CoderDojo is a world-wide open source social education movement that runs free computer coding clubs (Dojos) for young people aged 7-17 (Ninjas).

At a Dojo, Ninjas work on their own code-related projects such as websites, apps, robotics, game development and more, with the support of volunteer Mentors. They pick their projects and they self-learn.

A Dojo is NOT a class or a workshop. Rather, a Dojo is a club – a social environment in which young people can have fun learning to code.

At a Dojo, Ninjas have the opportunity to:

• Become creators, not just consumers, of technology.
• Develop their logical thinking and problem solving abilities.
• Have their eyes opened to the wide variety of career opportunities in STEM and creative digital industries, even for possibilities and jobs not yet imagined.
• Connect with other young people and Mentors who are interested coding.

Parents pitch in!

As CoderDojo founder Bill Liao often says, “CoderDojo is free, but it’s not a free ride!”

Parents/Guardians are usually asked to stay for the duration of the Dojo and are encouraged to help out in any way. Even if you think you don't have 'technical' knowledge, you will be surprised how easy it is to follow along with Scratch or HTML or Lego Mindstorms. Ask a ninja, it would make their day to show you !

Mentors may have experience in coding and IT, or they may have no technical experience whatsoever. Many CoderDojo Mentors are parents, grandparents or guardians of Ninjas, with no technical background at all!

Mentors are not there to teach Ninjas how to code, they are there to support, guide and encourage the Ninjas as they work on their own projects and solve their own problems.

Quality connection trumps expertise!

While technical skills are helpful, forming a great connection with the Ninjas will help you have a far greater impact than any cool bit of code could. It will make your feedback more important to them and your encouragement more valued by them. Sessions are set up so that Ninjas can explore their own thing.

We encourage you to look at what you can do to help any Ninja who is stuck, to progress with the smallest amount of assistance. It is better and more rewarding for the Ninja. If you don’t know the Ninja, they probably don’t know you! You might say something like ‘Hi I’m ...., what’s your name?’ and then ‘What are you working on?’

Self led learning: Ask 3 then me!

CoderDojo is all about young people having a choice about what they are learning. We encourage them to try to find the answers to their own questions from other ninjas, Helpful Harry (search 'harry' from magnifying glass top right), the internet, then junior and adult mentors. 'Ask three then me' is the motto that reminds adults that ninjas look for three other sources of help and information before approaching adult mentors.

Making mistakes is normal

Show Ninjas that it’s OK to make mistakes and to encourage learning through trial-and error. Taking risks and making mistakes is vital to learning, especially for coding. Making mistakes is one of the best ways of learning the right way to put things together and to understand how code works in more depth.

It’s important that Ninjas know that even the best coders make mistakes, sometimes frequently, especially when they are learning a new thing. The ‘Aha!’ moment when a Ninja fixes a problem and their code works perfectly is great to watch. Encourage and praise Ninjas.

Be hands-on, but keep your hands off the keyboard!

The temptation is enormous for adults and junior mentors. Better to guide Ninjas to look in Helpful Harry or to do a web search. You might ask Ninjas what they could look for. You may want to gently suggest search terms, saying something like ‘try searching for .....’.

One rule, be cool

'Helping, sharing, supporting, encouraging, cooperating, and being kind are all very cool. Bullying, lying, time-wasting, and disrupting the Dojo are all considered uncool.'

Bill Liao, CoderDojo co-founder

We really want more girls coding!

We have two fabulous female mentors, so parents, encourage your daughters to join with a friend and create some cool stuff !

Check out the international CoderDojo movement

Courtesy of the fabulous people at CodeDojo Western Australia, an excellent training presentation for Mentors and Mentor to be!