Lesson Plan

• Describe what a virtual machine is and differentiate between system and process VMs.
• Explain the role of the hypervisor in creating and managing VMs.
• Identify at least three benefits of using virtual machines.
• Illustrate how VMs enable parallel processing on multi‑core hosts.
• Apply Amdahl’s Law to estimate speed‑up when adding virtual CPUs.

• Projector and screen
• Laptop with VirtualBox (or similar hypervisor) installed
• Printed handout of the VM diagram and benefit table
• Worksheet with checklist and Amdahl’s Law problem
• Whiteboard and markers

Begin with a quick discussion about how cloud services rely on virtual machines, linking to students’ prior knowledge of operating systems. Ask them to recall what “isolation” means in computing. State that by the end of the lesson they will be able to define a VM, explain the hypervisor’s role, and evaluate its benefits.

1. Do‑now (5'): Students write one example of software that runs in a virtual environment.
2. Direct instruction (10'): Slide presentation defining VMs, types, and hypervisor concepts.
3. Live demo (15'): Teacher creates a simple VM in VirtualBox, showing isolation and resource allocation.
4. Guided activity (10'): Students complete a worksheet matching benefits to real‑world scenarios.
5. Parallel processing discussion (10'): Explain vCPUs and work through an Amdahl’s Law calculation.
6. Concept check (5'): Quick quiz using clickers or show of hands on key terms.
7. Recap (5'): Review checklist items and answer lingering questions.

Summarise the definition, hypervisor role, benefits, and parallel‑processing advantages of virtual machines. Students complete an exit ticket by writing one benefit of VMs and one question they still have. For homework, they research a real‑world use case of virtualization (e.g., cloud hosting, testing environments) and prepare a short summary.