Coder Dojo has swept the the world in recent years; it’s a grassroots movement helping children to develop computer skills. Having started in Ireland, it’s now a global phenomenon, and next month, Kilkenny will play host to DojoCon 2018, a conference for people involved in CoderDojo around the world.
Blacknight is sponsoring DojoCon 2018 and one of the organisers, Margaret Ahearne, is our guest on today’s podcast.
Click on the player below to play the podcast, or download it here: 11:22; 7MB; MP3.
Coder Dojo is very different to a classroom situation, says Margaret, as she explains the unique approach to child-led learning. “We’re there to support and mentor. We’re not there to teach them. It’s not a classroom setting”.
“There’s so much highlighted today about the negativity of tech for kids – you know, just playing on their playstations all the time, or the negative impact of social media, so this is really an opportunity for them to embrace a more positive side”.
DojoCon is targetted at the adults and teenage “junior mentors” who are involved in the clubs.
“It’s an opportunity for everyone to meet in one place and bring new tools back to their club – we have workshops going on throughout the day … It’s also an opportunity to network . We have people coming from over 12 different countries”.
The main event takes place on Saturday 20th October, with speakers on the main stage, and five different streams of workshops going on throughout the day, under the headings: Design It; Make It; Code It; Create It; and Share It. There’s also a CosyDojo track which will feature short pop-up 10 minute talks and demos by attendants and speakers.
Registration for Saturday costs just €20, and participants are encouraged to do so early, because they will then be invited to indicate which topics they are interested in, allowing the organisers to schedule accordingly.
Sunday will be a hackathon attended by CoderDojo groups from across the South East. About 400 kids are expected to take part.
In addition to a welcome ceremony and entertainment on the Friday, DojoCon is also going to link up with the regular Tech Thursday event in Kilkenny on Thursday 18th October.
We at Blacknight are delighted to be sponsoring DojoCon 2018; it’s only down the road from us in Carlow, and we’re looking forward to taking part. Because we host a chunk of the Irish Internet, it’s a great opportunity for us to share some of our insight on the web as a programming platform. We’ll be demonstrating JavaScript and PHP scripts at our stand.
To find out more about DojoCon 2018, and to book your place, visit dojocon.coderdojo.com.
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