FTCE Computer Science K-12 Secrets Study Guide: FTCE Test Review for the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations Study Guide Edition

I took the test already and didnt pass. This book appears to cover a majority of what was on the test and looks like it will be a good guide to help me understand better where I need to prepare more.

Very helpful for anyone trying to pass FTCE for Computer Science

One of the things I like about it so far are the helpful hints for using the flashcard system and the comprehensive test at the end of the study guide.

I took my exam today 5/18/17 and while I passed, I cannot attribute that passing score to the content of this book. I did not even read it beyond the practice exam.Did I use this book?I used this book for one thing, the practice exam. I also took practice exams from other sources online. A quick google search did the trick "computer science k-12 practice exam."How did I study?Now, the practice exams (all of them) helped me narrow down my weaknesses and from there I studied content from various online resources. The book did provide some information regarding the answers to the practice exam but that was all I used it for.Was the practice exam similar to the real thing?The practice exam in the book was far from the content of the actual exam, in my opinion. The book's exam mainly covers basic computer knowledge like hotkeys, general windows events, and viruses. The actual exam focuses heavily on programming, logic, reading flow charts, networking, sorting algorithms, as well as decimal to binary to hexadecimal conversions. The book covers these things at about 10%. In contrast, the exam only had about 10% of what was presented in the book.What did I study?-programming (the exam references Java and Scratch a lot but any object oriented language should do. My native programming language is C)-OSI network standards.-Network devices (routers, hubs, switches)-Decimal, Binary, Hexadecimal conversions.-Sorting algorithms (Selection sort, merge sort, insertion sort, etc).-Flowcharts (there were a lot of these on the test)-Basic computer knowledge (hotkeys, difference between virus, worms, etc)Should you buy this book?That depends. Honestly I feel the content is outdated in relation to the actual exam and it may only serve as to grant you with a false sense of confidence. If anything, do as I did and use it to gauge your current computer knowledge. But as a resource for computer information, I didn't find it particularly useful.Not everyone is a computer person. If it helps, I scored an 80% on the first attempt of the practice exam without any prep. That was to test my own knowledge.

I like that they seem to care about the consumer a rare quality these days.

Do not buy this book. It is practically a fraud.Here's the official FTCE competency breakdown:Computational Thinking and Problem Solving - 15%Data Types and Structures - 15%Programming Logic - 20%Programming Languages - 20%Computer Hardware, Software, and Networking - 10%Historical Aspects and Social Issues - 10%Pedagogy - 10%Here's the breakdown of pages in this study guideGeneric test-taking tips - 18 pagesProblem Solving and Algorithms - 22 pagesData Types and Structures - 13 pagesComputer Programming - 15 pagesComputer Hardware - 15 pagesComputer Software - 21 pagesComputer Networking - 11 pagesSocial Issues - 4 pagesHistorical Issues - 5 pagesPractice test - 34 pagesLeaving aside the generic information (which is pretty much useless), hardware/software/networking which comprises 10% of the exam gets 47 pages (44% of the expository material), social/historical gets 9 pages (8%), and pedagogy (and remember this is a TEACHER certification exam) gets 0! Programming, which comprises 40% of the exam, gets 14% of the exposition.On page 59, in discussing client/server, the book says "this is an important distinction when taking the CLEP examination." That's great if I were taking the CLEP exam, but I'm taking the FTCE exam. Clearly, this is repurposed text that may or may not be relevant to me. If this were a $10-$20 book, maybe that would be ok, but this is a $40 book that is marketed as specific to the FTCE exam.

I disliked the layout of the text. Needs to have graphics and examples not just boring lines of code. Says it's got the secrets to test preparation, bit not really what I was looking for. It probably will sit on my bookshelf, but not likely be used by any of my students.

The manual makes me confident that I can sit and pass the required certification exam. The layout is excellent and the explanations are concise.