All five mandatory IB CS topics: system fundamentals, computer organisation, networks, computational thinking, and abstract data structures.
Level: Intermediate
Grade band: 9–12
Time: about 40 hours
Outcomes
- Analyse system design, change management, and software deployment
- Describe computer organisation: CPU, memory, and data representation
- Explain network architecture, protocols, and security
- Apply computational thinking: decomposition, abstraction, and algorithms
- Implement and evaluate abstract data structures
Topic 1 — System Fundamentals
1.1 Systems in Organisations
- Planning and system installation — 25 min (coming soon)
- User focus and system backup — 20 min (coming soon)
- Software deployment and testing strategies — 25 min (coming soon)
1.2 System Design Basics
- Components of a computer system — 20 min (coming soon)
- System life cycle and documentation — 20 min (coming soon)
- Human interaction with systems — 20 min (coming soon)
Topic 2 — Computer Organisation
2.1 Computer Architecture
- CPU architecture: ALU, CU, registers, buses — 30 min
- Primary and secondary memory — 25 min (coming soon)
- Operating system functions — 25 min (coming soon)
2.2 Data Representation
- Binary, hexadecimal and number bases — 30 min
- Two’s complement and signed integers — 25 min (coming soon)
- Character encoding: ASCII and Unicode — 20 min (coming soon)
- Representing images, sound, and video — 25 min (coming soon)
2.3 Logic Gates and Boolean Algebra
- Logic gates: AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, XOR — 30 min (coming soon)
- Boolean expressions and truth tables — 30 min (coming soon)
- Simplifying circuits with Boolean algebra — 25 min (coming soon)
Topic 3 — Networks
3.1 Networks
- Network fundamentals: LAN, WAN, topology — 25 min (coming soon)
- Protocols: TCP/IP, HTTP, FTP, SMTP — 25 min (coming soon)
- Network hardware: routers, switches, hubs — 20 min (coming soon)
- Wireless networking and security — 25 min (coming soon)
- The Internet and World Wide Web — 20 min (coming soon)
- VoIP, cloud computing, and distributed systems — 25 min (coming soon)
Topic 4 — Computational Thinking, Problem-Solving & Programming
4.1 General Principles
- Thinking procedurally, logically, and concurrently — 25 min (coming soon)
- Abstraction and decomposition — 25 min (coming soon)
- Algorithms: pseudocode and flowcharts — 30 min (coming soon)
4.2 Searching and Sorting Algorithms
- Linear and binary search — 25 min
- Bubble sort, selection sort, insertion sort — 30 min (coming soon)
- Algorithm efficiency and Big-O notation — 30 min (coming soon)
4.3 Programming Constructs
- Variables, constants, and data types — 20 min (coming soon)
- Selection: if/else and case statements — 20 min (coming soon)
- Iteration: for, while, and do-while loops — 20 min (coming soon)
- Arrays and collections — 25 min (coming soon)
- Sub-programs: procedures and functions — 25 min (coming soon)
Topic 5 — Abstract Data Structures (HL)
5.1 Linked Lists
- Singly and doubly linked lists — 30 min
- Traversal, insertion, and deletion — 30 min (coming soon)
5.2 Stacks and Queues
- Stack operations: push, pop, peek — 25 min (coming soon)
- Queue operations: enqueue, dequeue — 25 min (coming soon)
- Applications of stacks and queues — 25 min (coming soon)
5.3 Trees and Binary Trees
- Tree terminology and binary trees — 30 min (coming soon)
- Tree traversal: pre-order, in-order, post-order — 30 min (coming soon)
- Binary search trees: insert and search — 30 min (coming soon)
Start the first lesson: CPU architecture: ALU, CU, registers, buses