Programming

Today, we’re going to build the ticking heart of every computer - the Central Processing Unit or CPU. The CPU’s job is to execute the programs we know and love - you know, like GTA V, Slack... and Power Point. To make our CPU, we’ll bring in our ALU and RAM we made in the previous two episodes, and then, with the help of Carrie Anne’s wonderful dictation, (slowly) step through some clock cycles.

Computers played a big part in space exploration. In this clip from Ready Jet Go!, Dr. Rafferty explains how giant computers were used to guide astronauts to the moon in 1969. She then explains the concept of computer programming in the form of a catchy song. Remember, it's all about the zeroes and ones!

Explore how coding and storytelling can go hand-in-hand as children create projects utilizing their favorite PBS KIDS characters in the app.

Since Joseph Marie Jacquard’s textile loom in 1801, there has been a demonstrated need to give our machines instructions. In the last few episodes, our instructions were already in our computer’s memory, but we need to talk about how they got there - this is the heart of programming. Today, we’re going to look at the history of programming.