CODER DOJO PROJECTEducational Technology and Foundations• Adriana D’ Alba• Kim Huett

Computer Science• Anja Remshagen

Spring 2014 – Spring 2015

Summary

New Program: Build and maintain a fun, informal, on-campus, weekend coding program to do these things: Expand awareness of domain of computer science Build knowledge and skills in the domain among

community kids, families, and teachers Build knowledge related to informal, constructivist

learning environments and computational thinking Today’s Plan:

Tell you about program Seek feedback and support

Contextual Factors that Support Program

There should be more opportunities for kids/people to learn about CS

Society is tech-mediated, and everyone should have some knowledge of it.

CS is under-taught/under-offered in U.S. schools. The CS jobs are there to justify claims for CS

programming. Carroll County students need more opportunities. Women and minorities are underrepresented in

CS. Lack of trained teachers. Numerous current initiatives (Google, Microsoft,

CoderDojo, etc.) are attempting to address these perceived lacks.

UWG Well-positioned to Offer Program

CS knowledge Educational-program-building knowledge Pedagogical knowledge Research and evaluation knowledge Physical Environment (e.g., classrooms,

equipment, mic headsets, laptops, open software and tools, etc.)

Some Funding

Opportunities for Research

Computational Thinking Project-based Learning Learning in Practice Fields (Barab & Duffy, 2012)

"The learning context is motivating." (p. 37) "Work is collaborative and social" (p. 37) "Support the learner rather than simplify the

dilemma" (p. 37) "Dilemmas are ill-structured" (p. 36) "Opportunity for reflection" (p. 36) "Coaching and modeling of thinking skills" (p. 36) "Ownership of the inquiry" (p. 36)

Barab, S., & Duffy, T. (2012). From practice fields to communities of practice. In Jonassen, D., & Land, S.M. (Eds.), Theoretical foundations of learning environments (2nd. ed.) (pp. 29-65). New York: Routledge.

What is Coder Dojo?

Coder Dojo is “the open source, volunteer led, global movement of

free coding clubs for young people” (Coder Dojo, 2013).

Over 220 Dojos in 27 countries

Closest ones are in Alpharetta, GA and downtown Atlanta

For kids from 7 to 17

100% Free

Volunteer-based: mentors, faculty, staff, parents, community

stakeholders

How our Dojo will work? (Phase 1) Limited term commitments (1 year each).

First one is scheduled to start on March 2014- March 2015)

First Saturday of every month. For kids from 7-17 Volunteers from COE (faculty, staff, graduated

students), involvement from parents. Reservation system to attend sessions Background checking for volunteers Formative and summative assessment of the

project

Dojo Training Sessions

Coding beyond computer literacy Animations and games

Scratch, RPG Maker, Minecraft Web design

HTML/CSS Computational

thinking

Computational Thinking

12 16 27 31 38 45 60

Does the following contain number 38?

Seven numbers in sorted order Is the number 39 included?

Why a Coder Dojo in Westga? Community outreach and educational

impact Opportunity for faculty research on STEM Faculty service Opportunity to develop internal and

external grants Opportunity for collaboration

with other departments/colleges Good PR for COE

Resources needed

For Phase 1, we have much of the infrastructure (e.g., hardware, software, buildings) and human resources needed to start a Dojo.

Logic Model (handout). Questions? (handout) What we Ask of You (handout) Budget Breakdown (handout) Criminal Background Check (optional handout)

Questions?

Adriana D’ Albaadalba@westga.edu

Kim Huettkhuett@westga.edu

Anja Remshagenanja@westga.edu