Coderdojo FAQ

Easiest way to find out is to give it a try!

Duhallow Coderdojo caters for children aged 8-13.

Children can be registered for Duhallow Coderdojo sessions via this link. The structure is designed so that children can learn whether they are completely new or already know quite a lot, we focus on particular coding languages and loosely follow projects for set periods.
Our coderdojo is young and evolving to accommodate the needs of the kids attending. Look at the ticket booking page to see what is running at the moment.

The group is co-ordinated by IRD Duhallow and is based on help from technical mentors and parents. The voluntary mentors give their time to the club to share their knowledge and skills with the children. All volunteers are Garda Vetted. Together we can create an encouraging, inclusive and safe environment for our children to explore code and step beyond Youtube and Minecraft.

Please contact IRD Duhallow on 029-60633 for registration.

Booking is per session, as spaces are limited.

First Time Registration:

1. Register an account on the Coderdojo Website https://zen.coderdojo.com/register/user
2. When your account is created you are then asked to input your details.
3. At the end of this page you must click on add a child and input your childs details.

You are now ready to book a session with Duhallow Coderdojo on https://zen.coderdojo.com/dojos/ie/newmarket-co-cork/duhallow-coderdojo-club

As one of CoderDojo’s founders Bill Liao often says, “CoderDojo is free, but it’s not a free ride!” Parents are asked to stay for the duration of the Dojo, following best practice guidelines set out by the Coderdojo Foundation. We would appreciate parents help and would encourage parents to get involved with the Dojo supporting and guiding the kids in their learning. Hands off the keyboards though – this is about giving the kids the space to explore and embark on their own coding journey. We would encourage you not to just work with your own children directly if helping out. This is to enable the young people to have full creative freedom and to direct their own learning journeys.

The journey through the languages is long and winding. If you can travel on that road with your child, you can help them to stay on that journey and you will be able to understand, even a little of what they are doing, and where they are heading and appreciate the work that has gone into creating what may at first glance appear a simple animation.

Coding is nothing more than a set of words that tell a website, app, game or piece of software what to do. Code also forms the basis of the sophisticated tools and technologies that we use in the workplace and that are shaping and advancing all industries, from hospitality to advanced medicine. Coding languages essentially allow us to convert instructions into binary code, the strings of one and zeros that tell a computer what to do.  Each language has a name, some of which will be familiar: HTML, Java, C, Python, and, of course, Scratch.

We recently learned about the Granny Cloud project as an example of our role in child led learning. Prof Sugata Mitra noticed that children did best when an adult was present offering advice and encouragement over their shoulders. He realized that there was no one as encouraging as a granny and so The Granny Cloud idea was born. In the original context UK grandmothers volunteer to support children in India in their learning via skype. They encourage, praise, guide and became a “virtual granny” to the children and they learn from the children too. We can bring the benefits of the Granny Cloud to our CoderDojo. Be warm friendly and encouraging— act like grandmas for the kids. Simply by engaging with the kids, recognising their achievements, encouraging them and sometimes offering advice.

Scratch is the first coding tool encountered by many kids. By programming their own Scratch interactive stories, games, and animations, kids learn basic computational thinking, including how to break a problem into bite sized elements and solve it. We are also teaching the kids html and hope to move onto other languages as our coderdojo club progresses.

If children have their own Laptop they should bring it to use for the sessions, they will feel more comfortable using their own computer, and they can easily continue with their projects at home.
We do have a small number of laptops available for the children to use here, so not having a laptop should not discourage a child from attending. Children will benefit from having access to a laptop or desktop machine at home to allow them to practice their coding skills.

Unfortunately tablets and phones are not suited to learning code. Most of the coding going on in Dojos does not need a high spec modern day laptop with fast graphics. Refurbished laptops that are a few years old will work perfectly well in a dojo.