ICT & Computing in Education

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Quick looks -- The System: Who owns the internet, and how it owns us

Click the pic to see this book on Amazon (Associate link)

[Links corrected!] This is one of the books I’ll be reviewing for Teach Secondary magazine in the near future. My question is: will this be of any use to someone teaching computing, or to students learning computing?

My cautious answer so far is “yes”.

Why “cautious”?

Firstly, I’ve read only 22% of the book. I like to read the whole book and then some before coming to a conclusion. (See How I review books on EDTech.)

Secondly, although it’s interesting, I think it may be too detailed in too narrow an area as far as the Computing Programme of Study is concerned. (But hopefully you encourage your students to read around the subject rather than in a purely utilitarian way.)

So what is it about? In a nutshell (at least as far as I’ve read until now): how the internet was started, including the belt-and-braces approaches, compromises, and discussions between men in smoke-filled rooms. And, crucially, how the world wide web is still structured on pretty flimsy foundations.

Anyway, I’ll republish my review on the ICT & Computing website once it’s appeared in Teach Secondary.