My "parents" perspective...

I tell you what... Trying to find that one thing to spark some imagination & excitement in your children can be the most rewarding & exhilarating thing ever!!

I've 4 wonderful children, aged twelve, ten, nine & then four.
They love nothing more than trying activity after activity, turning me into the proverbial "Soccer Mom" racing from one activity to another You name it.... We've probably tried it!!

We finally settled on Choir, Ballet, Karate, Basketball, Youth Club, Cubs, & Snooker... (and my 4yr old hasn't started anything yet lol) Yes, there's literally NEVER a dull moment!! But my 10 year old, Conor, was just not really into any of it... He didn't get to socialise much outside school with other kids his age & well, kept himself to himself... That is until I heard about Coder Dojo!!!

I heard about it from one of the mentors in the Drogheda Coder Dojo.  Louisa Maher explained a little about it when I attended a course she was giving, & well after hearing about how children got to learn how to code etc in a fun, cool environment, I was SOLD... I knew this was it!! Conor was finally going to have a club that seemed to be made especially for him.

Now the thing is lol, we live in Portarlington, Co. Laois... Drogheda is about 1hr 40minutes from us & I would have to stay with him for the 3 hour class & do that long drive home again... But well what the heck, we'll give it a go... Again, on his first day in Drogheda, I was SOLD, & Conor was hooked :-) We made the trip every 2 weeks and I left the other kiddies at home with Daddy.  

@coderdojodrog - Drogheda Coder Dojo

Gosh it was a commitment to make the trip but seeing Conor's talents come to life, however... I was suddenly overjoyed to see my once quiet son become animated & mesmerised by the possibilities ahead of him!!  He was the proudest little man after receiving his white belt 

and wore it with pride lol... It was infectious and sure I started to join in and learned for myself what HTML & CSS were... It was amazing to share this with him and have him teach me a thing or two :-)





After a while I was told that there might be a new Dojo closer to home.  Although I really didn't want to take him away from what he was used to, for our familys sake at least, we had to look at the bigger picture with lost time and fuels costs so I reluctantly signed him up for Kilkenny's Coder Dojo. I was so afraid he wouldn't settle in, Conor managed to settle in Drogheda, but could he do a move again? Would he be ahead or behind? Would I settle with the other parents? lol...  But it has to be said... all my fears  were unfounded and I couldn't believe my eyes... This lad of mine, who would have struggled to mix in the past, just blended right in with the kids & mentors in Kilkenny!!! He proudly showed off his white belt and his skills and interest just grew & grew... The club here was run differently but the ethos of fun & coolness was evident and even Conor's Dad got involved and decided he was going to bring him sometimes too!! Anything to support our son :-)

@coderdojokk - Kilkenny Coder Dojo

But... this was still a committment & a chore purely from the travelling aspect.  Mind you... at this stage, seeing how much Conor was getting out of it & well, us too as parents seeing our child blossom, there was NO way we were going to give it up... However... there was a rumour that the local Community Development Association in our town of Portarlington were interested in opening a Dojo... (I held my breath in anticipation!!)

Low & behold, it came about!  But this time I had no fears, no reservations for Conor, I had seen him grow in confidence and ability soooo much, that I just embraced the idea of not having to travel anymore (Yippee) and I knew Kilkenny would understand as Drogheda had beforehand.  I'm so grateful to everyone in both of these Dojos!! More than words can say :-)

We are now only 5 weeks in Portarlington, but I now volunteer with them doing Admin... I am actually upskilling myself, whether it's from managing the social media side or even starting this blog, and my own interest in volunteering is growing, especially with the exhilaration of watching so many new kids at the point where my own son was when he started over a year ago.  Knowing what kind of exciting times are ahead of them...  and then seeing Conor now stepping up to mentor others... #superproudmammy

Coder Dojo has opened a whole new world to both myself & my son in a way I couldn't have imagined.  Conor is on the best ride of his life, soaking up so many things from actual coding to socialising & even teaching as he goes along.  Seeing that in your child, is the most rewarding thing a parent can see, but to have the same experiences for yourself is an honour.... Already Portarlington Coder Dojo is a community within a global community of Coder Dojos and I'm privilaged to say I'm a part of it & learning as I go too!!!

Thank you Coder Dojo, you've changed our family's path in an amazingly positive way ♥♥♥

Badges & Grading Card idea for earning Belts

I'm firing away & sharing with anyone who will listen my idea for Badges & Grading cards for the Coder Dojo Ninjas as they earn their belts...

This came about after working with our mentors who defined what they would like our Ninjas in Portarlington to achieve to earn their yellow belts.
Below is a snippet regarding belts from our website : www.coderdojoport.com/belts.html

_________________________________________________________________________

All other belts will be awarded once a number of skill badges have been earned. The number and level of badges required to achieve a belt will increase as ninjas move through the colours.

The next belt that ninjas can try for after the white belt is the yellow belt. The yellow belt is awarded to ninjas who have achieved a basic skill level in certain areas.

In order to earn a yellow belt, ninjas must achieve the following

1) Be awarded a basic badge in the following four coding disciplines

* HTML
* Javascript
* CSS
* Scratch

2) Be awarded a “Social Good” badge for helping others with computer related tasks, mentoring others in the dojo, or providing technical support in the local community.

The mentors and administrators will lay out exactly what standard is required to achieve the basic badge in each discipline, as well as what is required in achieving a Social Good badge.

____________________________________________________________________________

Using this as inspiration & having a "crafting" background I designed firstly the badges.  I used the HTML image from the www.coderdojo.com website as a template to develop ideas.... 

They represent (in order from the image) Scratch, HTML, CSS, Java Script & Social Good. The yellow ring around them is obviously to indicate these are the yellow badges required to collect.  I have made more with different colours to test... See below : 

Next the dilemma was what do to with them... They could have been turned into actual badges by simply adding a pin to the back, but using my 10yr old son Conor (who is a Coder Dojo Ninja) as a sounding board, I came up with another idea... A grading card that's hung on a lanyard!! The image below is the front, where the logo, requirements & any other details can be added.  The surrounding paper that the card is layered on is in fact yellow, but my photography skills are not great!!

Oh and of course the potential for sponsorship was NOT overlooked with the use of a lanyard :-) 

On the back (image below) there is a space for each badge to be added.  The kids can earn their badges in their own pace, in stages & once the card is filled, they are then ready to receive their yellow belt.  The same theory & design can work for other coloured belts as they learn & grow!

I brought these to the attention of our Ninjas & they were all very excited about it!! 

They are all actually extremely easy to make & should cost no more than €2 to make using a plain lanyard!  (Remembering that sponsored ones could potentially be free!!)

At last (my apologies) I'm finally getting to write up a piece about them & hope they inspire either other ideas & discussions or that they might be something I can share with others, designed with their logo etc :) I was nervous about sharing purely as I was feeling mighty shy... But after showing James Whelton & some other mentors at DojoCon2013, I'm feeling braver lol...

Looking forward to hearing from anyone who would like more details!!

Yours Clare Slevin xx

slevic01@gmail.com
coderdojoportarlington@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/coderdojoport

@coderdojoport
@slevic01

DojoCon2013

What a wonderful welcome, sun shining & a view to die for... All of this as I arrived at Slane Castle for the 2013 Coder Dojo Conference.  It was a bit of a nervous arrival, I was the sole representative of our Dojo in Portarlington, but being the brazen lassie I am, I soldiered on!!!

I was completely unprepared for the overwhelming welcoming atmosphere from organisers, speakers & fellow attendees alike!! I suddenly forgot how nervous I was, shook off the "billy no mates" look from my face & embraced the day ahead...

It ran so smoothly with talks from keynote speakers such as James Whelton, Bill Liao and Jerry Kennelly.  From here the talks were divided into three streams; "Education", "Technology" & "Running a Dojo".  I attended the "Running a Dojo" sessions as this was an area where I would be most useful for our club. I learned so much to help us as we grow! 
But besides what I learned... I met some truly wonderful fellow mentors/volunteers.  The enthusiasm & willingness to share ideas, tips and even stories of pitfalls was incredible.

When we broke for lunch I braved the chance to share my idea for badges as Ninjas earn their belts... I was actually shaking, my earlier nerves kicking in again lol... But the lovely Louisa Maher from the Drogheda Dojo took me under her wing & once again my nerves were forgotten as I shared with other mentors & Bill Liao :)

You see, I had come up with the idea of "grading cards" attached to a lanyard (again potential for sponsorship not overlooked!!) and the "badges" designed on the images on coderdojo.com.  As the Ninjas earn their badges, they attach them to the grading card & once filled, they would be ready to receive their next "belt". Now this is purely a prototype & a simple idea... But I decided to share it all the same with James Whelton.  (who by the way, is the easiest person ever to talk to, a super 'cool dude') James seemed enthusiastic & I left them with him to peruse (using fancy words now I'm getting braver at blogging! he he)

The day progressed nicely & I met more wonderful mentors/volunteers, had a giggle or two in the most relaxed "Rock 'n Roll" atmosphere!! 

The final speaker was the wonderfully inspiring Kimberley Bryant from 'Black Girls Code'.  Wow, wow, wow... I had to hold back the emotions as I listened intently, she truly is an inspiration & her final note which was from an African Proverb will stay with me forever... if you educate a woman you educate a nation... Yes, maybe being a woman & Mammy it struck a cord, but it also drove enthusiasm into me for our fab Ninjas back in Portarlington!!!

This truly was an amazing experience that I will cherish & use intently to help our Dojo grow!! I can't wait for next year, where I will be bringing along some of our other Mentors, not because I'll be nervous, but to help absorb the information and 'vibe' ♥♥♥