What a computer network is
Computer Science · Key Stage 2 · The School
Computers joined together
A NETWORK is two or more computers joined so they can share things. They can share files. They can share a printer. They can share a connection to the internet. Without a network, each computer would be on its own. Nothing could pass between them, however close together they sat on a desk. A memory stick used to be the only way to move a file at all.
Wires and wireless
Some computers join a network with a cable. Others join with WI-FI, which uses radio waves instead of wires. Both do the same job. They let one computer send information to another. A cable is often more reliable, but Wi-Fi lets a laptop move freely around a room. Most homes and schools now use a mixture of both.
A network at school
Your school likely has its own network. Every classroom computer joins it. One printer can serve the whole school through that network. Files saved by a teacher can be opened on a different computer in a different room. A home can have a small network too, joining a laptop, a phone and a games console. None of those devices needs to be plugged directly into any of the others. Each one only needs to be joined to the same shared network.
Sharing one printer
Ten computers in a school could each need their own printer. Instead, they join one network and share a single printer. Any computer can send a document to it. The network carries the job to the right machine. Nobody has to carry a memory stick down the corridor to print a page.