Teacher/Mentor Workshop

Workshop date and location
Dublin CoderDojos ran a teacher/mentor workshop to strengthen CoderDojo on Sunday 19th August in the Science Gallery. The rest of the text on this page was written before it happened, and I am not going to go through changing that.

The format is unlike what you are probably used to, and should be fun.

It's for sharing knowledge about how best to dojo, and planning around how to make the dojos better. We'll be assisted by a professional graphic recorder/facilitator


 * The workshop will run from 2:30pm to 5.00pm.
 * We also have a mini-CoderDojo just before it, from 12:00 to 2.00 so teachers and mentors can, if they want to, arrive at the workshop early and see the Science Gallery CoderDojo in action.

We're bringing people from around Ireland together, aiming to build up networking between the dojos, and share experience and ideas.

The Workshop
The format is the opposite of a lecture.

We'll be using two studios in the Science Gallery with the partition between the two moved aside to make more room.

Form to request a workshop place
(quota system is being used)


 * http://goo.gl/oDIRM

The dojo-in-action
The details of how we will run the demo dojo may change, but this is the current plan:


 * Kids will be at all levels, beginners and experienced.
 * For dojo visitors who want to join in mentoring there will be mentor 'huddles' where mentors very quickly communicate key information. If you know Scratch, you'll be able to join in.
 * There will be space for dojo visitors to sit and watch or wander around seeing what is going on.
 * TBC: This is not for certain yet. There will be 'Scratch-space' for dojo-visitors who just want more Scratch know how, learned in the dojo environment.

With all that going on it's going to be chaos and order at the same time.

For booking dojo-in-action visit only...
The 'see the dojo in action' has a max of about 80 people, and so we don't need to manage quotas for that.

To book for that alone, fill in the workshop place request form, and make a note that you're not expecting a space for the workshop (use the anything else box at the end). Filling in the form helps us anticipate numbers, send update e-mails to you. Also because the workshop itself is free there could easily be a few no shows for the workshop on the day. If there are, the spare places will go to people who are there on the day and on the sign up list.

Laptops
The workshop is for brainstorming and discussing and so doesn't need laptops. Observing the mini dojo and helping at the mini dojo don't need laptops either. For being in the 'Scratch space' at the mini dojo, you should have BYOB (which is based on Scratch) installed. We use it is so that kids can make their own blocks, and so get the idea of functions.

Updates
14 July 2012: We've now expanded the workshop to the maximum size we can, and so still have some spaces for CoderDojo mentors from outside Dublin. If that quota is not filled by early August, we'll reallocate it to teachers and to mentors in Dublin who've booked on the form.

31 July 2012: Workshop full (and some). The Scratch-Space for visitors part of the dojo is looking likely to happen. Theme for the dojo is likely to be 'waves'.

11 Aug 2012: Added section on Laptops.

20 Aug 2012: Workshop completed. Writeup and charts here