New Tech Kids | variables

3 Apr 2018

New Advanced LEGO Mindstorms Bootcamp

LEGO Mindstorms is one of our favourite tools for teaching children ages seven to 12. It is a tangible tool which provides children with a realistic experience of designing, building and programming technology. It also teaches children that hardware and software influence each other and need to work together in order to develop successful technology prototypes. Many of our students say that they first realised the power and fun of computer science after they built their

2 Nov 2017

FREE Teacher Training Program: Computer Science for Primary School Teachers (5 sessions)

By NewTechKids

Calling all trailblazer teachers! Do you want to join a community of primary school teachers from Dutch and international primary schools who will be among the first in the Netherlands to introduce computer science and computational thinking lessons in their schools? Stichting NewTechKids (NewTechKids' non-profit counterpart) is offering a select group of teachers the opportunity to attend a FREE teacher training program. (Normal price: 2000 euro plus 21% BTW per teacher.) Designed for teachers who

12 Mar 2015

Here’s to Failure

By NewTechKids

Nine out of 10 times, TechKids' workshops are amazing. Tuesday's workshop was not one of them. The workshop began with a recap discussion of the main parts of a computer and how they work together. The children had no problem recalling this info from the previous week. Our teacher then introduced them to Raspberry Pi computers, clarifying that no, they were not edible. The kids assembled DIY computer kits and plugged them into computer screens to complete some programming

8 Jan 2015

Discovering Automation and Finite State Machines

By NewTechKids

NewTechKids chose the question 'What is a computer?' to kick off our 'Intro to Programming' Bootcamp yesterday. We started the first workshop by knocking our group of 7-9 year olds out of their comfort zone and challenging their belief that computers are just a screen, keypad and circuit board. They discovered that computers are all around us: traffic lights, turnstiles in the subway (metro), home heating systems and other things in everyday life. We then introduced them to concept of

17 Dec 2014

Programming with Lego Mindstorms

By NewTechKids

This afternoon's NewTechKids workshop brought the concept of programming to a group of 10-12 year olds in the best way possible. The workshop started with a lively discussion about robots and their different uses before moving on to a design and testing exercise during which the kids wrote programs (with pen and paper) to navigate through an obstacle course. In the process, they learned about technology concepts such as programming, automation, input-output, variables and composition.