Session 10: Skills Lab 1: Know Your Machine

At a glance: a practice-only Skills Lab: pupils do a typing check, then work through four 15-minute stations (set up a workstation from loose parts, write a PC's spec sheet, build a named folder tree and back it up to USB, and change and restore settings plus fix two planted faults), fix and re-try, and fill in their score sheet. Nothing new is taught. · Time: 90 minutes (adjust the timings if your period is shorter) · Workbook pages: 6

Learning outcomes

By the end of the session, pupils can:

Connect a monitor, keyboard, mouse and headset to the right ports, start a computer safely, prove each part works and shut it down properly.
Find and record a PC's processor, RAM, storage and free space, take a screenshot, and build a correctly named folder tree from a ZIP file, backed up to a USB drive that they eject safely.
Change three settings and put them back exactly, and find and fix two faults using the R-C-S-A fix-it habit, describing a problem clearly.

Before the session

On every pupil PC, create Documents > BIH_Practice > Skills_Lab_1 and put Station3_Starter.zip in it. Keep a spare copy of the folder on your USB.
Make Station3_Starter.zip: in a folder, put doc1.txt (a four-line poem you type in Notepad, for example a poem about the harmattan) and IMG_0042.png (a Ghana flag drawn in Paint and saved as PNG). Select both files, then right-click → Compress to → ZIP File (older Windows 11: 'Compress to ZIP file'; Windows 10: Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder), and rename the ZIP Station3_Starter.zip.
Station 1 (workstation): at one or two desks, unplug the monitor cable, keyboard, mouse and headset from a desktop (or laptop + external monitor) and lay them on the desk. Leave the power cables plugged into a power strip that you switch on. If you have both HDMI and VGA cables, leave both, so pupils must choose.
Station 3 (USB): one clean, virus-scanned club pen drive per station PC, with nothing personal on it. Clear the portfolios off it between pupils (or let several portfolios sit side by side, since each has the pupil's name).
Station 4 (faults): plant two faults on each station PC from the Session 9 list, mixing an easy and a harder one. Good pairs: muted sound + Airplane mode; Caps Lock on + wrong Windows + P mode (only on a PC with a projector or second monitor; otherwise turn monitor brightness right down); mouse receiver unplugged + Num Lock off; output device set to a missing device + Wi-Fi off. Keep a secret list per PC. Check the PCs use English (United Kingdom) or (United States) layout so the Part A keyboard step works.
Test the Plug It In and Fix-It Workshop labs on a spare PC for the re-try time. Keep the offline pack on USB.
Have the typing trainer open on every PC for the typing check.

Running order

Time	Activity	Workbook	What the mentor does
0–10 min	Typing warm-up and 3-minute typing check	Page 1	Pupils warm up for 5 minutes on the typing trainer (`/typing/`), then do the 3-minute check and record speed, accuracy and stage. Compare with the Bronze target (15 wpm at 90%).
10–15 min	Briefing	Page 1	Explain the route (Figure 10.1), the 15-minute stations, the checklists and the bonus point. Repeat the power rule and the fix-it safety rules.
15–30 min	Rotation 1	Pages 2–5	Groups start at different stations (see rotation below). Circulate; do not fix things for pupils. Tick checklists as pupils finish.
30–45 min	Rotation 2	Pages 2–5	Re-plant Station 4 faults and unplug Station 1 again between groups (a helper pupil who has finished can help with Station 1).
45–60 min	Rotation 3	Pages 2–5	Watch Station 3 ejects: pupils must wait for "Safe to remove hardware".
60–75 min	Rotation 4	Pages 2–5	Last station for each group.
75–85 min	Fix and re-try, plus show-and-tell	Pages 2–5	Pupils return to their weakest station using the re-try hints, or first do the matching 3D lab (Plug It In for Station 1, Fix-It Workshop for Station 4). Two pupils show their spec sheets: "Whose PC has the biggest worktable?"
85–90 min	Score sheet, Passport ticks and reflection	Page 6	Total the scores, tick the Passport skills, announce the team points winner. Undo every planted fault and reconnect Station 1 before you leave.

Rotation for many pupils and few PCs: make four groups, one per station. Station 1 needs one desk with loose parts; Stations 2 and 3 can run on any PCs; Station 4 needs PCs with planted faults. If you have, say, 6 PCs for 20 pupils: 1 PC for Station 1 (pairs take turns: one connects, one checks), 2 PCs each for Stations 2 and 3, 1 PC with faults for Station 4, and pupils without a PC do the matching 3D lab on a phone or wait with their typing practice. With two pupils per PC, use a driver and a navigator and swap roles halfway through each station; both pupils' names go on the files.

Key ideas and how to explain them

A Skills Lab shows what you can do, not what you can remember. Pupils may look back at their Session 1–9 workbooks during the fix-and-re-try time, but not during the first try.
Four stations, one machine: outside (Station 1, ports and startup), inside (Station 2, specs), files (Station 3, folder tree and backup) and the operating system (Station 4, settings and faults).
Honest ticks: the checklist tells you what to practise next. A missing tick is useful information, not a failure.
Team points: 1 point for each station a team member finishes inside the time, 1 point when a pupil helps another during fix-and-re-try by explaining, not by taking the mouse, and 2 points for the team with the clearest help descriptions at Station 4 (you choose).
The planted traps: the HDMI and VGA choice and the monitor's own power button (Station 1); total vs free space (Station 2); .txt.txt when renaming with extensions showing, and pulling the pen drive before ejecting (Station 3); a fault that hides behind another fault (Station 4).

The 3D lab

Two labs are open for this session: Plug It In ("Connect a monitor, printer, headset, webcam and more to the right ports, pair a Bluetooth headset and set up a projector") and Fix-It Workshop ("A computer with problems: no sound, no internet, a frozen app, a full drive. Follow the fix-it habit to find and fix each one"). Use them in the fix-and-re-try time and for pupils waiting for a PC: a pupil who struggled at Station 1 does the Plug It In connecting missions before trying the real workstation again; a pupil who struggled at Station 4 does a Fix-It Workshop mission, saying the R-C-S-A steps aloud, before going back to the planted faults. Do not use the labs instead of a station: every tick needs the real computer.

Common mistakes and quick fixes

Pupils often…	Try this
Press the PC's power button and think it is broken because the screen stays black	"Is the monitor on?" Its own button, then its cable at both ends.
Force the VGA plug or forget its screws	Line up the D shape; finger-tight screws only.
Hear sound from the speakers instead of the headset	Speaker icon → > → choose the headset.
Write the total disk size as free space	Read the words under the bar: "free of" comes first.
Rename to `English_Poem_YourName.txt.txt`	With extensions showing, type only the part before the dot. F2 to fix.
Use the ZIP's files without extracting	Right-click → Extract All. Files inside a ZIP may not save properly.
Copy only the files, not the whole folder, to the USB	Go up one level to Documents, select the Portfolio folder itself, then Ctrl + C.
Pull the pen drive out straight away	Eject first; wait for "Safe to remove hardware".
Change all three settings and forget the old values	Write "Before" first, every time.
Fix one fault and stop	There are two. Test everything: sound, internet, keyboard, mouse, display.

When things go wrong

No internet: nothing in this Skills Lab needs the internet. If Airplane mode or Wi-Fi is one of your planted faults, pupils can still see the network icon change when they fix it.
Not enough PCs or devices: use the rotation above. If you have no loose monitor or headset for Station 1, pupils connect what you have (keyboard, mouse, headset) and do the monitor connection in Plug It In; mark that tick with "lab" and check it on a real PC next time. If you have no pen drive, pupils copy the Portfolio folder to a second location (for example the desktop) instead, and do the USB eject at the next session.
A PC freezes or the power goes: stop the clock for that pupil, restart, and carry on. Use it as a free Station 4 question: "What was lost? Why?" If the power goes for everyone, do the port table, the spec sheet answers and the help description on paper, and finish the computer parts next session.

Answer key

Station 1 (Page 2): monitor: HDMI or VGA (whichever the PC and monitor share); keyboard and mouse: USB-A; headset: audio jack (green for sound out, pink for the microphone on desktops) or USB. Start-up order: power strip (adult), system unit, monitor. Tests: typing in Notepad, opening Start with the mouse, a sound in the headset. Shut down from Start → Power → Shut down.

Station 2 (Page 3): values depend on the PC; they must match Settings → System → About and This PC. Photos sum: free GB × 1,000 ÷ 4 (for example 80 GB free → about 20,000 photos). Memory or storage: more RAM helps most, because many open tabs fill the worktable; a bigger drive is a bigger storeroom, not a bigger table.

Station 3 (Page 4): Documents > Portfolio_YourName > Writing > English_Poem_YourName.txt, Pictures > Art_GhanaFlag_YourName.png, Specs > Specs_YourName.txt, with an identical copy of the whole folder on the pen drive, and the drive ejected with the "Safe to remove hardware" message.

Station 4 (Page 5): Part A: each setting is back to its "Before" value. With UK layout, Shift + 2 types "; with US layout it types @. The extra layout has been removed. Part B: depends on the faults you planted; the log should name the symptom, the step (usually S for mute, Airplane mode, Wi-Fi, Caps Lock, Num Lock, Windows + P; C for an unplugged receiver or cable) and the exact fix. A good help description has what I did, what I see, the error (or "no error message") and what I tried.

Support and stretch

Needs more support: let them start at Station 2 or 3 (the most step-by-step), allow their Session 4–9 workbooks open in the re-try time, and pair them as navigator first so they see the steps before driving. At Station 4, plant two easy faults (mute, Caps Lock).
Finished early: at Station 3, make a ZIP of their own Portfolio folder (right-click → Compress to → ZIP File (older Windows 11: 'Compress to ZIP file'; Windows 10: Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder)) and check its size against the folder's size. At Station 4, they become fault planters for the next group (with you watching, from the Session 9 list). Or help another pupil by asking questions, not by taking the mouse (team points!).

Evidence for sign-off

Sign the score sheet when the pupil has a recorded typing check, and you have initialled each station with the number of ticks. Tick a Passport skill only when you saw it working today: the workstation connected and starting in the right order; the spec sheet values matching the screen, with Specs_YourName.txt and the screenshot saved in Skills_Lab_1; the Portfolio tree correct on the PC and on the pen drive, ejected safely; three settings restored and both faults fixed with the log filled in. These ticks are evidence for the Bronze Passport at Skills Lab 2 (Session 15); nothing is awarded today.

How to re-teach: for every station where a pupil scored 3 ticks or fewer, write the session number on their score sheet (Station 1: Sessions 1 and 7; Station 2: Sessions 6 and 8; Station 3: Sessions 4, 5 and 6; Station 4: Sessions 8 and 9) and give them 10 minutes at the start of Session 11 or 12 to redo that station, using the re-try hints, the matching 3D lab and their old workbook.

Safety and wellbeing

Station 1 is the only time pupils connect a whole computer: only you switch the power strip on and off, pupils never touch wall sockets or mains plugs, hands must be dry, and cables stay off the floor where people walk. Never plant a fault that needs a case opened or a mains plug touched. Timed stations can make some pupils anxious: remind everyone that this is practice, nobody fails a Skills Lab, and the score is only for them and their mentor; never read individual scores aloud or rank pupils on the board (team points are for teams, not individuals). Use only club pen drives, and check every planted fault is undone before the next class.