Deborah Carter on NewTechKids, her programme for teaching kids about technology
Show Notes
Brave New Women hosted by Cecilia Poullain
“We started off by focusing on teaching kids how to code, and we realised we were only attracting the usual suspects - little boys. Hardly any girls, hardly any kids of colour. So we started introducing class discussions about technology. Bing. All of a sudden, girls were more interested. We talk about the consequences and implications of technology, ethics or the right and wrong way that tech is being used, how humans and robots are working together. Typically, the girls love this part of class. When we started it was about 85% - 90% boys but we’re almost at parity now just because we teach in a very different way.” - Deborah Carter
Deborah Carter is Canadian and lives in The Netherlands. In 2014, she created NewTechKids because she wanted her son and other children to have a place where they could fall in love with technology and computer science and learn how to be innovators and inventors. Last summer, she launched a new initiative, PreparationTech in order to showcase the stories of a diverse and inclusive group of students, tradespeople and professionals whose work intersects with technology in order to help kids understand that they will need tech knowledge and skills, no matter what study or career path they choose.
When Deborah says “tech”, she means digital technology, internet technology and robotics. She is passionate about teaching kids how to think about technology and the logic of technology and to see tech as a problem-solving and creativity tool.
Not only is Deborah passionate about tech, she is also passionate about teaching. She shares some great tips about how NewTechKids has adapted its teaching methods to ensure that it is interesting for everyone.
She talks about the interviews she has done for Preparation Tech, including her interview with Arlan Hamilton who founded a venture capital firm (while homeless) which funds startups led by women and people of colour and Pablos Holman, one of the most famous hackers in the world.
You can find out more here:
https://newtechkids.com/en/
https://www.preparationtech.com/
Stay updated on tech-related study and careers. Subscribe to PreparationTech's YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3rf5p7E
I am running a free webinar - "Women Empower Women" - on Tuesday 27 April. Check it out here: https://mailchi.mp/ac893611d578/gu7xgku6p7
Cecilia Poullain
Founder of Brave New Women
Coach - Empowering Women to Find their Voice
http://ceciliapoullain.com
Music: Stephen Marquis http://songsta.com.au
Editing: Talal Bouroki
Photography © Kerry Reinking
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