CoderDojo is a global volunteer-led community of free programming workshops for young people. The movement began in 2011 as a
grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
organisation with each individual clubs (called a doj
after the Japanese name for a hall or place for immersive learning, experiential learning) acting independently, with one founding principle: ''One Rule, Be Cool''. Supporters of CoderDojo believe it is part of the solution to address the global shortage of programmers by getting young people more involved with
Information and communications technology, ICT learning. The movement has seen significant growth since its founding. The CoderDojo Foundation estimates 1,250 Dojos spread across 69 countries, with a growth rate of several new Dojos every week.
History
Founded in July 2011 by
James Whelton and
Bill Liao, the first Dojo took place in
NSC Cork,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, on 23 July. 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
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, and
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
In 2012
Dojoconbegan as a series of annual gatherings for the global CoderDojo community. In 2012
Coolest Projectsbegan as an annual showcase of ninja projects. In 2013, the Hello World Foundation was established by James Whelton. In 2014, Hello World foundation is rebranded as CoderDojo Foundation, focused on supporting, scaling, and empowering the CoderDojo Community. In 2015, the first of a series o
Megadojoevents was held.
In 2017, Coderdojo merged with
Raspberry Pi foundation, which also runs a parallel program calle
Code Club
Since then, CoderDojo has officially become part of the Code Club Community. However, some Coderdojos are electing to continue operating independently as they always have done.
Press Coverage and Academic Studies
The emergent CoderDojo received positive reviews from newspapers including
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
,
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
,
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
,
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
and
TechCrunch
TechCrunch is an American global online newspaper focusing on topics regarding high tech, high-tech and Startup company, startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare.
I ...
.
In 2023, Dr Abeer Alsheaibi of the School of Computer Science and Statistics published her phd thesi
An Investigation of Teaching Approaches in a Non-formal Setting: An Exploratory Case Study of Irish CoderDojos
CoderDojo Girls
Many CoderDojo volunteers focus on improving the extreme shortage of women in technology
by using specific strategies to engage girls. Some Dojos run special CoderDojo Girls sessions to encourage young women to participate in
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
. There has been some success with attracting girls into Dojos through making female mentors visible to newcomers.
See also
*
Ghana Code Club
References
External links
CoderDojo official website
{{Authority control
Computer programming
Computer clubs
Irish educational websites
Recipients of the European Citizen's Prize