Tech Foundations
No experience needed. The course starts where students are: signing in, saving a file and finding it again, typing, getting around a browser. From there it opens up how computers, networks, software and data work, taught at a workbench with real machines. Programming ideas come through everyday procedures, flowcharts and pseudocode, which is what the Tech+ exam asks about. It is also the on-ramp to Course 2.
The certification
CompTIA Tech+ · FC0-U71
Up to 70 multiple-choice questions · 60 minutes · pass at 650 of 900
What the exam weighs
Weights from CompTIA's published exam details.
The units
- 01
Getting around a computer
Accounts and passwords, files and folders, saving and finding work, typing and shortcuts, the browser. The basics, taught on purpose instead of assumed.
- 02
What a computer is
Input, processing, output and storage; how computers count; units of measure; the troubleshooting method.
- 03
Devices, networks and the internet
Hardware and peripherals, how a home or school network connects, what the internet and the cloud are.
- 04
Software and data
Operating systems and applications, file types, and data in tables: sorting, filtering and simple questions of a small database.
- 05
Thinking like a programmer
Sequences, decisions and loops, practiced through everyday procedures, flowcharts and pseudocode, then reading short pieces of code to say what they do.
- 06
Staying safe
Strong passwords and sign-in codes, privacy, phishing and other tricks, safe habits.
- 07
Exam prep
Practice by domain, and the Tech+ attempt.
Draft unit map. Pacing is set to the school's calendar, the bell schedule and the students in the room.
Sample days
-
Course 1 · Day 1
What's in the Box?
Computing basics: input, processing, output and storage
Students open a retired desktop, label every part they can find as input, processing, output or storage, and trace the path a single keypress takes to the screen.
CompTIA Tech+ -
Course 1 · Day 2
Counting Like a Computer
Notational systems and units of measure
Students count in binary with cards they can hold, read a hex color as three bytes, and use real spec sheets to work out how long a game takes to download on two internet plans.
CompTIA Tech+