Published
Computing Refresh for Adults
The Computing Refresh Hour
This book is for adults who want to come back to computing, whether you coded years ago or always meant to start. In short, steady sessions you'll learn to plan before you build, use Python as a working tool, test and debug calmly, work with data and the web, and keep your household's systems safe. It also shows you how to use AI without giving away your own learning, and how to coach your kids as you grow.
Editorial principle
Specify it small; predict before you run; debug before you rewrite; explain it before you call it yours.
- Chronology
- 2026
- Length
- ~57,000 words
- Reading time
- ~4 hours · 148 pages
Authors
Michael Gannotti
The voices
1 figures across 2026. Each speaks in their own voice, through their own texts.
The working adult
nowComputing refresh hour
Core question: What did you guess would happen?
You, a notebook and a laptop after the kids are asleep — a guess in pencil first.
Chapters
14 chapters. The disagreement is not resolved.
- Complete
Welcome
Welcome
Why is it worth coming back to computing as an adult, and what will a steady hour give you?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
How to Use
How to Use This Book This Week
How do you start this week with the time you actually have?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Five Things
If You Only Remember Five Things
If you 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 for an adult learner?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 1
Coming Back to Computing: Specs, Algorithms, and a Plan You'll Keep
How do you restart with small specs, clear algorithms, and a plan you'll actually keep?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 2
Python as a Working Tool
How do you use Python to get real work done in your own life?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 3
Testing and Debugging: Proof Before Pride
How do you prove your code works and fix bugs calmly instead of rewriting everything?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 4
Data: Spreadsheets, Questions, and SQL
How do you go from spreadsheets to clear questions and SQL queries that answer them?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 5
Building for People: The Web
How do you build web pages that work for the people who will actually use them?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 6
The Command Line and Git: Save Points and Grown-Up Tools
How do the command line and Git give you save points and make grown-up tools feel ordinary?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 7
Systems and Security at Home: Backups, Passwords, and the Family Rule
How do you keep your household safe with backups, passwords, and one simple family rule?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 8
Working With AI as an Adult Learner: Where It's Wrong and Whose Work It Is
How do you use AI as an adult learner while still doing the learning, and stay honest about whose work it is?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 9
Records: Your Learning Log and Portfolio—and Your Teen's Transcript
How do you keep a learning log and portfolio that show your progress, and keep your teen's transcript too?
Voices: parent-teacher
- Complete
Chapter 10
Resources
Which resources fit your time, budget, and goals?
Voices: parent-teacher