It's that time of the year. When students in group 8 in Dutch primary schools receive their definitive 'advies' on the type of high school they will attend and the type of secondary education they will pursue: pre-vocational, senior general or pre-university. This advice is based on a combination of their marks from groups 6-8, the results of standardized tests they take in group 8, and the advice of their group 8 teacher. In some
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How are school systems in the Netherlands dealing with teacher shortages, teacher burnout and the shrinking number of people choosing to become teachers? Some Dutch primary schools in Amsterdam are considering an emergency measure: shifting to a four-day teaching week. Why? Amsterdam has been hit particularly hard by teacher shortages. At the beginning of this school year which began in August 2019, the city was short 280 teachers. This shortage has now grown to almost
Read moreNewTechKids is pleased to announce that in 2020, we are expanding our line up of programs focused on teaching kids ages 7-12 about technological innovation. We've hired new teachers with different specializations in order to continue developing innovative ways to teach kids ages 4-12 about computer science, programming and design while helping them develop critical thinking about technology and its implications. Some of the big changes: We will introduce kids to basic, on-screen programming using the
Read moreYesterday, NewTechKids hosted its 'Kids and Gaming' seminar for parents, caregivers and teachers in Amsterdam. Attendees came together to explore the topic and stretch their thinking by hearing from professionals including game designers and parents as well as a psychologist, family counsellor, teacher and former gaming addict. Here are the key takeaways in terms of tips and advice: Deborah Carter, NewTechKids Deborah's main message was that gaming shouldn't be viewed in the context of 'good'
Read moreWe’re crunching the numbers some more! So far, 60 people have registered for NewTechKids’ upcoming ‘kids and gaming’ seminar on Sunday, November 24 at the Amsterdam Public Library. Here’s a quick analysis of these parents, caregivers and teachers and the information they have provided, including about the gaming habits of their children and their attitudes towards gaming. There are still spaces available to attend NewTechKids’ seminar for parents, caregivers and teachers on ‘kids and gaming’.
Read moreEmiel Kampen, an independent game designer and teacher at the Utrecht University of the Arts (HKU) will speak at NewTechKids' upcoming 'Kids and Gaming' seminar for parents, caretakers and teachers on Sunday, November 24 at the Amsterdam Public Library. Register here. He thinks Fortnite is so popular because it offers a wide variety of activities, including social connection, competition and challenge. It's important that parents, caregivers and teachers understand the implications of children's technology usage.
Read moreRudi is Senior Family Counsellor at the Yes We Can Youth Clinics. He'll be speaking and answering questions at NewTechKids' seminar on 'Kids and gaming' on November 24 in Amsterdam. If there's one piece of advice that Rudi Voet wants to give parents when it comes to guiding and managing their children's online gaming, it's this: establish boundaries. At the seminar, he'll speak about how to tell the difference between healthy and unhealthy gaming, signs
Read moreRead more and register. In mid-August, the Guardian newspaper published an article about the Yes We Can Youth Clinics in the Netherlands which helps UK teenagers deal with their gaming addiction. That's when parents started calling NewTechKids to ask questions about healthy vs. unhealthy gaming and how to tell if their children (boys AND girls) are addicted to gaming. In response, we are organizing a seminar for parents under the theme "Kids and Gaming: guiding and
Read moreYesterday, NewTechKids hosted 120 middle and high school students from Colorado, Nevada, Iowa and Minnesota during our programming and robotics workshops in Amsterdam. (A special thanks to the Amsterdam Public Library for hosting the workshops.) Our workshops were part of EF Tours' 2019 Global Leadership Conference under the theme of "The Power of Communication". We led lively discussions about the evolution of communications from no tech to digital, with students talking about how social media
Read moreNewTechKids is pleased to announce that we will again participate as one of the programming partners for EF Tours' 2019 Global Leadership Summit event series taking place in Europe this summer. The summit will bring together students ages 14-18 from around the world and NewTechKids will teach them in both Amsterdam and Davos, Switzerland. In early July, NewTechKids will teach a series of computer science and programming workshops in Amsterdam during which students will explore
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