Published
Computing for Emerging Adults
The Computing Hour
This book helps you guide a 15- to 18-year-old through high-school computer science at home, whether or not you code yourself. A weekly Computing Hour builds working habits: write a plan before building, test before trusting, debug instead of rewriting, and be able to explain every line. Your teen works through Python, objects and classes, data and databases, the web, the command line, Git, security, and AI, with clear guidance on records, AP, and dual enrollment.
Editorial principle
Specify it before you build it; predict before you run; debug before you rewrite; explain it before you call it yours.
- Chronology
- 2026
- Length
- ~64,000 words
- Reading time
- ~4.5 hours · 168 pages
Authors
Michael Gannotti
The voices
1 figures across 2026. Each speaks in their own voice, through their own texts.
The parent-teacher
nowComputing hour
Core question: Can you explain every line you call yours?
One adult, a spec page on the table — tests and a Debug Log are the record.
Chapters
14 chapters. The disagreement is not resolved.
- Complete
Welcome
Welcome
Why is a weekly computing hour at home worth it for a 15- to 18-year-old, and what will it build in them?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
How to Use
How to Use This Book This Week
How do we start this week, even if the parent isn't a programmer?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Five Things
If You Only Remember Five Things
If we forget everything else, which five habits matter most?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
The Hour
The Computing Hour
What happens, step by step, in one Computing Hour with our teen?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 1
What Computing Looks Like at 15–18: Specs, Algorithms, and Running Your Own Work
What does real computing look like at 15–18, and how does our teen learn to plan their own work?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 2
Python as a Tool: Programs That Read, Compute, and Write
How does our teen use Python as a real tool to read data, compute, and write results?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 3
Testing and Debugging: Proof Before Pride
How does our teen prove their code works with tests, and fix bugs without starting over?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 4
Objects and Classes: The Bridge to Java
How do objects and classes work, and how do they prepare our teen for Java and AP-level courses?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 5
Data: Questions, Tables, and Databases
How does our teen ask good questions of data using tables and databases?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 6
Building for People: The Web, the Command Line, and Git
How does our teen build things other people can use, with the web, the command line, and Git?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 7
Systems, Networks, and Security: What You May and May Not Touch
How do systems, networks, and security work, and what is our teen allowed, and not allowed, to touch?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 8
Working With AI: How It Learns, Where It's Wrong, and Whose Work It Is
How should our teen work with AI: how it learns, where it's wrong, and how to be honest about whose work it is?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 9
Credit and the Transcript: Records, Portfolio, AP, and Dual Enrollment
How do we earn and document credit, including records, a portfolio, AP, and dual enrollment?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 10
Resources
Which resources and programs fit our family's time, budget, and goals?
Voices: parent-teacher