What is Code?
Paul Ford, Bloomberg, 2015/06/12

This is a long long article that you may want to read if you are technologically savvy and should definitely read if you are not. It is an insider's look at what we mean when we say 'coding' (aka programming) - and it means a lot more than simply writing programming code. It will tell you what an algorithm is, a bit about git, why testing is important, what a scrum is, and many more bits of insider information that give you a real view of a programmer's world. I knew pretty much everything in the article, which is a bit of a relief (especially considering I learned the last of it just a week or so ago) but what I can say is that this article is dead-on accurate, line by line, point by detailed point. Take the time it takes (and it will take some time) and read this. Don't come back to work next week until you're done.

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Learning Networks, Not Teaching Machines
Audrey Watters, Hack Education, 2015/06/12

Goof article by Audrey Watters partially focused on the history of technology but mostly focusing on the idea of networks in pre-internet technology. This is important because a lot of the things that are networks - the phone company, the rail system, television - aren't exactly models of distributed democracy. She writes, "When we talk about the potential for 'networked learning' today, I think (I hope) we mean something different. The promise: the Internet – and the Web in particular – enable a readable and a writable platform, where a multitude of voices can express themselves as creators not just consumers and not just through text but through a multitude of media – audio, video, still images, code." Quite right.

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