The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a massive shift to online learning.
The NewTechKids team is joining the wave of educators who are developing new and dynamic ways to teach children online about technological innovation, computer science, programming and robotics.
This summer, we’ll be offering four, Zoom-based robotics courses for kids ages 8-12 under the theme “Tech Inventors to the Rescue”. Kids from different countries with little to no previous experience in building and coding will learn the basics by inventing robots and tech prototypes for various industries including farming, construction, healthcare, sports and more.
The goal of this course is to give them a foundation on which they can think critically about technology and its implications, become comfortable with innovation processes, and invent technology solutions.
Girls, children of colour and kids who are new to technology education are especially welcome to join.
For more information and to register: July 6-10, 2020
For more information and to register: July 13-17, 2020
For more information and to register: July 20-24, 2020
For more information and to register: August 10-14, 2020
Unlike courses which only focus on on-screen coding, our pedagogy focuses on teaching computer science theory and logic and encouraging kids to apply these concepts by designing, building and programming physical objects. This combination of activities is ideal for primary school aged kids who tend to learn with their hands and offers a richer, more complex learning experiencing. This also exposes children to the invention process: ideation, designing, testing and iteration.
For example, a child may design and build the perfect robot but the programming doesn’t work and the robot won’t move. What trade-off does she or he have to make: fix the robot or the code? This is real-world learning as kids experience the very same dilemmas that technologists, engineers and designers face.
The course is an investment because parents will also have to purchase a LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robotics kit (model 31313) and provide access to a computer, laptop or tablet which can run Mindstorms software.
However, we consider this one of the best, long-term investments that parents can make to prepare their kids for future study, training and career opportunities. We teach LEGO Mindstorms lessons to kids ages 8 – 16.