New Tech Kids | All posts

13 Jan 2018

Gearing Up for Primary School Teacher Training Program

NewTechKids is proud to be supporting our non-profit counterpart, Stichting NewTechKids, to kick off a teacher training program which begins on Wednesday, January 17th. Twenty-five teachers from Dutch and international primary schools in the Netherlands have been carefully vetted and selected to participate in this program aimed at helping schools introduce computer science, technological literacy and computational thinking to their students. Designed for teachers who have never taught technology or coding-related classes before, this training

13 Jan 2018

Tips for Raising Successful Technologists: evaluating schools

By NewTechKids

Primary schools are playing an increasingly important role in providing students with computer science and technological literacy education and computational thinking skills as part of a solid 21st century skills and education strategy. NewTechKids has been visiting a variety of primary schools in the Netherlands and interviewing principals and teachers in advance of our latest teacher training program which begins on Wednesday, January 17, 2018. Here are some tips for parents which will help you

6 Dec 2017

NewTechKids Talk at IPON 2018

By NewTechKids

Deborah Carter, NewTechKids’ Co-founder, will give one of the keynote talks at IPON 2018 on February 7th. IPON is the Netherlands’ leading conference/trade show devoted to innovation in education and ICT applications and services. The event showcases teaching methods, learning materials and tools, hardware and software. In 2015, Deborah gave a widely-acclaimed TED talk about the importance of introducing computer science and technology education as mandatory subjects, beginning in primary school. At the time, a documentary

6 Dec 2017

Tips for Raising Successful Technologists: holiday gifts

By NewTechKids

For some, it's the most wonderful time of the year. For parents, the holidays are the ideal time to encourage children to become interested in technology, computer science and programming. NewTechKids has assembled this 2017 Holiday Gift Guide, a list of Web sites which offer recommendations on toys and books related to computer science, programming and STEM for toddlers and primary school-aged children. We've also added a section on experiences, things you can do with

3 Nov 2017

Tips for raising successful technologists: girls

By NewTechKids

Like most technology education academies, NewTechKids struggles to attract equal numbers of girls and boys to our programs. There are a lot of reasons for this. Most of the time, parents don't even present computer science and programming activities as options for their daughters. They conclude that computer science 'isn’t a fit' for their daughters although it's often 'perfect' for their sons. Girls themselves have told us that learning about technology is hard and often

2 Nov 2017

FREE Teacher Training Program: Computer Science for Primary School Teachers (5 sessions)

By NewTechKids

Calling all trailblazer teachers! Do you want to join a community of primary school teachers from Dutch and international primary schools who will be among the first in the Netherlands to introduce computer science and computational thinking lessons in their schools? Stichting NewTechKids (NewTechKids' non-profit counterpart) is offering a select group of teachers the opportunity to attend a FREE teacher training program. (Normal price: 2000 euro plus 21% BTW per teacher.) Designed for teachers who

2 Nov 2017

First NewTechKids Program with Maakplaats 021

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids is excited to announce our first collaboration with Maakplaats 021, the Amsterdam Municipal Library's maker space initiative: a 10-week computer science bootcamp for kids ages 8-12 which will take place in the Maakplaats 021 Reigersbos location in Amsterdam Southeast. Set to begin in January 2018, the bootcamp will be for kids ages 8-12 and provide an introduction to computer science, programming and computational thinking. Our partnership with the Library is strategic and we'll use

6 Oct 2017

NewTechKids Partnering with OBA/Maakplaats 021

By NewTechKids

More than ever, children need to understand how technology works and how to innovate to be prepared for our world of constant technological development. To help ensure that this happens in Amsterdam, NewTechKids is partnering with the OBA (the Amsterdam Municipal Library) and Maakplaats 021 to offer a range of computer science and computational thinking programs for primary school students and their teachers. Maakplaats 021 was initiated by OBA, Waag Society, Pakhuis de Zwijger and

6 Oct 2017

EU Code Week 2017 – Get Involved!

By NewTechKids

Tomorrow, EU Code Week 2017 kicks off! From October 7-22, organisations across Europe will be organising activities which bring coding and digital literacy to children and adults. Many are free so please get involved! See the EU Code Week 2017 Events Calendar for activities taking place across Europe. Another great source of coding-related activities is Codestarter, a joint venture between Google Netherlands and NEMO Science Center, which provides a list covering the entire Netherlands. Every

27 Sep 2017

Tips for Raising Technologists: choosing learning activities

By NewTechKids

Education systems around the world are lagging behind in integrating technology education into their curriculum and teaching approaches. This is forcing proactive schools, teachers and parents to take matters into their own hands and seek out educational activities for children which are related to computer science, programming and technological literacy. NewTechKids should know! Here are some tips for deciding what types of computer science activities to consider: Tip: Know the difference between coding and programming