Manual work or computer automation?
Computer ScienceComputers & HardwareAges 14–15
Use it with your class: students open it from a link or a QR code, with no account needed.
Next in Computers & Hardware
A familiar task (grading papers, library loans, or store checkout) is modeled through the time each item takes, its error rate, and its cost. Students drag the number of tasks and the automation level, and the simulation recalculates total time using setup time plus the number of tasks times the time per task, plotting both lines on a graph and marking the break-even point: the task count beyond which the computer becomes worthwhile. The Race button runs two progress bars side by side so students can see the difference directly.
Lesson: The role of computers in everyday life: how computers change the way people work
What it shows
Using a computer has a fixed setup cost, such as entering a whole book catalog or building a spreadsheet, but after that each task takes much less time. The model calculates total time as setup time plus the number of tasks times the time per task, for manual work and for computer-based work. On the graph the two lines cross at the break-even point: below it, working by hand is quicker; above it, the computer wins and the gap keeps growing. Estimated errors and labor cost can be compared in the same way.
How to use
Pick a Task and start with a small Number of tasks, then raise it and watch where the manual and computer-based lines cross. Switch between tasks to see how a large setup effort, such as cataloging a library, pushes the break-even point higher. Change the Automation level and turn on Show cost and errors to compare mistakes and labor cost as well as time. Press Race to run both progress bars side by side.
Parameters you can change
- Task Grading papers and recording marks, Library book borrowing and returns, Grocery store checkout
- Number of tasks 10–5000 tasks
- Automation level 0–100 %
- Labor cost 5–60 USD/hour
- Show cost and errors
Questions to explore
- Why can doing only 10 tasks by hand be quicker than setting up a computer to do them?
- Which task has the highest break-even point, and what setup work explains it?
- Apart from time, what else does the computer-based method reduce, according to the cost and error figures?
