New Tech Kids | digital literacy

7 Feb 2024

Teaching Kids about their Digital Footprints

A large part of NewTechKids' digital literacy programs focus on helping kids understand how to use the Internet and social wisely: staying safe online, only sharing appropriate information, protecting their privacy, knowing what to do when uncomfortable scenarios arise. A few weeks back, we started the third block in a series of programs for all classes at an Amsterdam primary school. This time around, we are teaching five classes in both group 3 (approx. ages

9 Jan 2024

Hacker Training as a hook to introduce digital literacy in primary school

By NewTechKids

There's something about hackers which makes kids sit up and become interested in learning about technology. Since mid-November, NewTechKids has been teaching a digital literacy course for all group 5 and 6 students (approx. ages 9-10) at Wereldwijs Primary School in Amsterdam Southeast. Under the theme of hacker training, students are learning about digital literacy and acquiring important critical thinking, problem-solving and tech skills. Our customized curriculum covers topics such as online safety and digital

4 Oct 2023

Self-directed Learning as a Superpower

By NewTechKids

This week, NewTechKids continued with our digital literacy lessons for kindergarten students at Wereldwijs primary school. The last few lessons have been about self-directed learning and how technology enables us to learn on our own, without teachers, parents or adults directing the process. We started the lesson off by talking about the fact that not all children have the same abilities as they do. We talked about how some children can't hear and this requires

19 Sep 2023

NewTechKids Teacher Training Workshop on Digital Literacy

By NewTechKids

Register here. NewTechKids will be giving a teacher training workshop focused on introducing digital literacy to primary school students. Since January 2023, NewTechKids has been teaching digital literacy programs at schools and our after-school programs. We started teaching these classes at OBS Wereldwijs, a primary school in Amsterdam Southeast which has been designated 'Excellent' by the Dutch government in both 2019 and 2022. Our curriculum includes how technology systems work, the use of digital productivity

1 Sep 2023

Starting 2nd year of teaching digital literacy in primary school

By NewTechKids

Next week, NewTechKids will begin our second year of teaching digital literacy programs at Wereldwijs primary school in Amsterdam Southeast. We learned a lot from teaching all 650 students in groups 1-8 (ages 4-12 on average). We taught the youngest students in Dutch and the older students in a combination of Dutch and English. Here are some of our takeaways: Our youngest students are using apps which should not be legally available to them. Students

1 Sep 2023

NewTechKids Teaching Digital Literacy Workshop for Primary School Teachers

By NewTechKids

Digital literacy is not simply 'nice to have' in 2023. It is a fundamental skill that all primary school students need to develop in order to enhance their learning and function in the world around them. NewTechKids is happy to be sharing our knowledge and experience about teaching digital literacy during a free workshop for primary school teachers during the Mokum Maakcoalitie's Maaksymposium on November 14th in Amsterdam. During this hands-on workshop, NewTechKids will give

14 Jun 2023

When NewTechKids gets lemons, we make lemonade!

By NewTechKids

Yesterday was hot in Amsterdam! It rose to 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit) in the classroom where we teaching and there is no air conditioning. We had planned a digital literacy lesson for four classes of students ages 6-8 focused on software: how the app store works and the role that branding and logos play in online usage. Students were supposed to use iPads to make a series of sketches during a series of

28 Mar 2023

NewTechKids Teaches Kids about Generative AI

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids ended up making some important last-minute changes to our digital literacy programs for primary school students at Wereldwijs Primary School in Amsterdam Southeast. Why? The explosion of generative AI. In their article "Teaching Digital Literacy is a 21st Century Imperative & This is Why", Miah Daughtery and Laura B. Hansen write "In classrooms, digital literacy enables students to access information in new ways and then communicate what has been learned with others, giving students

18 Jan 2023

NewTechKids Teaching Digital Literacy at Wereldwijs Primary School

By NewTechKids

Yesterday, NewTechKids kicked off a very exciting project: teaching digital literacy to all 475 students at the Wereldwijs Primary School in Amsterdam southeast. We'll be teaching students in groups 1 - 8. Older students will be taught in a combination of Dutch and English since the language of technology is English. Wereldwijs has been designated an 'Excellent School 2022-2025' for primary education by the Dutch Ministry of Education in 2019 and 2022. Led by a

7 Dec 2022

Holiday activity with kids: Getting Creative with AI Art Generators

By NewTechKids

Can computers and AI create original art? What is better: art made by humans or art made by machines? Why? These are some questions you can discuss with your child(ren) while teaching them about Artificial Intelligence (AI) found in real life. To give a specific context to the discussion, play around with some of the free AI art generators which are available online. An AI art generator is a computer program which generates images based