Earlier you looked inside the machine that runs your game: hardware, software, memory and the CPU. Today we step outside the machine. Where do computers show up in ordinary Irish life, on buses, in hospitals, in the apps you open every day, and what do we gain and give up when we use them?
Quick recap only: one student names a hardware part and another names a piece of software from the earlier hardware and software work, then move on. Frame today's question on the board: Where are the computers in daily Irish life, and what is the trade-off? Devices are used for the two short drag-sort interactives; notes and pair talk need no extra kit.
A computer is not only the laptop on your desk. It is any device that takes input, follows instructions, and produces output. That includes the phone in your pocket, the card reader on a Luas stop, a hospital scanner, and the server that streams a match to your screen.
Today you will look at three areas of daily life in Ireland:
- Transport: getting people and bikes from A to B
- Health: looking after people and keeping records
- Entertainment: games, streaming, sport and music
For each area you will name what the computer is doing, then weigh one clear benefit against one real cost. A cost is not always money. It can be privacy, fairness, time, or what happens when the system goes down.
Keep this tight. The point is the definition (input, instructions, output) and the three areas, not a lecture. Write the three headings on the board so the class can fill them during the exploration. Flag the word cost early so students do not only think of euros.
Common misconception: students may think only desktops and laptops count as computers. Push back gently with the Leap Card reader or a phone as a counter-example.
Open the interactive activity. You will see short phrases about two Irish systems: TFI Live and the Leap Card.
Drag each phrase into the bucket it belongs in:
- Input: what goes into the system
- System: what the computer is doing
- Output: what comes out
Done looks like: every phrase is in a bucket and the interactive shows they are in the right place. Use the same three labels when you write your own examples next.
Input, system, output
This is the on-screen make-and-check beat before free notes. One minute to open and name the three buckets, about three minutes dragging, one minute debrief: read one correct chain aloud (for example tap, reader checks fare, journey paid).
If anyone finishes early, ask them to say the chain in one sentence: "When I..., the system..., and I get..."
Common mix-up: putting the app or reader under Output. The app or reader is the system; the times or the paid fare are the output.
The cards the activity supplies, and where each one goes
You do not need to make these; the activity provides them. This is the answer key so you can check the class without opening the activity yourself.
- You choose a stop or route in TFI Live → Input
- TFI Live looks up live bus and Luas data → System
- Arrival times show on your phone or the stop board → Output
- You tap your Leap Card on the reader → Input
- The contactless reader checks the card and fare → System
- The journey is paid and recorded → Output
Pick examples from the areas below. Aim for at least one solid example in two areas. Stretch to all three if you have time. For each one you pick, answer both questions in your notes:
- What is the computer taking in, what is it doing with that, and what is it sending out?
- Who benefits when it works well?
Transport
- TFI Live and bus arrival boards: your phone or the stop display shows when the next bus is due.
- Leap Card and contactless readers: a tap pays your fare on buses, Luas and trains.
- Or add one you use yourself (booking app, bike share, ticket machine).
Pause: stand and tell your neighbour one input and one output from your transport example.
Health
- Fitness trackers and phone health apps (good default start): a wristband or phone counts steps, heart rate or sleep and shows you the pattern.
- Hospital and GP systems: appointment bookings, patient records and test results are stored and shared between staff who need them.
- Or add one you use yourself (pharmacy app, booking system, medical imaging you have heard of).
Pause: read one health or entertainment example to your partner. They check you named an input, what the system does, and an output.
Entertainment
- Streaming services (for example RTÉ Player or a film app): a remote computer sends video to your device and often suggests what to watch next.
- Games: the console, phone or project you built is software running on hardware, the same idea as the game machine you explored earlier.
- Or add one you use yourself (live scores, GAA club app, music app).
Done looks like: at least two solid examples written down (from two different areas), each with both questions answered. A third area is a stretch if you finish early.
Before the activity
Display the three headings and the two questions. Students work from the board; there are no handouts. They have just sorted TFI Live and Leap Card on screen, so point back to that model if anyone stalls. Model one short answer only if needed so writing starts quickly. Make the target explicit: two solid examples is the floor; three is stretch.
Keep energy up (mode breaks)
- Transport: quiet notes, then the stand-and-share pause already printed in the student step.
- Second area (Health or Entertainment): quiet notes, then the pair-check pause printed in the student step.
- Stretch third area only for those ready; do not hold the class for it.
- Final minute: harvest one Irish example per area onto the board from volunteers.
Extra examples if a group needs more choice
- Transport: Dublin Bikes (app and docking station show free bikes; lock or release on hire); Irish Rail and Bus Éireann booking (ticket online, seat or journey held).
- Health: pharmacy systems (check prescription and stock); medical imaging (X-ray, CT, MRI turn signals into pictures).
- Entertainment: live sport scores and GAA club apps; music apps with a personal mix from what you already listen to.
Teaching tips
If a student says "the bus itself", nudge them toward the computer inside it or behind it (the tracker, the board, the booking system). Keep the link to their own games alive on the entertainment examples: same idea, different job. Weaker writers can start Health with the fitness tracker only.
Look-fors
- Students name input, what the system does, and output, not just the brand
- At least two areas appear with solid notes; a third is bonus
- Anyone stuck on health can start with the fitness tracker on a phone
- Students treat the list as a menu, not a checklist of every bullet
Open the interactive activity. You will see short claims about the same kinds of technology you just noted.
Drag each claim into the bucket it belongs in:
- Benefit: a concrete good thing for people
- Cost: a real trade-off someone has to live with (privacy, time, data, dependence, money)
Done looks like: every claim is in a bucket and the interactive shows they are in the right place. Keep one pair in mind; you will write your own trade-off next.
Benefit or cost
This is the second on-screen make-and-check beat so energy returns before the four-line write-up. About one minute to open and name the two buckets, three minutes dragging, one minute debrief: read one correct benefit and its matching cost aloud so the room hears a full trade-off pair.
Common mix-up: treating "it is convenient" as enough of a benefit, or joking costs. Push for the specific mechanism on the card (location data, body data, watch history).
If anyone finishes early, ask them which pair feels sharpest for their own life and why.
The cards the activity supplies, and where each one goes
You do not need to make these; the activity provides them. This is the answer key so you can check the class without opening the activity yourself.
- Real-time bus times mean less waiting at the stop → Benefit
- A bus app usually needs your location and a working phone → Cost
- A fitness tracker can show useful patterns in your sleep or steps → Benefit
- A fitness tracker collects sensitive data about your body → Cost
- A streaming app finds shows you like quickly → Benefit
- A streaming system decides what you see and keeps a record of what you watch → Cost
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