New Tech Kids | Design

29 Aug 2016

New Lessons on Smart Energy Systems

Last week, we engaged our students in some serious challenge-based learning in order to understand systems thinking and how computers are embedded into all kinds of systems. We challenged the 7-12 year old kids in our 'Computers and How They Work' summer bootcamp to work in teams to design and program a smart energy system which could respond to different temperatures and activate a heating system when the room temperature dropped. In the process, they learned about conditionals and if-else statements.

24 Aug 2016

NewTechKids at Uitmarkt 2016

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids is proud to be collaborating with Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (the Amsterdam Municipal Library) to give workshops during Uitmarkt 2016. We'll be giving our 'intro to coding' workshops during the Uitmarkt in Amsterdam this weekend which takes place on Museumplain. Kids will design a robot head out of a cardboard box and then learn how to 'code' themselves. In the process, they'll learn about coding, algorithms and automation. On Saturday, August 27 and Sunday, August 28th from 12:00 - 17:00,

22 Apr 2016

Teaching Coding Concepts to My Students

By NewTechKids

When Deborah Carter from NewTechKids volunteered to teach a coding workshop in my class last week, I was immediately enthusiastic. In celebration of the annual Counting Day (day when all classes are focused on counting), I had taught a few exercises on programming and coding. My group found it very fun to do. They were challenged in different ways, promoting intrinsic motivation and that's nice to see. During the workshop, the children designed robot heads

11 Dec 2015

Report: EU Code Week Teacher Training

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids is proud to share our report of the EU Code Week 2015 teacher training pilot program we organised in September and October 2015. We partnered with TomTom, the Dutch technology company, to launch a pilot program aimed at creating a scaling model for technology education in primary schools. Specifically, this model engaged both primary school teachers and students around computational thinking and coding. NewTechKids trained 75 primary school teachers from schools in Amsterdam and

16 Oct 2015

Museums: A New Frontier for Tech Education

By NewTechKids

(Image from"Keith Haring: The Political line" exhibition at Kunsthal Rotterdam) This week, I stepped on stage and gave a presentation which required more out-of-the-box thinking than I've had to do in a while. I was invited by the Rijksmuseum to give a talk at the Hands On! Conference organised by the International Association of Children in Museums. More than 350 participants from museums around the world converged in Amsterdam to learn about the latest trends and see firsthand

12 Oct 2015

Teachers in Amsterdam and Delft will give coding lessons to 2000 students

By NewTechKids

Starting today, 75 primary school teachers in Amsterdam and Delft will teach NewTechKids ‘intro to coding’ lesson to their students as part of EU Code Week celebrations (October 10-18). The teachers participated in NewTechKids’ special training sessions which took place between 10-17 September. During the sessions, NewTechKids shared its pedagogy and teaching approaches and trained teachers to give the lesson while adjusting it to their teaching style. NewTechKids partnered with TomTom, the global technology company founded in the

22 Sep 2015

EU Code Week 2015: Training the Trainers

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids achieved a major milestone last week. Over the course of five training sessions, we trained 75 primary school teachers in Amsterdam and Delft to teach our 'intro to coding' lesson to students aged 4-8 during EU Code Week 2015 (October 10-18). Our lesson doesn't focus on technical coding skills. Instead, we focus on exposing young kids to concepts such as coding, commands, algorithms and automation. It was so encouraging to see teachers from Dutch and international

25 Aug 2015

EU Code Week 2015 for teachers

By NewTechKids

(Informatie in het Nederlands.) EU Code Week 2015 will take place from 10-18 October. Code Week was launched as a way to encourage children and adults in the European Union to discover programming and learn to code. NewTechKids is pleased to partner with TomTom, a Dutch technology company, to provide primary school teachers in Amsterdam and other locations in the Netherlands with special training to teach an ‘Introduction to Coding’ lesson to children in groups

19 Aug 2015

Technology education by age

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids sees technology education as a means to help kids develop 21st century skills: problem-solving, critical thinking, logic, pattern recognition, creativity and communication. It doesn't matter if children don't create the perfect code, design a popular app or create a beautiful 3D printed product. We are happy as long as it's obvious they are thinking, experimenting, designing, failing, collaborating and learning. Most kids don't receive any technology, programming or computer science education in primary school. This is

14 Jun 2015

NewTechKid@Hand’s On Conference

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids is pleased to announce that Deborah Carter, its co-founder, will be speaking at the Hands On! Conference which takes place in Amsterdam from October 13 - 16th. More than 300 museum professionals from around the world will gather to discuss and be inspired by the latest developments in children’s education in museums. Under the theme ‘Touch and Learn’, participants will explore how museums in the 21st century can touch the hearts and minds of