the major technologies
that make up the smartphone, such as the telephone, transistor radio, television, recorder, networks, the Internet
and microprocessors. Produce a different timeline to place these technologies in relation to the smartphone.
The end date would be the launch of the iPhone in 2007.
15 to 20-minute activity 17
 Oculus Rift Dev Kit 1 VR head-mounted display, 2013,
Deutsches Museum

The Computer Re-imagined

Computers are created to solve problems; sometimes the solutions have had a revolutionary impact on
society. Learn about code-breaking machines in wartime and then explore the origins of computer
gaming. See how the Microcomputer changed our relationship with computers and find out more about
computers that can replicate human actions and interactions.

This chapter will take around 45 minutes. 18

The Computer Re-imagined

The People
Colossus Computer Games BBC Micro Robotics

The Rebuild of Colossus Mark II, The Oregon Trail: American Settler BBC Micro Model B, Acorn Der humanoide NASA-Roboter
Shoen2014-01-06, The National
Uemura, Portrait of myself, 16 Screen Capture,
Chiquinha Gameloft,
Gonzaga, 1877, 2015-12,
Acervo Computer
Zaha HadidCompany,
by Brigitte1981, The
Lacombe, Valkyrie, Deutsches Museum 19
Museum
years old, of Computing
1891, Shohaku Art Museum TheChiquinha
Strong National
GonzagaMusuem of Play
IMS/Sbat National MuseumGalleries
Serpentine of Computing
 Colossus
Wartime code cracker

During World War Two, the German Army used cipher machines
to communicate encrypted messages between different army
commands and bases. These messages held important
information about their military plans. The machines and their
codes were believed to be unbreakable.
Based at Bletchley Park in the UK, the Government Code and
Cypher School (GC&CS) brought together some of the most
gifted computational thinkers and cryptanalysts (code breaking
experts) in a bid to use technology to decode the messages.
The experts at the GC&CS created the Colossus computer in
1943 to tackle the Lorenz cipher, which was highly complicated
and incredibly difficult to break. Even more so than the Enigma
code, which was used by the German Army for the day-to-day
running of the war effort. The Lorenz cipher was used to
communicate the larger plans and deciphering these would
prove essential to ending the conflict.
Colossus was one of the first programmable digital computer
and was used to speed up the process of deciphering many
thousands of strategic messages.
By the end of the war, there were ten Colossus machines
working constantly to break the codes that had been
intercepted.

Explore 20
Colossus, The National Museum of Computing
 Errors and checkmate indicators detail, Torres Quevedo Museum

Automated Chess
The first automated game

Video games are an established part of our modern culture

and use of technology. Whether through consoles,
computers, tablets or apps on smartphones, automated
games play a part in everyday life. However, the first
automated, computer game was the Chess Player.
It was created around 1912, by Leonardo Torres y Quevedo in
Spain and was shown to the public in 1914. He wanted to
prove an early theory of machine learning, where he
suggested that a machine could make intelligent decisions.
The idea behind his automated game was that it could use
data about chess moves to understand when the human
player had made a wrong or right move. It would then choose
moves based the moves made by its opponent.
The early machine had a mechanical arm to move the chess
pieces. However, in a later version he used an
electromagnetic approach, where the pieces would be moved
by magnets underneath the board.

Explore
21
BBC Micro Model B, Acorn Computer Company,
1981, The National Museum of Computing

The BBC Micro

Bringing computing into homes

The idea of computing being accessible to individuals

started to gain momentum in the 1970s and 1980s. In order
to provide computers that would be accessible for education
and for the home, the BBC teamed up with a computing
company called Acorn to design and produce the BBC
Micro.
Launched in 1982, the core focus of the BBC Micro was to
excite and engage people about personal computing and for
people to learn how to code. Initially, it was commissioned
for a small number of units, but It was so successful, that it
sold over 1.5 million units and the British Government funded
it to be put in schools across the UK.
For many people the BBC Micro was their first introduction
to a computer and people were encouraged to learn how to
code games and other activities using the BASIC
programming language. The Micro was also capable to
hosting other software, like a word processor and a wide
range of 8-bit games.

Explore 22
 Der humanoide NASA-Roboter Valkyrie, Deutsches Museum

Robots
Carrying out human tasks

Robots come in many different shapes and sizes. Although

we often think of robots as being human-like, actually many
are designed to suit the job they are designed to fulfil.
The first fully programmable robot was invented in 1954 by
George Devol and went on to form part of the assembly line
at a General Motors car plant in New Jersey, USA. The robot
was employed on a task that was considered highly
dangerous for humans, with risk of serious injury or death.
Robots are often used in this way to substitute humans,
where there is a danger to life, especially in the event of
natural disasters and war. For example, drones can be used
to carry out surveillance of areas that are impossible to reach
because of an earthquake and they can also be used to
deliver supplies.
The adoption of driverless cars is on the horizon in the future;
the technology exists, and trials are being carried out to
determine if they are safe. We even have the technology for
automated robots to deliver takeaway food.
As robots develop further, we are seeing greater application
of AI and machine learning coupled with robotics.

Explore
23
 Activity 2

The Binary Game

This is a test of your mathematical skills and a chance to think like a computer. You
You may need help from your
are going to play a game from CISCO. It is used to help train technicians how to read parents or teacher with this activity
binary numbers. A digital computer is made up of tiny electronic switches. The binary
code 1 represents the switch is ON, and the binary code 0 that the switch is OFF. This
is the reason why binary codes are used in modern day computers.

To find out more about binary codes click on this link from the BBC. It should help
you to remember what you learned about binary numbers in your class. Now you will
take the test. This is a real-world test and so it tends to move onto the next challenge
quickly. See how quickly you can complete level 1.

Click the link from CISCO, to go to the game. Remember, this is designed to test your
math skills as well as your binary. If you are unsure what to do, look to see how you
can make the number using the binary switches on the orange lines and identify the
number highlighted on the green lines.
(Hint: if all the 1s are highlighted (1111 1111) the number is 255)

Examples of where binary codes are used in computers:

• Each time you press a letter on your keyboard you send a binary code to the processor.
• For example, a common code for the letter ‘a’ is 0110 0001.
• Computer processors are measured by how many bits they can process at a single time. 8-bit CISCO Binary Game
devices can process 8 binary digits at the same time, giving a total of 256 combinations.
• Modern-day processors can process 32-bits and above. This gives them over 4 million
combinations. This is one of the reasons why they are so powerful compared to older computers.
24
15 to 20-minute activity
 Ishiguro with Geminoid HI-4 (2013) by Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory, Osaka University, Hiroshi Ishiguro, 2013/2013, Barbican

People and Computing

There would be no computer revolution without the people involved. Their inventiveness and thinking
helped shape how computers came into being and created the foundations for the vast array of
computing technology that exists in our world today. Meet some of these people who have changed the
world and have helped us to continue to push the boundaries of how we use technology.

This chapter will take around 30 minutes.

25
 Alan Turing Memorial, Sackville Park, Fairfield Street, Manchester
Lucy Millson-Watkins, 2018-06-22, Historic England

Learn about one of the

great thinkers in
computing. Alan Turing
invented the Turing
Machine. Click the
‘Explore’ button to learn
more.

Explore

26
 Margaret Bullen, 2014-02-05, The National Museum of Computing

Women have played an

important role in the
development of the
computer and how it can be
used. To learn more about
the role women played in
computing, particularly
during wartime Britain, click
the ‘Explore’ button.

Explore

27
ERIKA by Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory, ATR & Osaka University,
Hiroshi Ishiguro, 2016, Barbican

Japan has become a

world leader in the
development of robots.
Meet Professor Ishiguro
who discusses how he
got started with the
creation of humanoid
robots. Click the ‘Explore’
button below.

Explore

28
Tim Berners-Lee invented
the World Wide Web in
1989. To find out more
about what he created
and the impact it has had,
click the ‘Explore’ button
below.

Explore

29
Tim Berners-Lee, CERN, 1994-07-11, CERN
 Activity 3

Can you work it out?

Working with computers requires you to know a lot of terms. Can you
identify these terms mentioned in this lesson?

1. Aa lounge = Analogue
2. my orem
3. neomorphic
4. lbw widowered
5. arnhem pots
6. rose waft
Extra Challenge
7. alpines reconstructing
Making up anagrams can be
8. inhaler menacing fun. Have a go at making up
9. octo ribs anagrams for the following
terms?
10. manicure thing Recorder, binary, networks,
abacus, telecommunications.
Need help? Check out the vocabulary list on page 4.
Answers are on page 33. Apple I computer, Steve Wozniak, 1976,
Museum of Applied Arts and Science

10 to 15-minute activity
 Quiz

Fill in the Blanks

See if you can recall what you have learned from this lesson. How many
blank words can you fill without going back through the pages?
1. ……………………….. was a British mathematician who came up with the concept of a
digital computer in the 19th Century.
2. The world’s first programmable general purpose digital computer was created in
the USA during World War II. It was called …………..
3. The Turing machine was created by a famous British mathematician and
cryptanalyst. What was his first and last name?
4. AI is short for ………………………………………
5. Apart from computer and communication devices, name one of the other
inventions which were needed to help in the development of the smartphone?
6. ……. is one of the leading countries in the study of Robots.
7. An ……… signal is a continuous current. These types of computers are best used to
solve problems using equations.
8. Tim Berners-Lee created the WWW. What does WWW mean?

arcade game: Computer Quiz Nutting Associates,

1968, The Strong National Museum of Play
15 to 20-minute activity You will find the answer to this quiz on page 33.
31
 Alex Fefegha, Google

Want to Learn More?

Now you’ve completed this lesson you may want to continue to find out more about inventions and computers, this is a
good place to start. To see how artists meet with machine learning, click here.

32
 Yuri Suzuki Re-imagines Raymond Scott’s Electronium, Yuri Suzuki, Pentagram, 2019/2019, Barbican Centre
Activity 3 - Answers

Anagram answers
Here are the answers to the anagrams. How did you do?
1. Analogue 6. software
2. memory 7. Central processing unit
3. microphone 8. machine learning
4. World Wide Web 9. robotics
5. smartphone 10.Turing machine

Quiz Answers

End of Lesson Quiz

Here are the answers to the quiz. How did you do?
1. Charles Babbage
2. ENIAC
3. Alan Turing
4. Artificial Intelligence
5. One from: microphone, camera, recorder, transistor radio, television,
flashlight, music player
6. Japan
7. analogue
8. World Wide Web

33