CoderDojo Athy is back, starting Saturday 25th.
Starting this term we are adding an afternoon session for those who aren’t able to attend in the morning. With two sessions we are also going to try working on different things in each session. We can always use more mentors; if you’re able to help we’d appreciate it.
If you’re interested in computers, and have something other than Scratch or AppInventor you want to work on, you’re more than welcome to come along to any session. We certainly have space if you and some friends want to work together as a group on something, and we’ll try to help in any way we can.
Morning session (10:00-12:00)
In the mornings we’re going to work on AppInventor. This is a system for designing apps for Android smartphones and Android tables (not iPhones or iPads, sorry!). It’s more complicated than Scratch, so we’d suggest you should already be comfortable with Scratch (or, if you’ve never attended CoderDojo before, any other experience programming would be good).
If at all possible, you should bring an Android smartphone or tablet with you. You’ll need to install the App Inventor Companion app on it, which only takes a minute. If you can’t get your hands on a real Android device, you can use the software emulator. This simulates a complete smartphone running Android in a window on the PC. It does the job, but it is sluggish and nowhere near as much fun as the real thing.
Afternoon session (14:15-16:00)
This session is for beginners who would like to learn Scratch. It is aimed at kids who are 8-14 years old. Scratch is a good way to expose kids to the basics of software programming. Parents must attend for kids under 12 years. Parents are also encouraged to get involved with the kids and continue the education at home. A laptop is preferrable to which the Kids have access. We can provide the software. Kids whom have just a basic knowledge of Scratch are also welcome and wish to continue to learn more.