Let the mouse do the work
Escaping boring drills and practice can be a challenge, but among the dozens of computer courses on offer, Futurekids promises youngsters the chance to do just that and learn valuable exam-oriented skills at the same time.
Futurekids, the first approved Cambridge ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Starters assessment centre in Hong Kong, will offer examination preparatory courses for students aged six to 16. It also provides more than 50 courses focusing on two areas - Cambridge ICT Starters and computer skills.
The curricula were written by the company's educators in its US headquarters and approved by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate.
A total of 259 students have achieved the Cambridge certificate through the company, with 692 students still taking classes. 'The certificate is an advantage in applying for both local and international schools,' said Yvonne Lee, Futurekids' examination services manager.
But apart from examinations, children can learn various computer skills through its one- to three-week courses, from logo programming to robotics and webpage design for children aged six to 12. Secondary students can go for training in Dreamweaver, Flash, ASP, Java, Visual Basic and Pascal programming.
'Fun is the core element of our courses. Students learn the skills through project-based activities and academic areas such as mathematics, science, social studies and language arts, rather than through boring drill and practice. To be computer literate nowadays is as important as to be able to read and write. Summer is the time to learn something fun and essential,' said Ms Lee.
Computertots offers various technology outdoor activities this summer to raise students' interest in the use of software.
The activities are of different themes to ease the learning of related software packages, an example of which is 'Amusement Park' in which students will be asked to create machines such as bumper cars and programme their movements using robotics programming software.
'We take a relaxed approach and students can explore and discover functions on their own,' says IT facilitator Candy Wong.
