CoderDojo

CoderDojo is a global volunteer-led community of free programming workshops for young people between 7 and 17. The movement is a grassroots organisation with individual clubs (called "Dojos") acting independently. A charity called the CoderDojo Foundation operates out of Dublin and supports the various clubs by providing a central website[1] and some other support services. Supporters of CoderDojo believe it is part of the solution to addressing the global shortage[2][3] of programmers by exposing young people to ICT at a young age. The movement has seen significant growth since its founding. The CoderDojo Foundation estimates 1,250 Dojos spread across 69 countries[4], with a growth rate of several new Dojos every week.

CoderDojo
Formation23 July 2011 (2011-07-23)
FoundersBill Liao, James Whelton
Founded atCork, Ireland
Location
Bill Liao, James Whelton, Una Fox, Sean O’Sullivan, Noel Ruane
Key people
Mary Moloney, Giustina Mizzoni, Peter O’Shea, Rosa Langhammer
Websitecoderdojo.com

History

Founded in July 2011 by James Whelton[5] & Bill Liao, the first Dojo took place in NSC Cork, Ireland, on 23 July.[6] James and Bill were self-taught programmers and wanted to create a space where young people could learn code in a social environment. In less than one year, the CoderDojo movement was spread across Ireland and other cities like London in England and San Francisco in the United States.[7][8]

In May 2017, Raspberry Pi foundation merged with CoderDojo.[9][10]

Press Coverage

CoderDojo received positive reviews from newspapers including BBC,[11] CNN,[12] The Guardian,[13] The Irish Times[14] and TechCrunch.[15]

In 2015, Salesforce announced a partnership and a grant of $200,000 to CoderDojo in order to help "support 14 CoderDojo code clubs – or Dojos – globally, with each of them being run by Salesforce.com "champions".[16]

CoderDojo Girls

Many CoderDojo volunteers focus on improving the extreme shortage of women in technology [17][18] by using specific strategies to engage girls. In particular, challenging the socially accepted idea among young women that the world of the computer sciences is "not for them". Some Dojos have even chosen to run special CoderDojo Girls sessions to encourage young women to participate in computer science. There has been some success with attracting girls into Dojos through making female mentors visible to newcomers.

CoderDojo Foundation

Established in mid-2013 by cofounder James Whelton, the CoderDojo Foundation is focused on supporting, scaling, and empowering the CoderDojo Community. With a small core team of 6 people based in Dogpatch Labs, Dublin, Ireland, the Foundation advises new and existing Dojos, develops resources to assist Dojos, and manages international partnerships and events on behalf of the Community.

The focus is on scaling the CoderDojo movement to make coding clubs even more accessible for young people all over the world. The foundation has a stated target of encouraging:

  • 100,000 children coding regularly
  • 1,500 Dojos
  • Dojos spread across 60 Countries

See also

References
  1. CoderDojo Foundation Official Webpage
  2. Globally there is a monumental shortage of programmers with the EU predicting a shortfall of almost 1 million technical workers by 2020 "Lack of coding skills may lead to skills shortage in Europe".
  3. "IT skills shortage is hurting UK companies".
  4. Raspberry Pi and CoderDojo Join Forces
  5. "30 Under 30: Social Entrepreneurs".
  6. "Bill Liao and James Whelton to unleash Coder Dojos on schools".
  7. "CoderDojo is going international, says teenage entrepreneur (video)".
  8. "CoderDojo launches new coding club in Silicon Valley".
  9. "Raspberry Pi foundation merges with CoderDojo Foundation". Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  10. "Raspberry Pi Foundation and CoderDojo to code club together". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
  11. "Coding in class - teachers told to take a back seat".
  12. "Coder club turns out tween tech prodigies".
  13. "Coderdojo inspires kids to program anytime, anywhere".
  14. "Know The Code: the rise and rise of the CoderDojo movement".
  15. "CoderDojo Partners with GitHub to Create a New Generation of Hackers".
  16. Bateman, Kayleigh. "Salesforce Foundation offers CoderDojo a helping hand as the charity's CEO and the foundation's director share their plans with Computer Weekly". Computer Weekly. TechTarget. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  17. In 2013, women made up 14 percent of all computer science graduates — down from 36 percent in 1984. This imbalance persists in the tech industry. "How to Get Girls Into Coding".
  18. "CoderDojo blazing a trail for young females in ICT and coding".
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