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FALL 2021 CoderDojo Application

FALL REGISTRATIONS: https://bit.ly/hccd21

Building a New Generation of Native Programmers

CoderDojo is a global collaboration providing free and open learning to young people, especially in programming technology. Learn more about the international movement by visiting the website at  https://coderdojo.com/

CoderDojo Hartnell College (CDHC) is an Educational Program brought by  Hartnell College. CDHC is a fun and FREE computer-coding club where young people can learn how to develop websites, web apps, games and more. Our program consists of a 6 session module, at the end of the module students attending 5 or more sessions will obtain a certificate of completion and will be able to take all their work home with them. Our Dojo is a place where coders can show each other what they’re working on, share what they’ve learned, and meet like-minded people.

Our Dojo is geared towards youth between the ages of 8 and 17 years old.  It is necessary that each student know how to read and type on a keyboard independently.

Hartnell CoderDojo Class

Program Levels

Introduction to Coding

This program is currently only offered to students of the Alisal Union School District and Salinas City Elementary District students. 

Hartnell College’s Introduction to Coder Dojo is a fun program that will allow students to gain interest in computer coding and lose the fear towards technology. It helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for life in the 21st century. We hope this program inspires students to increase their interest in coding by participating in more than one session and eventually sign up for our more focused Coder Dojo program on campus. Our programs have allowed students to understand the basic concepts of computer programing and open their minds in to Computer Science. Our Intro to Coding program combines computer time with hands-on activities that are fun and entertaining and will allow students to absorb concepts that otherwise they would consider too hard or advanced for them.


Beginner: Programming Fundamentals

Requirements to Participate:

  • Be at least 8 years old
  • Able to read and write without assistance
  • Know the basics of using a computer
  • Have a strong interest in or curiosity about technology

What they will learn:

At this stage, we teach students the fundamentals of programming. How to use 

  • variables 
  • loops
  • functions 
  • conditional statements
  • data types
  • operators
  • debugging
  • troubleshooting
  • logic of programming
  • to create simple animations and games.

Students are typically externally motivated at this stage and require a large amount of help from staff. Scope of platforms is typically well constrained to platforms. Most coding here is done in Scratch (as well as an introduction to other languages such as Javascript, HTML, and CSS) 

Intermediate Integrated Projects, Advanced Concepts

Minimum expectations to be at the Intermediate level:

  • Continued excitement and interest in technology
  • Able to create a simple game or animation using scratch with:
    • no instructor assistance
    • use more than one sprite
    • be interactive
  • Can explain the following terms and how they relate to programming
    • Loops
    • IF Statements
    • IF-Else Statements
    • Events
  • Can use a computer without any assistance from instructor

What they will learn:

Students at this phase learn more advanced concepts in order to build more sophisticated games, apps, and simulations. They learn about version control, code structure. They learn about multiple number systems (binary, hex), and advanced math concepts such as algebra. They learn computer science concepts such data structures, algorithms, big O notation. At this phase, we encourage students to start using industry standard such as Unity, Git, HTML, Python, C++, CSS or other tools as necessary.

Students who understand programming fundamentals can proceed to learn basics of software engineering. Projects are typically class projects with guidance from instructors. Students learn how to solve software engineering problems through process of elimination and first principles. We prefer scripting languages such as python which expose students to a wider array of components, concepts and challenges. 

Black Belts: Advanced Learning and Group Projects

This  level is only offered at the Alisal Campus

Minimum expectations to be at the black belt level:

  • Continued excitement and interest in technology
  • Student works on projects or tutorials outside of coderdojo
  • Can build an app, game, website with minimum instructor guidance
  • Can debug and troubleshoot code
  • Has a basic of understanding of one or more programming languages (i.e. syntax, common usage, common errors )

What they will do:

Students define and create independent and original projects. They are able to complete projects themselves, with minimal instructor guidance. When, they can solve engineering problems from first principles, process of elimination and internet research. They can aid other students to solve individual problems. At the end of this stage, students are prepared for more advanced and intensive opportunities such as paid work, competitions or research projects.

 

 


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Contact

Still have questions? Please call or email Samuel Valdez at (831) 682-4296 or sgarciavaldez@hartnell.edu .