New Tech Kids | 21st century skills

17 May 2018

Steps to introduce computer science education in schools

NewTechKids works with a variety of primary schools to help them integrate computer science and technological literacy into their curriculum. While all of the schools are enthusiastic, each school is different in terms of understanding, commitment level and available resources. NewTechKids has prepared this list of suggested steps for primary schools which are interested in introducing computer science education. It's a big undertaking and success will eventually come down to recognising the need for this

14 Feb 2018

New online teacher training platform launched

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids is proud to announce that our non-profit arm, Stichting NewTechKids (NewTechKids Foundation), has launched a new online teacher training platform for primary school teachers around the world who want to introduce computer science, technological literacy and computational thinking to students ages 4-12. Share to Teach, the online platform, has been developed by Stichting NewTechKids' team of computer science education specialists, teachers and innovation experts especially for teachers. The platform offers a variety of online training

13 Feb 2018

Reflections on IPON 2018

By NewTechKids

Last week, I had the privilege of giving one of the keynote talks at IPON 2018. 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. During my talk, I renewed my call for computer science to become a mandatory subject, starting in primary school and continuing through secondary school. Here are some of my thoughts

13 Jan 2018

Gearing Up for Primary School Teacher Training Program

By NewTechKids

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

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

4 Sep 2017

5 Tips: How to raise successful technologists

By NewTechKids

This week, primary school children in Amsterdam head back to school. Like so many previous academic years, most of them will not have any computer science or computational thinking lessons as part of formal school curricula. As long as education systems here in the Netherlands and around the world don't integrate these, we urge parents to take matters into their own hands. Intervening early will ensure that children acquire 21st century skills and prepare them

1 Sep 2017

New Times Require New Teaching Approaches

By NewTechKids

This summer, NewTechKids taught a new round of computer science bootcamps to children ages 7-12. We've been reviewing how and what we teach and how to engage a broad range of students, including kids with no previous exposure to computer science education, girls, minorities and children from low-income communities. We concluded that in addition to teaching computational thinking skills and computer science concepts, our job is to inspire kids and to cultivate curiosity about technology:

8 Jun 2017

NewTechKids Teacher Training Workshop on Scrum

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids hosted a teacher training workshop on June 6th, 2017 as part of the 'Learning Fair' event organised by Projectenbureau Primair Onderwijs Zuidoost (PPOZO). Projectenbureau Primair Onderwijs Zuidoost (PPOZO) is the organization which coordinates after-school activities for primary schLearnool students in Amsterdam Southeast, one of the city's most economically-disadvantaged communities. It works with 10 school boards representing 29 schools in the area and 7017 students. Scrum: an important teaching tool to help students develop 21st century skills Scrum

14 May 2017

NewTechKids collaborating on DigiLeerKracht initiative

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids has been invited to contribute to VHTO’s new teacher training initiative, DigiLeerKracht. The initiative will focus on providing free training and support for primary school teachers in the Netherlands who are interested in teaching computational thinking in the context of programming. The initiative aims to train 2000 teachers from 2017 - 2019. The initiative is supported by Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google. VHTO is the Dutch national expert organization focused on the participation