We have seen from this lesson that farmers can derive benefit from using computers in their daily business. The case study demonstrated a number of possible opportunities. Also in this lesson we switched on the computer which for some of us was the first time! A simple orientation to the computer components and user interface followed. In the next lesson we will start putting the computer to use by investigating ways to use it to store farm records using a spread sheet program.

In this lesson we covered these items: Computer systems are divided into hardware and software. Hardware includes the items you can touch (monitor, CD ROM Drive, mouse etc.) while software includes the programs that run on the system (e.g. Paint). Hardware is used either for input of data (e.g. keyboard), output of information (e.g. printer), processing of data (e.g. processor) or storage of data (e.g. hard drive). Software includes system programs (e.g. operating system, such as Windows, that coordinates the computer) and application programs (that do specific tasks, such as Ms Word that is a word Processor).

You also learnt that an important component of the system is the various storage devices. (e.g. CD ROM or flash drives). Also, don’t forget your username and password which you need to login. We finished off by having a look at the importance of using and sharing ICT tools in farming activities either for the keeping of records, communication or retrieving information.