Parents, caregivers and educators, if you haven't already done so, please pick up Jonathan Haidt's book "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness". Jonathan is a social pyschologist and in his book, he raises the alarm on the mental health crisis amongst teens. He traces the roots of the problems back to major factors, including: - the switch form flip phones to smartphones - the inclusion
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A month ago, NewTechKids received a phone call out of the blue from one of the founders of the Drarija Taalclub, an organization dedicated to providing after-school activities for Moroccan children in Amsterdam West. Operated out of MAQAM, a Moroccan cultural centre in Amsterdam New West, the club's goal is to offer activities such as cooking, mathematics and singing in the Moroccan language to instil cultural pride and connect Dutch-born kids with the culture of
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NewTechKids has taught tech education and computer science classes for more than nine years and we've taught kids from all types of backgrounds with differing exposure to tech. Based on our observations, there are some key factors which increase the likelihood that kids will take an interest in tech beyond just using it and actually want to invent, create, make, experiment and prototype with it. These factors considerably increase the likelihood that they will choose
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Due to generous donations from our donors, NewTechKids is able to offer more kids from low-income families heavily-subsidized spots in our summer bootcamps. Already this year, NewTechKids has taught more than 600 kids from low-income families and communities and we're happy to continue this outreach through our subsidy program. We've partnered with teachers, schools, the Amsterdam Public Library and the content moderators of popular social media pages for kids in Amsterdam to spread the word.
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Kids, teens and smartphones continue to be a topic of concern for parents and educators, sometimes even kids themselves. NewTechKids tracks developments and expert opinion and is pleased to share some great insight: Magazine Article: No One Knows Exactly What Social Media is Doing to Teens (the Atlantic, June 13, 2023) "Late last month, the U.S. surgeon general issued an advisory—a format reserved for public-health issues that demand the nation’s immediate attention. “Nearly every teenager
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With every second news headline mentioning AI, ChatGPT, etc., NewTechKids has decided to launch our first 'Intro to Generative AI' after-school bootcamp for kids ages 9-14. The bootcamp of four weekly sessions will take place on Thursday afternoons from 16:30 - 18:00 at the Amsterdam Public Library near Centraal Station, starting on June 29th. Some schools have adopted a strict 'no ChatGPT' ban. Others are experimenting with restricted usage and creating new learning experiences which
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Summer is around the corner so it's time to get planning you child(ren)'s activities. NewTechKids is pleased to announce that registration is open for its popular summer bootcamps. We will be teaching weekly bootcamps during the Dutch school holidays which take place from July 24 - September 1. Kids ages 8-12 will learn how to become tech inventors by designing, building and programming a series of robots and robotic prototypes using LEGO robotics tools. We'll also
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NewTechKids is going out with a bang in 2022. We're finishing up a bunch of bootcamps at the moment and we've come up with a novel way to challenge our students to put their knowledge of computer science, coding and robotics to the test. We've been hosting a series of friendly robot races with a twist. In teams, kids design, build and code robots which can grab (wrapped) candies which are scattered on the floor
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Recently, the Washington Post published an interesting article titled 'This School Took Away Smartphones. The Kids Don’t Mind.' It was about Buxton School, a small boarding school in Massachusetts which has banned smartphones from campus. Teachers have also agreed not to use theirs. Everyone has been given a Light Phone, a minimalist phone which is only used for essential communication. So far, teachers say that students are more engaged in class and students say the ban
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NewTechKids is pleased to be cooperating with Schuberg Philis, one of our generous supporters, on programming for its upcoming Family Day. The annual event for the company's colleagues (employees) and their families to thank them for their effort and time. This event will take place on Saturday, September 24th at its Schiphol-Rijk office. Under the theme 'Welcome back to the Future', the Family Day will feature a variety of workshops, tutorials, demonstrations and social activities.
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