7th May 2015
What is a CoderDojo Mentor?
A CoderDojo Mentor is:
A Volunteer
A CoderDojo Mentor is a technically skilled individual who guides CoderDojo attendees (Ninjas) and facilitates their learning. As Dojos are set up and run by volunteers, each will have a different set of skills and way of learning available to them.
“My favourite thing about volunteering as a CoderDojo Mentor is seeing the satisfaction in kids’ eyes at the end of a Dojo. This makes me think I’m always doing the right thing”
Agnese Addone – CoderDojo Roma, Italy
A Guide
What and how Ninjas learn can be influenced by the preferences and skill set of the Mentors they have. The interests and abilities of the Ninjas who are attending will be the main guiding force, helping Mentors to decide what content to cover. A Dojo is similar to an after school club, it is important for it to be fun, interactive and different to the children’s usual learning experiences.
“My favourite thing is being able to directly help young people gain confidence in digital skills. These skills will be important no matter what career they go into in the future, so by mentoring you’ll be making a direct impact on their future employability.”
Craig Steele – CoderDojo Scotland
A Supporter of Creativity
The main role of a Mentor is to help Ninjas through the basics of coding and to assist them in their own self led learning by creating their own projects. CoderDojo’s learning philosophy is inherently project based so Ninjas will work on their own ideas and apply them to websites, games etc. Mentors should encourage young people to continue their quest for knowledge at CoderDojo and should inspire young people to create with code.
“It’s very pleasant to be an important part of children’s development – sometimes it’s very visible, for example once I’ve been a protagonist in a computer game designed by one of our Ninjas on his own, and I was – as a pixel-art avatar – trying to save the world. How cool is that?”
Kamil Sijko – CoderDojo Poland
A Community Member
By becoming a Mentor you are becoming a part of a really worthwhile movement. You are given the opportunity to teach the next generation of digital creators many skills that they will inevitably need in our ever changing, technical society.
“Through technology the world is becoming increasingly borderless and Mentoring at CoderDojo has enabled me to connect with like minded people around the world. Everyone in the Community has been brought together with the same goal of sharing their skills with the next generation.”
Ursula Clarke Everett – Docklands Dojo, Dublin
CoderDojo would not be the movement it is today without the time and effort of all its volunteers! A big thank you to all those that volunteer their time to inspire young people to learn to code by Mentoring at their local CoderDojo.