New Tech Kids | teaching

14 Feb 2018

New online teacher training platform launched

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 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

3 Nov 2017

Tips for raising successful technologists: girls

By NewTechKids

Like most technology education academies, NewTechKids struggles to attract equal numbers of girls and boys to our programs. There are a lot of reasons for this. Most of the time, parents don't even present computer science and programming activities as options for their daughters. They conclude that computer science 'isn’t a fit' for their daughters although it's often 'perfect' for their sons. Girls themselves have told us that learning about technology is hard and often

4 Sep 2017

Bring NewTechKids to your school in Amsterdam

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids works with primary schools in the Amsterdam area to help introduce computational thinking and computer science programs as part of formal school curriculum. Our programs integrate pedagogy, didactics, teaching approaches and classroom management and are based on the curriculum, lesson plans and teaching materials that we've developed, tested and taught over the last three years. Below are some of the schools where we've taught: Leonardo da Vinci School, Amsterdam NewTechKids teaches computer science programs

8 Feb 2017

Computational Thinking in EU School Curricula

By NewTechKids

In December 2016, the European Union published the report “Developing Computational Thinking in Compulsory Education: Implications for policy and practice”. Click here for a definition of computational thinking and how it helps students solve problems, understand the world around them and become inventors. The report is useful to compare the EU's action to other places such as the United States which launched the 'Computer Science for All' initiative which will bring computer science education to all students in America, beginning in primary school.

8 Apr 2016

Teacher Training Program: May 2016

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids 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

4 Mar 2016

NewTechKids teaching about smart energy technology

By NewTechKids

Computers and digital technology systems are embedded in all kinds of devices around us. Last week, Quby, an Amsterdam-based company, helped NewTechKids demonstrate this to students in our 'Systems Thinking and Hardware' bootcamp. Quby has developed Toon, a smart thermostat that enables consumers to manage their energy consumption more efficiently. Toon was developed for Eneco, a Dutch energy company. Working with NewTechKids, Dimitris Stafylarakis and Vassilis Aretakis (Quby developers) co-developed a lesson focused on the concept of feedback and its importance for technology systems which process data. Students learned

13 Jan 2016

NewTechKids in PrimaOnderwijs Magazine

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids 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

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

23 Sep 2015

Slowing down the learning process for tech ed

By NewTechKids

Parents are often shocked when we tell them that during our programs, we teach core technology, programming and computer science concepts through pen and paper exercises, role-play games, and design and prototyping activities using simple materials such as cardboard boxes and blocks. Others wonder why, in an era of computers and gadgets, apps and programming languages made especially for kids, we teach many no tech lessons. We’ve developed our pedagogy and teaching approaches based on the