How to Find Free Programming Lessons for Kids in Your City
When I was a kid, I couldn’t imagine learning how to program, create websites, or create apps or games. (Okay, I still can’t imagine doing this, but I can’t even get my son’s Kindle Fire to work properly, so I’m a little confused when it comes to technology.) Our digital native kids, however, eat this stuff up.
If you are anything like me, you might want to encourage them to learn more about coding, but you feel that you are practically unable to help them figure it out. Enter, the CoderDojo Foundation , which can connect you with people who can help them. Is free.
The CoderDojo movement believes that understanding programming languages is becoming more important in today’s world, that it is better and easier to acquire these skills early, and that no one should be denied the opportunity to do so.
To this end, we have created a global network of free, volunteer-led programming clubs for young people. Anyone between the ages of seven and seventeen can visit a dojo where they can learn to code, create a website, create an application or game, and learn technology in an informal, creative and social environment.
A quick search found three options for classes in my area that meet once or twice a month for an hour to two and a half hours.
Each dojo is run by a community volunteer and the courses are not curriculum based, so each class will be slightly different. For the most part, however, the website says that kids will start with Scratch, a visual programming tool, or building their own website.
Each dojo has its own website with additional class information or contact information for follow-up questions. Most classes require students to bring their own laptops, but some may have additional devices if your child does not.
If you like the idea but don’t see any options in your area (and you’re even a little more tech-savvy than you really are), the CoderDojo website also has information and online tutorials on how to start your own course . They have over 2000 courses in over 100 countries, so you will be in good company.