NEWS$show=/search/label/news

Here's where you'll find all the latest news about technology for children. We love to follow cool new inventions on Kickstarter and we hunt out all the latest announcements about tech toys and gadgets for the coming Christmas holidays. You'll also get our take on children's technology stories in the media.

REVIEWS$show=/search/label/review

Our kids technology product reviews are intended to help you work out whether a toy, gadget or kit is a good fit for your child or family. There's lots of cool stuff available, but is it the right choice for the child or teenager that you are buying for? We'll help you make the right choices and get the best value for money.

GIFT GUIDES$show=/search/label/gift%20guide

Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends assemble. We create gift lists to help you make good choices for kids technology which helps them develop the right skills for the future. We research the best in Coding Toys and Games, Making / Craft Tools and Kits, STEM/STEAM related gifts, Programmable Robots, Electronics Kits and Gadgets for Tech Age Kids and Teens.

PROJECTS$show=/search/label/project

Get crafty with technology. Here we'll post all our ideas and projects using technology to get creative and making with kids. You'll find anything from making a lemon battery to a glow-in-the-dark Minecraft sword. Our projects are tried and tested on our own kids or at events we run, so we are sure you can have a go at home with your kids. Some of our projects use specific tech gadgets which we provide links for you to purchase.

STEM$show=/search/label/stem

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In recent years there is an increased focus in these areas of study. We like to include Art and Design too, so we often talk about STEAM (A stands for Art). At Tech Age Kids we believe Coding is a new literacy and children need to understand how technology works, practice making skills and grow in their curiosity to make a better future for us all.

CODING$show=/search/label/coding

Coding is increasingly being recognised as an important skill for children to learn. Some will learn to code at school or at a coding club, but it's brilliant if they get support at home too.

ELECTRONICS$show=/search/label/electronics

We think it's really important for kids to get hands-on with electronics and learn how to make circuits and write code to control hardware. Younger kids can start with conductive playdough. For kids who like to combine craft and tech, littleBits are fab. And we love SAM Labs wireless electronics components for making it easy for kids to make Internet of Things inventions. Lots of electronics kits for kids have support for the Arduino microprocessor environment. The DuinoKit Jr is one of our favourites. Arduino is a fab skill for older kids and teens to develop.

ROBOTICS$show=/search/label/robotics

We love robots at Tech Age Kids, especially programmable ones. We've got lots of them and write reviews and projects that use them. Our programmable robots for kids buying guide is a good place to start if you're not sure what's available. Roby the mBot Meccano robot dog is one of our popular projects and has been with us to lots of events. Our Ozobot LEGO trailer is fab for kids who love LEGO and robots.

MAKING AND CRAFT$show=/search/label/making

We're advocates of the creative use of technology, but this needs to be balanced with developing physical skills such as papercraft, woodwork, clay modelling, technical drawing and soldering. If children don't develop these skills as they grow up then physical making projects can become frustrating rather than fun. The Maker Community uses the term 'making' as a broad term to include all sorts of artisan skills or craft activities. Being able to make things can lead to life-long hobbies or even careers. It's a great feeling to be able to take a project from an idea in your head to a real object that does something. We're particularly interested to explore products that combine maker skills with tech skills such as electronics but others focus purely on the physical making skills that are still important to modern making.

Hour of Code: What's New for 2015?

Hopefully many of the parents reading Tech Age Kids will have their children come home talking about the Hour of Code this week.

You might be wondering what it's all about and how you can build on your kids' enthusiasm to carry on learning about coding at home.

We've put together a list of our favourite Hour of Code resources that are new for 2015. There's some really good stuff out there for free so it's definitely worth taking a look. Note that some of the hour of code projects require specific additional hardware to complete while others can be completed in a web browser or on a tablet.

We're seeing lots of branded content which will have broad appeal to children and is a clever marketing move for the brands involved. Coding for kids is a fantastic cause to be associated with.

The projects are listed roughly in order of difficulty, but some of them cover a range of ages so the ordering is only approximate.

What is the Hour of Code?

The Hour of Code is an initiative from code.org to get kids interesting in coding by giving them the chance to take part in a fun coding activity that takes about an hour to complete. 

Hour of Code demystifies coding and provides a starting point for kids who want to learn more. 

Dash & Dot

Cute robots Dash & Dot have a new challenge for 2015:


Code.org

Code.org have some fab new activities this year:

  • I've already used the Minecraft Hour of Code activity with pupils and it was very popular. Kids who love Minecraft will find the setting very familiar it works really well for introducing basic coding concepts. Age 6+ but higher levels do get harder. 
  • And who can resist the opportunity to control BB-8 using code in the Star Wars Hour of Code activity. I think more than a few parents will be tempted by this one too. Age 6+ but higher levels do get harder. 
  • Code.org have also introduced two new themes for their freeplay PlayLab just in time for HOC: Ice Age and Gumball

Tynker

Kids coding subscription service Tynker have some fun new hour of code stuff for 2015. And did you know that the Tynker mobile app can control Sphero, Ollie and the Parrot Mini Drone?


Scratch

Scratch also have new activities for this year.

  • There's a Hide and Seek Game featuring the We Bare Bears from Cartoon Network. Kids get to write code for Grizz, Panda and Ice Bear.

    If kids enjoy this the they can also try Bearstack Story and B-Ball Hoops featuring the same characters and quality artwork. 

Made with Code

Made with Code is a Google initiative to encourage more girls into computer science.
  • Made with Code have teamed up with Pixar to release a new Inside Out themed hour of code tutorial for 2015 where kids write Blockly code to control Riley. Success is rewarded with clips from the movie. 

OzoBot

OzoBot Bits are cute little robots that follow lines and colour codes on paper or on a tablet. 

  • There's an OzoBot challenge for the Hour Code 2015 with some fab prize packs.

    OzoBots are tiny robots. You can see the electronics inside the Crystal White version which is neat.

    As well as understanding colour commands OzoBot Bits can also be controlled using drag and drop programming with Blockly.

    Note that the HOC challenge can be done with or without OzoBots. 

Box Island

Box Island is a new kids coding adventure for tablets and they have released an Hour of Code version of the app. Box Island is from Icelandic start-up Radiant Games.

  • In Box Island: One Hour Coding children use colourful drag and drop coding to solve problems on an adventure island. Box Island has fab graphics and made my 9 year old think! It's didn't take anywhere near an hour though.

    Verdict
    : "Mum, can we get the full version?" (He tells me that the early content in the full version of the app is similar to the Hour of Code, but flipped to make it a bit different.)

    Box Island is designed for 8-12 year olds. 

Alice Game Jam

Alice Game Jam comes from Catrobat and partners. Catrobat is a fab Android-based coding app for kids that uses drag and drop coding. Catrobat will seem very familiar to kids who have used Scratch but allows them to create their own projects on Android. 


Raspberry Pi Foundation

    The Raspberry Pi Foundation have some fab projects for this year's Hour of Code.

    • The Raspberry Pi HOC Projects include a selection for beginners and more advanced coders. Some of them use Scratch 1.4 on the Pi, others use Python and there's a fab Sonic Pi musical project. Three of the projects use the fantastic Sense Hat add-on to the Raspberry Pi and there are tie-ins to the current ISS space mission. You'll find a range of projects here that will appeal to tweens and teens. 

    The Ben Heck Show

    Ben Heck also has a hardware-based hour of code project:

    • Ben Heck uses the CodeBug (these are fab by the way, we've got a couple from the Kickstarter) for a neat project.

      The CodeBug is a mini programmable and wearable board that has an LED matrix, buttons and input / output connections.

      Buy a CodeBug: US | UK


    Vox-L 

    Vox-L is an extensible 3D sandbox game that runs in a web browser. You build stuff with 3D cubes, also known as voxels. 

    • Vox-L has some really interesting hour of code mod tutorials that use block-based graphical programming. Great stuff. Note that it takes a while to load, but is quick once loaded, though we did experience a few glitches. My nine year old spent ages working through this and really enjoyed it. There a paid Learn to Mod service which allows kids to use the same approach to write code which can also be used in Minecraft.  

    That lot should keep your kids busy! It's definitely kept my 7 and 9 year old's busy helping me research this article. 


    Happy Hour of Code
    from 
    Tech Age Kids


    24 days of Scratch coding book cover and cute penguin
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    Tech Age Kids | Technology for Children: Hour of Code: What's New for 2015?
    Hour of Code: What's New for 2015?
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    Tech Age Kids | Technology for Children
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