AND, OR, XOR

As a continuation of the DO-IT Scholars' education about computers and technology, Professor Gaetano Boriello gave the Phase I Scholars a lesson in logical circuitry. No, this is not a fancy new cooking technique, it is the theory and application of how all computers and digital equipment are designed and made. Scholars learned about Boolean algebra, which is the main form of mathematics used in computer logic; OR, AND, XOR and other types of logical notation, and about the symbols used in the design of logical circuitry.

They applied the knowledge they gathered in an hour long lecture using a computer program called LogicWorks which allowed the Scholars to construct their own logical circuits and see the outcome. Professor Boriello assisted the Scholars with their designs, and many of them actually got to see how a digital circuit like those in their computers were designed.

The program LogicWorks, can be used on a Macintosh, or an IBM PC. It has a graphical interface that allows the students to construct actual circuit designs, and see what their outcome would be with simulated logic probes.

In class, the students created simple adding machines that would add binary numbers together. Some students learned how to use registers to store and manipulate the numbers that they worked with. "It was great," one student said. "I learned that there are a lot of ways to do logic with circuits," another student added.