Hardware is the set of physical parts of a computer or device: everything you can touch. The screen, the keyboard, the mouse, the cables, and the chips inside are all hardware. It is distinct from software, which is the programs and instructions that cannot be touched.
Types of Hardware
Hardware is divided into several categories according to its function:
- Input: send information to the computer, like the keyboard, mouse, or camera.
- Output: show results, like the screen, speakers, or printer.
- Processing: the "brain", the processor or CPU, which runs the instructions.
- Storage: hold data, like the hard drive or a USB stick.
A fun fact: the processor in a modern phone performs billions of operations per second, far more than the computers that took humans to the Moon in 1969. Hardware and software work together: the software tells the hardware what to do, and the hardware carries it out.
Why It Matters for Kids
Understanding hardware helps kids see technology as something they can understand and control, not a magic box. By knowing that a program (software) gives orders to the physical parts (hardware), they better grasp how everything they use works, from a video game to a robot.
In Algonova's coding courses for kids, students learn how code controls hardware, even by programming virtual robots. You can see it in action in a free trial class, at no cost.
