New Tech Kids | NewTechKids

17 Dec 2014

Programming with Lego Mindstorms

This afternoon's NewTechKids workshop brought the concept of programming to a group of 10-12 year olds in the best way possible. The workshop started with a lively discussion about robots and their different uses before moving on to a design and testing exercise during which the kids wrote programs (with pen and paper) to navigate through an obstacle course. In the process, they learned about technology concepts such as programming, automation, input-output, variables and composition.

4 Dec 2014

Teaching programming to 4-6 year olds

By NewTechKids

December 3, 2014 marked a milestone for NewTechKids. We gave our first workshop on programming and automation to our youngest audience yet: four to six year olds. (Although if you ask your children, they will most likely talk about the crafts and role play games they did. Check out this video of them in action.) After briefly discussing robots and what they can do, the children made their own robot heads, based on specific instructions from

30 Nov 2014

NewTechKids is Looking for Freelance Teachers

By NewTechKids

Picture the scene. You are wearing a cardboard robot head and doing your best robot impression to teach a group of Dutch and English-speaking kids technology concepts such as programming, automation, input-output and parameters. You didn't originally know how to teach these concepts but you planned the lesson with a certified technology teacher, did some online research to prepare for the class and planned activities to actively engage the children. Does this scenario a) make

16 Nov 2014

‘Tis the Season to Learn About Programming

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids is organising three after-school workshops during the month of December to teach children ages 4 - 12 the concepts of programming and automation. Robots will take centre stage to bring these concepts to life in the context of the holiday season. Usually our classes are organized in the context of a program but we've scheduled this individual workshops to enable parents and their children to experience NewTechKids and our teaching methodology. All workshops will be taught

31 Oct 2014

NewTechKids is off with its first class

By NewTechKids

On October 22nd, we organised our first NewTechKids workshop. The children, aged seven to nine, learned about the concepts of programming and automation. The kids explored how technological systems work in terms of input/output, controls, processes and programming. To bring the theme of systems thinking to life, we structured the class around a challenge: programming a robot to dispose of toxic waste before it leaked and turned everyone into zombies. Each child designed simple code for a

15 Oct 2014

NewTechKids at ISA’s EU Code Week Event

By NewTechKids

Serendipity is a wonderful thing. A friend put me in touch with her friend who works at the International School of Amsterdam (ISA). She was organising a 'Get Inspired by Tech' event at the school as part of EU Code Week. Before I knew it, I was on the roster as a mentor, someone who would give 'lightening presentations' of 10-minutes to 100 sixth graders about careers, opportunities and experiences in technology. Grabbing the attention of adults is a