How do you prepare kids and adults for our world of constant and rapid technological innovation? What education, training and exposure to technology do they need to survive and thrive? Deborah Carter, NewTechKids' Founder, will be moderating a panel discussion on this topic during the Women in Tech Regatta Amsterdam virtual event on December 9, 2020. The panel will explore the many different ways that kids can learn about technology, from formal schooling to storytelling,
Read moreAll posts
Like computer science and programming, math is a polarizing subject. People either like it or they don't. At least that's what most people think. Thankfully, people like Dr. Jo Boaler, a professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University, is busy challenging kids and teachers who don't like math to view it differently. Jo and her team at YouCubed, a non-profit startup, are busy transforming math education by developing new math teaching methods, lessons and teaching resources
Read moreEncouraging kids to participate in challenges and competitions is an important part of tech innovation education. Code Games is an initiative whereby kids ages 10-18 around the world are invited to enter a global competition to design and develop original video games. The competition is organized into two age divisions: a Junior Division for entrants ages 10-13 and a Senior Division for entrants ages 14-18. Entries in the Junior Division are not in competition with
Read moreAnother great resource for teaching technology literacy to children is the 'Zerus and Ona: Adventures in the Binary World' book series developed by Miriam Tocino. Miriam is a software developer, coding teacher, illustrator and author based in Amsterdam. The inspiration for her book series came three years ago when she had her son and started thinking about how to introduce him to the world of computers. She uses characters called Zerus and Ona which are based on binary 0s and
Read moreIt's important to teach kids that technology inventions often come from personal needs and experiences of adversity. In this excerpt from the PreparationTech interview featuring Zuby Onwuta, this African inventor and disability advocate talks about his personal experience of losing his eyesight and how it caused him to blend medical research, his training in engineering and passion for technology. Zuby is the inventor of 'Think and Zoom’ technology which magnifies objects based on brain wave
Read moreNewTechKids and the Amsterdam Public Library (OBA) strictly adhere to the COVID-19 social distancing recommendations issued by the Dutch government. Our bootcamps take place in OBA's Junior Lab, a large, well-ventilated room. NewTechKids is using AI-based software to design our classroom layout and the placement of tables and chairs, location of teacher, etc. Tables and chairs are spaced apart to encourage social distancing. Each class, NewTechKids' teacher checks the temperature of all children with a
Read moreNewTechKids is a long-time collaborator with the Amsterdam Public Library (Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam) and Maakplaats021, the Library's Maker Space initiative. This summer, in recognition that many families are not going on holiday due to COVID-19, Maakplaats021 is organizing a series of summer holiday activities in their locations around Amsterdam for kids ages 8-12 from July 6th to August 24th. Activities include art and design, robotics, 3D printing, laser cutting, engraving, painting, film, photography, AR and
Read more"I personally hate to code. I understand how beneficial it is but to me, if engineering was projected as coding and robotics, it wouldn't be something that suits me." In this PreparationTech interview produced by NewTechKids, Danielle Geathers, a third-year Engineering student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the first black, female President of the Undergraduate Association at MIT (student government) in 159 years, advises parents, teachers and school counsellors to focus on teaching
Read moreNewTechKids is busy preparing to give summer camps at the Amsterdam Public Library beginning next week. Keeping kids healthy and safe is our number one priority (on top of teaching them about technological innovation) so we are adhering to social distancing and hygiene rules mandated by the Library. This also applies to the space in which we will teach. We are limiting the amount of kids in each camp and camps will take place in
Read moreParents, teachers, school counsellors: technologists don't need computer science degrees. They can be self-taught. Some programmers, data scientists, AI and machine learning experts, especially those who don't have access to formal college and university programs, have taught themselves using free online resources, online courses and project-based learning. In this PreparationTech interview, Deborah Carter, NewTechKids' Founder and MD, interviews Babusi Nyoni, an African design strategist and innovator who is entirely self-taught. After graduating from high school
Read more