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Inside the Machine G3 to G5 / Week 07 / Crew Quest
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Week 07 · Software and files

Crew Quest

Crew Quest: The paper file cabinet
// The instructions that bring the parts to life
⏱ about 15 min

Crew Quest: The paper file cabinet

The Fix-It Bay is closed for the weekend, but the crew is still busy. Raven has a stack of paper, some envelopes and a pencil. "We are building a computer with no power at all," she says.

Rocket grins. "Paper files? Paper folders?" Nova hums. "Exactly. A file on a chip and a file on a page follow the same ideas."

  1. Hardware is the parts you can touch. Software is the instructions.
  2. The operating system starts the device, shares the parts and runs the apps.
  3. An app is a program for one kind of job.
  4. A file is a named bundle of information. A folder holds files.
  5. Saving copies work from memory to storage, so it survives when the power goes.
◇ BUILD A PAPER FILE CABINET
You need paper, a few envelopes and a pencil.
Each envelope is a folder. Write a folder name on each one, like Drawings or Lists.
Each sheet of paper is a file. Give each one a name and a type tag, like dog.png or shop.txt.
Put each file in the folder where it belongs.
Your partner asks for a file by name. Find it as fast as you can.
Then swap roles. Talk about which folder names made finding things easiest.
For a grown-up
This activity is screen-free. No device is needed.
Ask your child to explain why the type tag matters. The answer is that it tells which app opens the file.
If you like, show how one real device groups its files into folders.
PAPER CABINET CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
In the paper cabinet, what does an envelope stand for?
What does a sheet of paper stand for?
Which name is clearer for a drawing of a cat?
What is the paper version of the real device part that remembers with no power?
WHY THIS EXERCISEPaper keeps information with no power, just like storage does.
On paper, draw your file cabinet. Label two folders and three files with type tags.

You built a computer out of paper! Next week the crew follows a message out of the device and across the internet.

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