There are many different teaching methods and learning styles, but for somewhat obvious reasons, project-based learning tends to be the most successful. Project-based learning (or PBL) is founded on the concept that people learn by doing.  This is not to say that theory and fundamental instruction-based learning isn’t also important, but with a PBL approach to teaching, skills can be picked up rapidly and also retained more easily by most people. Despite the publication of numerous studies proving the effectiveness of PBL, many traditional schools are reluctant to make it the main compon ..read more

What kid doesn’t dream of having their own personal robot?  I’m not talking about some little plastic toy robot that blinks and buzzes (those can be fun too), but a real robot that can make decisions, help you do things, and even just hang out with you.  Robots aren’t always the best of company, but they’re cool enough that you won’t mind. Well of course the easy way to get a robot is to go and buy one that’s already made, but that costs a lot of money, and it’s not likely that such a robot would be built exactly to your specifications of the ideal robot.  The more complicated ..read more

Computer games are a lot of fun and can even be a little bit addictive, which is why sometimes grown-ups think we play them too much and suggest we should try doing other things. But you know what’s even more fun than playing games?  Making games! Every game that exists was made by somebody.  When you just play a game made by somebody else, you have to play it according to the rules they created and to achieve the goals they set.  But if you make the game, you get to decide what happens and how the game should be played.  Best of all, you not only have fun making and playi ..read more

The history of computing is actually quite surprising, and until recently we didn’t know just how ancient the idea of a computer really is.  Here’s a quick view of how computers evolved from ancient times to the modern day: The early computers (before 1944) were mechanical and did not run on electricity.  Some experimental computers were a combination of electricity and mechanical operation, but they weren’t as successful as either the purely mechanical computers or purely electrical ones. As is often the case, it took the outbreak of war to really stimulate innovation.  The f ..read more

  In a world where human jobs are frequently being taken over by machines, the one place where job security is assured is for the people who make, control, and improve the machines.  Whether we like it or not, the future is already being mapped out, and it’s grim news for the unskilled labor sector. Many postal services around the world have stopped delivering mail, now requiring mail recipients to pick up their mail from the post office themselves.  Supermarkets and even some department stores have slashed the number of cashiers they employ as automated checkouts have been int ..read more

Computers really are everywhere these days!  They’re even hiding in places we’d never expect to find them.  People have embedded computers into tractors, refrigerators, and even toilets.  Plus there’s all kinds of awesome technology that makes it easy for us to take computers with us on our travels.  These include innovations like smartphones, smartwatches, and Google Glass. What we’re going to take a look at here are some of the more interesting and unusual ways computers are being put to use.  Some of these are things you’ll already know about, but some may be quite ..read more

The first time you saw a computer, it probably managed to convince you it was pretty smart.  Computers can do all kinds of amazing stuff like add up numbers really fast, draw pictures, make music, and some even control robots.  That’s all really cool, but you want to know a secret?  Computers are actually not very smart at all.  In fact, a computer can’t really figure anything out for itself, it has to be told how to do everything.   There are a few things that make you, as a human, actually better than a computer, even though most computers are faster at performing i ..read more

There are more computer languages in existence than anybody knows, and still more keep getting created every year.  There isn’t really any great reason to keep creating more languages, because existing languages are adequate to achieve any task we can think of.                     Mostly people just make new languages because they can, and every once in a while somebody develops a language that’s good enough that a lot of people start using it. That doesn’t mean that unpopular languages are bad. Some very good languages are not very popul ..read more

Whether your kids are toddlers or teenagers, you’ve probably heard about the push to teach computer science and programming skills to children. Learning to code teaches children logical thinking skills, curiosity about the digital world, and the ability to solve difficult problems by breaking them down into smaller chunks. Learning a programming language may seem difficult. But for Brampton parents who want to introduce their kids to coding, here are some toys that can help children learn basic programming concepts while having fun.   Young children (ages 3 to 7) BeeBot BeeBot is a large ..read more

Critical and analytical thinking are complementary skills and both are necessary to effectively work with information. Critical thinking is the ability to evaluate sources to determine the facts. Analytical thinking involves breaking down complex information into bits that can be understood and tested. It is important in our world of information overload that we teach critical analysis and analytical thinking at all age levels. Kids need to have the skills to understand and evaluate information sources and make intelligent decisions about the inputs they receive. There are multiple approaches ..read more