Published
Computing for Young Minds
The Computing Hour
This book helps you teach real computing at home to an 11- to 14-year-old, even if you've never written code. In a weekly Computing Hour, your student plans before typing, writes first programs in Python, builds web pages, and learns to treat errors as clues to solve. Along the way they learn how computers and networks work, how to stay safe and kind online, and how to use AI honestly.
Editorial principle
Predict before you run; debug before you rewrite; explain it before you call it yours.
- Chronology
- 2026
- Length
- ~67,000 words
- Reading time
- ~5 hours · 175 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: What do you predict will happen?
One adult, a Debug Log on the table — the program stays in the student's hands.
Chapters
14 chapters. The disagreement is not resolved.
- Complete
Welcome
Welcome
Why is a weekly computing hour at home worth it for an 11- to 14-year-old, and what will it give them?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
How to Use
How to Use This Book This Week
How do we start this week, even if no one in the house has coded before?
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 at our table?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 1
What Computing Looks Like at 11–14: Plans, Algorithms, and Thinking It Through
How does our student learn to plan and think through a problem before touching the keyboard?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 2
From Blocks to Text: First Programs in Python
How does our student move from block coding to writing first real programs in Python?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 3
Debugging as a Discipline: Errors, Tests, and the Debug Log
How do we treat errors as clues, and use tests and a Debug Log instead of starting over?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 4
Functions, Lists, and Data: Bigger Programs and Spreadsheets That Answer Questions
How do functions, lists, and spreadsheets help our student build bigger programs that answer real questions?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 5
Building for the Web: HTML, CSS, and a First Taste of JavaScript
How does our student build a first web page with HTML and CSS and get a taste of JavaScript?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 6
How Computers and Networks Really Work — and Hardware You Can Program If You Like
How do computers and networks really work, and how can our student try programmable hardware if they like?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 7
Safe, Smart, and Kind Online: Passwords, Scams, Social Media, and Your Footprint
How do we help our student stay safe, smart, and kind online, from passwords and scams to social media?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 8
AI Up Close: Training Data, Bias, Prediction, and Whose Work It Is
How does AI learn from data, where can it be biased or wrong, and how do we stay honest about whose work it is?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 9
Records, Portfolio, and Transcript
How do we keep records, a portfolio, and a transcript entry that show what our student learned?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 10
Resources
Which resources and programs fit our family's time, budget, and goals?
Voices: parent-teacher