Information Technology Read, Watch, Listen
Enjoying Information Technology in the real world!
Recommended Reads: Quality newspapers/magazines will all have sections on Technology and are a good start for any students who are interested in reading around the subject of ICT and Computing.
Literature
Alan Turing: code-breaker, mathematician, father of modern computing.
This gripping series throws the reader directly into the lives of modern society's most influential figures. With striking black-and-white illustration along with timelines and never-heard-before facts.
Katherine Johnson: teacher, mathematician, trailblazer. This gripping series throws the reader directly into the lives of modern society's most influential figures. With striking black-and-white illustration along with timelines and never-heard-before facts.
But what if things had been different? The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage presents a delightful alternate reality in which Lovelace and Babbage do build the Difference Engine and use it to create runaway economic models, battle the scourge of spelling errors, explore the wider realms of mathematics and, of course, fight crime – for the sake of both London and Science. Extremely funny and utterly unusual.
Kevin Mitnick was the most elusive computer break-in artist in history. He accessed computers and networks at the world’s biggest companies. However fast the authorities were, Kevin was faster, sprinting through phone switches, computer systems, and cellular networks. He spent years skipping through cyberspace, always three steps ahead and labelled unstoppable.
Recommended Websites,
Podcasts and Videos
eRevision: Online learning tool to help with retrieval practice of key exam content for BTEC DIT at key stage 4 and BTEC Nationals ICT for key stage 5.
BBC News: Excellent news website with everything you need to learn about what is going on in the world today.
Knowitall Ninja: Paid for resources that covers key stage 4 and key stage 5 ICT. Some free areas with videos to support students.
issac computer science: A few resources that mainly supports computer science however covers many topics studied for BTEC ICT.
Seneca: Excellent free website for ICT – some of the topics overlap with Computer Science.
Podcasts:
BBC Radio 3 Sound of Gaming: Radio 3's regular jaunt into the latest, brightest and best gaming soundtracks.
BBC Radio 4 The Digital Human: Aleks Krotoski explores the digital world.
BBC Radio 4 Elon Musk – The Evening Rocket: Jill Lepore untangles the strange sci-fi roots of Silicon Valley's extreme capitalism.
BBC Radio 4 One to One: Series of interviews in which broadcasters follow their personal passions by talking to the people whose stories interest them most.
YouTube: Really useful YouTube channels with wide range of revision videos. Mr Weir’s Computer Science Channel
TV programmes recommended for
background ICT knowledge
BBC Click: a comprehensive guide to all the latest gadgets, websites, games and computer industry news.
BBC News: the latest news from around the world.
BBC Newsnight: British current affairs documentary programme.
Panorama: key national and international news stories.
Dispatches: Channel 4 programme that explores current issues such as ‘Is my social media habit killing the planet?’
The Apprentice: programme about entrepreneurs working in teams and being interviewed so they can gain the backing of Sir Alan Sugar for their business idea.
Exams and Revision
BTEC DIT: YouTube Video
e-revision: exam practice (student login)
Knowitall Ninja: paid for resource
Pearson BTEC Tech Awards: past papers
Seneca: some of the topics overlap with Computer Science
Films
(Some of these films may include mature themes so please check the ratings before watching.)
Pirates of Silicon Valley: This is a semi-humorous biographical film about the men who made the world of technology what it is today. Their struggles during college, the founding of their companies, and the ingenious actions they took to build up the global corporate empires of Apple Computer Corporation and Microsoft Inc.
Sneakers (12): A security pro finds his past coming back to haunt him, when he and his unique team are tasked with retrieving a particularly important item.
The Imitation Game: During World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma Code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life.
The Social Network: As Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea, and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.
The Internship: Two salesmen whose careers have been torpedoed by the digital age find their way into a coveted internship at Google, where they must compete with a group of young, tech-savvy geniuses for a shot at employment.
Wreck it Ralph – Ralph breaks the internet: Six years after the events of ‘Wreck-It Ralph’, Ralph and Vanellope, now friends, discover a wi-fi router in their arcade, leading them into a new adventure.
Steve Jobs: Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicentre. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac.
