Playing to boys' interests starts early, sadly often in coding and computer science classes at the primary school level. The temptation is to focus on diving into the ultra-geeky, more masculine activities to showcase all of the cool stuff you can do with tech. Race car robots. Monster robots. Space warrior robots. Etcetera. But that's exactly when teachers make the biggest mistakes in terms of excluding many girls who are yet to discover the magic
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Music is the universal language for everyone, including kids. Which is why NewTechKids is excited to continue our ongoing collaboration with IT company Schuberg Philis by being one of program partners for an event this weekend designed for the children of colleagues. We'll be teaching workshops which introduce kids 8-12 to computer science, coding and robotics. Kids will explore how robots can perform music by inventing their very own robot orchestra. Other workshops given by
Read moreStarting this week, NewTechKids will be bringing technology education via music, art and culture to students at the Cornelis Vrijschool in Amsterdam. We are teaching a customized, after-school program which aligns with the school's focus on the arts, music and culture. Students in groups 6,7 and 8 will discuss how technology is transforming the arts before inventing a series of robot prototypes. In the process, they'll learn about computer science, programming, robotics and design. It
Read moreRegister kids ages 8-12 in our early Fall 2021 bootcamps if you want to prepare them to become tech inventors, innovators and critical thinkers. NewTechKids don't focus on training master coders: we focus on developing kids who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to identify a problem and then create a technology prototype to solve it. This Fall, we're blending technology with different subjects to expose kids to multidisciplinary ways of solving problems. Tuesday Afternoons:
Read moreThis summer, kids ages 8-12 have been participating in NewTechKids' bootcamps and acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to be inventors, innovators and technologists. Every week, we use a different theme as the context for teaching kids how to think critically about the technology around them and to learn how to design, build and program robots and tech prototypes. Below are some highlights of some of our classes. There are still spaces available in our
Read moreNewTechKids has occasionally invited alumni of our programs and students who are taking computer science courses in local high schools to assist our teachers, especially when we teach large groups of students. This summer, we are pleased to introduce a new summer internship program for three high school students from Amsterdam who will assist us during our six weeks of summer vacation bootcamps. These teens all have experience with the teaching tools we use and will
Read moreNewTechKids invites kids ages 8-12 to join our weekly summer bootcamps taught at the Amsterdam Public Library (central branch and CC Amstel branch). The thematic bootcamps will run Monday to Friday, 10:00 - 14:00 and will be taught in a combination of Dutch and English by professional teachers assisted by high school students with computer science and robotics experience. Kids will have a snack break and an outdoor exercise break after lunch every day. July
Read moreNewTechKids is featured in a recently-published guide to teaching students about the ethics of technology. The book, "Ethics in A Digital World: Guiding Students Through Society's Biggest Questions", was written by Kristen Mattson and published by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). We contributed a case study describing how we integrate critical thinking about technology in our curriclulum. Specifically, we co-developed a six-lesson curriculum module for students ages 8-12 called "Thinking about the
Read moreMany kids dream of becoming a famous tech innovator. But how does this happen? PreparationTech, one of our strategic partners which showcases study, training and career paths which involve technology, has published a video interview with Dr. Sam Mazin, an entrepreneur who has invented game-changing technology to fight cancer. During the video interview, he explains the technology he developed which combines seeing and treating cancer and outlines the steps he took to get to Silicon
Read moreNewTechKids is making it easier for kids to experience computer science and programming education and discover why it's so much more than sitting behind a desk and coding boring stuff. We will organize two, separate 'Try It Out' workshops for kids ages 7 - 12 at the Amsterdam Public Library on Tuesday, March 18th and Tuesday, March 25 from 16:15 - 17:25. During each workshop, kids will discuss technology and then work in small groups
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