Students set up an ESD-safe workstation, match each tool in a technician's kit to its job, read a safety data sheet, and pull and reseat RAM with a partner checklist. Passing all four stations earns a Bench License for the rest of the course.
Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Set up an ESD-safe workstation and explain why static can damage parts you cannot feel it touch.
- Name the right tool for each common bench job.
- Remove and reseat a RAM module correctly, and explain why a technician never opens a power supply.
- Find handling, protective-equipment and disposal information on a safety data sheet (SDS).
Board question
- Name two ways you could damage a computer without dropping it.
- Name one way a computer could hurt you. Write it in one sentence.
Students answer in the notebook at the start, and revisit the answer on the exit ticket.
The 90-minute block
| Minutes | Segment | Teacher | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–8 | Do Now | Board question. Expect "water" and "dropping it"; push for static, heat and dust. | Answer both asks. |
| 8–25 | I Do | Static: you feel a shock somewhere around 3,000 volts, and chips can be damaged by far less, so damage happens without anyone noticing. Electrical safety: unplug, drain, never open the PSU. Chemicals and the SDS. Lifting. Close with the Bench License: four stations, four sign-offs, and no hardware work in this class without one. | Notes. |
| 25–35 | We Do | Model the RAM pull aloud at the demo station: unplug, drain, strap on, open the clips, lift straight up, line up the notch, press until both clips click. Then have one student talk you through it while you do it. | Watch, then direct the teacher through the steps. |
| 35–80 | Lab: Certify the Bench | Four stations, about 11 minutes each. Stay at the RAM station; that is the sign-off that matters most. Boot each PC after the reseat. | Lab sheet Stations 1–4; collect sign-offs. |
| 80–90 | Exit Ticket | Board question returns. Two A+-style items. Hand out Bench Licenses to anyone with four sign-offs. | Revisit, then answer. |
The 50-minute period
| Minutes | Segment | Teacher | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | Do Now | First board ask. | Answer the first ask. |
| 4–14 | I Do | Static, unplug and drain, never the PSU. The Bench License. | Notes. |
| 14–42 | Lab: Certify the Bench | Stations 1 (ESD setup) and 3 (RAM reseat). Stations 2 and 4 move to tomorrow. | Stations 1 and 3. |
| 42–50 | Exit Ticket | Both board asks and the two items. | Revisit, then answer. |
What moves to tomorrow: Stations 2 (tool match) and 4 (SDS) run tomorrow as a 25-minute rotation, and licenses go out at the end of that class.
Materials
- Lab PCs, unplugged, one per pair.
- ESD mats, wrist straps and anti-static bags.
- Technician toolkits: Phillips #1 and #2, spudger, tweezers, flashlight, parts tray, compressed air.
- Spare RAM sticks (DDR4 and DDR5 if possible) so students can compare notches.
- A printed SDS for 99% isopropyl alcohol.
- Tool-match cards and Bench License cards.
- Lab sheet (printed), one per student.
Before class
- Set up four stations: ESD setup, tool match, RAM reseat, SDS reading.
- Print Bench License cards with four sign-off boxes.
- Test that every lab PC posts before class, so the RAM station proves something when it boots after.
Safety
- Shut down, switch off and unplug before opening any case. Hold the power button for five seconds after unplugging to drain leftover charge.
- Power supplies are never opened. They hold dangerous charge even unplugged.
- Isopropyl alcohol is flammable. It stays capped and away from anything powered.
- Lift with your legs and ask for a second person for anything heavy, like a full tower or a UPS.
Vocabulary
- ESD
- Electrostatic discharge: a static spark. It can damage chips at levels far below what you can feel.
- Wrist strap
- Keeps you and the computer at the same electrical level, so no spark jumps.
- SDS
- Safety data sheet: the official handling, first aid and disposal instructions for a chemical.
- DIMM
- The stick that RAM comes on in a desktop. Laptops use a shorter one, the SODIMM.
- POST
- Power-on self-test: the checks a computer runs before it starts the operating system.
Exit ticket
Item 1 is always the board question, revisited. Then:
A technician is about to replace RAM in a desktop. What should they do first?
- Put on a wrist strap
- Shut down and unplug the computer (key)
- Remove the CPU cooler
- Open the power supply
Where would a technician find the handling and disposal instructions for a cleaning chemical?
- The license agreement
- The safety data sheet (key)
- The computer's user manual
- The BIOS settings
Support
- Each station has a picture card showing the finished setup.
- Partners may read steps aloud to each other at every station.
- The SDS station has the four sections highlighted for students who need it.
Stretch
- Compare a DDR4 and a DDR5 stick and explain, using the notch, why one cannot go in the other's slot.
- Find the fire extinguisher in the room and work out from its label whether it is safe to use on electrical equipment.
Where this leads
Shops and school IT departments check safety habits before anything else. The Bench License gives students something concrete to describe in an interview: "I was certified on our bench before I touched hardware."