Preparation is Power! Especially for parents and caregivers, teachers and school guidance counselors helping guide kids in their study and career paths. NewTechKids is pleased to announce that we are supporting PreparationTech, a new online video platform which explores how technology is transforming study, training and work in every industry, field and discipline. (Deborah Carter, our founder, is the Managing Director of this non-profit foundation.) It showcases the personal stories of a diverse and inclusive group
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NewTechKids will offer two 2020 Christmas holiday bootcamps from December 21 - 31, 2020. Before Christmas Bootcamp: December 21-24, 2020 Bootcamp between Christmas and New Year's: December 28 - 31, 2020 Part of the City of Amsterdam's Mid-Winter Mokum event series, these two bootcamps are subsidized by Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (OBA) and are being offered free-of-charge to all children who have an OBA Junior library pass. For kids who don't have the pass, the fee
Read moreWhile some formal education is an important aspect of preparing for future careers, it’s not the path for everyone. Many people working in the tech industry and creating/producing/making with tech tools are self-taught, relying on books, online resources, YouTube tutorial, free software, coding forums, and hands-on experience. Shaquille Veldboom, a young black man who grew up in Amsterdam Southeast, a low-income, predominantly black community, was the recent subject of a PreparationTech interview. At the age
Read moreHow 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 moreLike 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
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