STEM Toys: Tech Will Save Us

We first discovered Tech Will Save Us on Kickstarter when we backed their Mover Kit. We’ve done a number of things with it, but our favourites have got to be the Pokeball (so G1 could pretend to be a Pokemon Master)… …and the screen time reminder so G2 knows when it’s time to take break

Digital Learning for Young Children – Math Skills

When the boys were younger, I used apps and online math games to support their math skills development. Admittedly, it was a little experimental since we couldn’t be sure how effective digital learning was. Most importantly, we didn’t know how well it could translate to physical math learning. The following study takes a closer look

New Rules for Screen Time

I’ve written a number of posts about screen time before, but this is a topic that needs reviewing. Our children are the first generation to be raised in a world where babies are practically born with a device in their hands. For a while now, we haven’t had the data to determine how good or

Learn With Mochi Screenless Coding

CreativityBox.org, an education technology public-benefit corporation, is launching its first consumer-facing product for children ages 3-6. Mochi Screenless Coding is designed to teach young children how to program without a screen. The learning experience—which includes stories, hands-on coding, and a real-world programming environment—aims to tackle the widening opportunity gap in access to high-quality STEM education. Five

Kano Star Wars – Using the Force to Code

We’ve always been fond of Kano – the company that produced fun kits that encourages kids to learn how to code. It all started with the Kano Computer Kit we backed on Kickstarter: Followed by the Kano Pixel Light Kit:             View this post on Instagram        

How to Use Digital Tools to Support Literacy

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” (Nelson Mandela), and “literacy is the most basic currency of the knowledge economy” (Barrack Obama). If we’re going to raise children who will change the world, we must first help them to become literate adults. Teaching children basic literacy skills can be challenging

DIY Video Project: The Story of the Hokkien New Year

For Chinese New Year this year, I wanted the kids to learn more about their Hokkien heritage. One of the stories I shared with them was about the Hokkien New Year. Unlike the Story of the Chinese Zodiac and the Legend of Nian, there aren’t any youtube videos about why the Hokkiens celebrate Bai Ti Kong

Exploring Learning with Cubetto’s First Day

We first heard about Cubetto on Kickstarter. It sounded like a really cool – non-screen coding program so I supported it, thinking it would be a great way for G2 to learn the basic concepts of coding. Cubetto’s First Day Cubetto finally arrived and we got started on Cubetto’s First Day. The kids had to

Hour of Code with Kano

It’s Hour of Code 2016 and our Kano Kit has arrived just in time for us to start tinkering… So we’re going to start with these 8 activities recommended by Kano for the Hour of Code: Make Flappy Bird with Code.org If you’ve been under a rock and you have never heard of Flappy Bird,

Tech Discussions: Bad Digital Behaviour

Technology can be a powerful teaching tool for our children: We have seen the power of Minecraft to teach complex subjects like Quantum Mechanics, Organic Chemistry, Electronics, and Rube Goldberg Machines. We can use technology to tailor education to the individual student using programs like Khan Academy. We can use technology to flip classrooms to improve student