For Volunteer

23 July 2021 · by Nuala McHale

Ten years ago today, on 23 July 2011, the first CoderDojo session was held in Cork, Ireland by teenager James Whelton and entrepreneur Bill Liao. From that first session, CoderDojo clubs sprung up across Ireland, and then spread globally to more than 100 countries over the last decade. During this time, dedicated volunteers have run thousands of CoderDojo sessions across the world, making the CoderDojo movement a global phenomenon.  Well done to all involved! Over the years, you’ve had a huge impact in your local area, and we thank you for your contributions as part of… Read More

11 June 2021 · by Nuala McHale

To support CoderDojos running online, we regularly conduct safeguarding visits to online sessions. This enables us to see how Dojos are running and provide any additional guidance to volunteers.  So far in 2021, we’ve visited online sessions hosted in Colombia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, India, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Spain, the UK and the USA. Below are the key things we learned about the ways Dojos are operating during this time. Scratch demonstration during an online Dojo. Image credit: Alessandra Bilardi, @abilardi (Twitter) Some initial stats Of the Dojos we… Read More

14 May 2021 · by Nuala McHale

Scratch is one of the most prolific coding languages used by Dojos around the world. It is great for young people learning to code as it is so visual. It also provides “quick-wins” that motivate and empower young people to continue coding. Scratch has been developed to teach the logic of coding, without young people worrying about typing or remembering names and syntax. Below are 5 coding concepts you can highlight in Scratch, and projects to help you do so. This can be useful when moving on from Scratch to a text-based language… Read More

11 December 2020 · by Amy O'Meara

What a year it has been. Despite significant challenges caused by the pandemic, we have joined together as a community and have learnt to adapt, connect, grow, and share our experiences in brand new ways.  We are incredibly proud of everyone in our community for your positivity, resilience, and commitment to safety this year. Whatever stage you and your Dojo are at, we would like to thank you for your efforts — however big or small.  Looking back on the year Our poll in September revealed that 35% of Dojos are… Read More

10 December 2020 · by vasu

Competitions around coding have become more and more popular in recent years, and the real-world impact of these competitions shows young people what they can achieve with coding and computing beyond the classroom. Participating in coding competitions is fun, enjoyable, and rewarding, and also helps young people see the power of collaboration.   In this blog post, we are going to highlight some Dojos and Ninjas from India who have participated in competitions in 2020!  Color the code: Holi challenge In March this year, we launched the ‘Color the Code: Holi challenge’. We… Read More

3 December 2020 · by Amy O'Meara

In November and December, we will be sharing tips about different aspects of running online coding sessions, and hearing the experience of club leaders who are running their clubs online. Many of us will be familiar with the hustle and bustle of an in-person coding session: excited young people asking questions, volunteers moving about the room, sound effects from various projects — the list goes on!  Things may feel quite different in an online session. Participants will usually have their microphones muted and there will inevitably be periods of silence while they work on their… Read More