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How can paper circuits and webcam games teach kids machine learning? Discover a new, hands-on approach to making complex technology playful and accessible for young coders.

#1about 1 minute

Inspiring the next generation with project-based learning

The book "Raising Young Coders" focuses on teaching programming logic through hands-on projects to inspire kids, especially young girls.

#2about 3 minutes

A personal journey from coding workshops to teaching

Early exposure to kids' coding workshops, Minecraft modding, and helping with family-led classes sparked a passion for technology and education.

#3about 2 minutes

Teaching AI-first programming with modern developer tools

The upcoming book "AI First Programming" integrates tools like GitHub Copilot from the start to accelerate learning fundamental concepts without memorizing syntax.

#4about 4 minutes

Using tangible projects to teach abstract concepts

Physical projects like paper circuits with copper tape and LEDs provide immediate, visual feedback that helps beginners grasp programming concepts.

#5about 2 minutes

Why coding fundamentals still matter in the age of AI

Relying solely on AI to generate code is risky because without understanding the fundamentals, you cannot debug or improve the application.

#6about 2 minutes

How teaching others deepens your own understanding

The process of writing a book or teaching a concept forces you to move beyond practical usage and truly understand the "why" behind language features like Python's indentation.

#7about 2 minutes

The collaborative process of publishing a technical book

Publishing a book is a long journey that involves collaboration with editors who provide critical feedback and help shape the final product.

#8about 2 minutes

Reaching a wider audience through conference keynotes

Presenting a keynote to a general conference audience helps spread important messages, like getting kids into tech, to people who might not attend a specialized talk.

#9about 6 minutes

A live demo of an interactive AI workshop for kids

A demonstration of the "Phippy's AI Friend" book shows how Scratch and a webcam can be used to teach machine learning concepts through live image detection.

#10about 3 minutes

Empowering parents to continue the learning journey at home

Providing resources for parents is crucial because it inspires them to support and continue their children's technology education outside of workshops.

#11about 2 minutes

Encouraging more girls and diversity in computer science

Addressing the gender gap in technology is vital because diverse engineering teams challenge biases and build better, more inclusive products.

#12about 2 minutes

Final advice on publishing and starting kids early

While publishing is a challenging process, it is a worthwhile endeavor, and it's never too early to introduce children to technology with simple projects like conductive Play-Doh.