Education systems around the world are lagging behind in integrating technology education into their curriculum and teaching approaches. This is forcing proactive schools, teachers and parents to take matters into their own hands and seek out educational activities for children which are related to computer science, programming and technological literacy. NewTechKids should know! Here are some tips for deciding what types of computer science activities to consider: Tip: Know the difference between coding and programming
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NewTechKids is pleased to announce its Fall 2017 line up of activities. We have spent the summer developing and testing new approaches to computer science education in partnership with our non-profit foundation, Stichting NewTechKids. During two, brand-new bootcamps, we taught computer science concepts along with a stronger focus on technological literacy. This took the form of presenting technology case studies and concepts for new technology and leading in-depth class discussions on the implications of technology
Read moreNewTechKids 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
Read moreIn our quest to introduce computer science and technological literacy education in primary school, we often hear the same excuse as to why this is difficult to impossible: teachers already have enough on their plate. Introducing a new subject will overwhelm them, causing their overall teaching to decline in quality. So many countries find themselves in the same position: we know that we need to prepare children to function in a world filled with technology
Read moreNewTechKids 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
Read moreIn early October, I was in South Korea to speak at the International Symposium of Science Museums. My subject: NewTechKids and our approach to teaching computer science and computational thinking skills to primary school-aged children. I joined representatives from some of the world's leading science museums, including the Smithsonian, the Getty Museum, Science Center Singapore and the National Science Museum of Korea. We discussed the social responsibility of science museums and the important role that
Read moreNewTechKids is gearing up for our Fall activities and we want to hear from schools which are interested in our computer science and 21st century skills programs. We teach primary school children (4-6, 7-9 and 10-12 years) fundamental computer science and programming concepts which underlie all devices, programming languages, apps and technology. Here's how schools can partner with NewTechKids to bring computer science education to their students: hire NewTechKids teachers to teach computer science and programming
Read moreNewTechKids is organizing a special five-week teacher training pilot program which will prepare primary school teachers to introduce computer science and coding concepts to students in groups 1-8 (ages 4-12). The program will be taught in the context of 21st century skills related to critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, creativity and collaboration. The program takes place from May 11 - June 8, 2016 in Amsterdam. NewTechKids is partnering with the Amsterdam Municipal Library (Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam) to host the
Read moreNewTechKids is happy to be featured in the January edition of PrimaOnderwijs, one of the Netherlands's leading magazines on education trends servicing school directors and teachers. The feature article focuses on our teacher training programs and how we prepare teachers to teach computer science, programming and technological literacy in the context of 21st century skills development: problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication. The article outlines NewTechKids' pedagogy, teaching approaches, classroom management strategies and our use
Read moreNewTechKids 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
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