The Big Idea
This activity is similar to the previous one on maintaining hardware. By reinforcing the research
aspect of the class, we reinforce good habits that will help the students when they have to figure things out
for themselves.
Objectives
• Regular maintenance for computer operations systems, software and hard drives
• Using scheduled tasks to keep computers in shape
Motivation and Presentation
Keeping a computer running well takes physical maintenance like cleaning, but it also takes software upkeep.
One must also perform regular maintenance on the operating system, software and the hard drive. These
elements get heavy daily use and without regular maintenance they will break down. Resist the temptation
in this activity to just tell the students what they have to do to get these jobs done. Yes, it takes a
little longer to allow the students to research what tasks need to be done and how to do them, but the
reward is that they are honing their research skills and not developing a dependency on you as the keeper
of all knowledge. In fact, if this activity is successful, the students may well find new virus software or
other maintenance solutions that can be implemented to improve current procedures. Be open to these findings,
as this is exactly what you want your students to be doing for you!
Vocabulary
Backup
Virus Scanning
Spyware scanning
Patch
Hard Drive Defragmentation
Scheduled Tasks
Upgrade
Preparation
Explore the terms and their definitions. Discover what your organization is using for the software and hard drive maintenance.
Activity (One hour)
1. Have students research common software maintenance issues and record findings in their blog. (15 Minutes)
a. Students should define the terms and concepts they discover
b. Have them include the URL of the resource found
2. Results from the research should include:
a. Virus scanning and removal
b. Spyware scanning and removal
c. Regular data backups
d. Hard drive defragmentation
e. Software and operating system updates
3. Share findings with class (10 Minutes)
4. Examine examples online (15 Minutes)
5. Using the Internet and student blogs, examine some of the resources found by students
6. Discuss the information and its relevance to your organization and the students personal
computing habits (for example, preventing viruses from being downloaded)
7. Share with the class how these issues are currently being taken care of and discuss if their research
supports the current maintenance regime and schedule.
8. Create or modify the schedule for these upkeep tasks based on the new research. (10 Minutes)
Assessment
Read blog entries for details and ensure class participation in the sharing activity.
Closure and Lesson Extension
Preventative maintenance will help your computer run more efficiently. Without proper upkeep a computer will
slow down and begin to fail, potentially losing data. We don't want this, do we?! These steps are not
optional. Often people who have suffered a computer problem will say that they haven't done anything.
That is precisely the problem.
Resources
Top Ten Anti Spyware Reviews
How Stuff Works - Computer Viruses
How Stuff Works - SpyWare
How Stuff Works - Disk Defragmentation
Microsoft Data Back Up Information
Download the pdf version:
GenYES Sample Activity: Keeping Computers Healthy
