There are two free coding programs currently being offered to the youth in the Southwest Minnesota area.
CoderDojo SWMN is sponsored by Minnesota West Community & Technical College. Each month, students ages 7-17, meet at the computer lab, room 606, in Minnesota West Community & Technical College in Worthington. CoderDojo is a global network of free, volunteer-led, community-based programming club youth, ages seven to seventeen, where they can learn to code, build a website, create an app or a game, and explore technology in an informal, creative, and social environment. We serve pizza from 5:45 PM and code from 6:00 – 7:30 PM. Parents of kids under 12 are required to stay with them. We are also looking for additional mentors to join us in helping the kids learn coding. A background check is required. If you are interested in volunteering or have a child interested in CoderDojo, contact Dan Harrington at 507-360-7472 or email him at CoderDojoSWMN@gmail.com. The website is located at CoderDojoSWMN.org. Our next meeting date is January 22, 2018. We are not holding a meeting in December.
The program Girls Who Code is also sponsored by Minnesota West Community & Technical College. Girls Who Code’s primary mission is to close the gender gap in technology. Girls Who Code was created five years ago with the belief that computing skills are a critical path to security and prosperity in today’s job market. According to the Girls Who Code website, fewer than 1 in 5 computer science graduates are women. In 1995, 37% of computer scientists were women. Today, it’s only 24%. If nothing is done in ten years, the number of women in computing will decrease to just 22%. Girls Who Code is working to increase those numbers. The program will reach 40,000 girls in all 50 U.S. states by the end of this year. You can learn more by checking out GirlsWhoCode.com. The program is open to girls in grades 5 through 12 free. We meet weekly every Thursday at the computer lab in room 606 at Minnesota West Community and Technical College from 6:00 PM to 7:15 PM in Worthington. If interested, contact Dan Harrington at 507-360-7472 or email him at CoderDojoSWMN@gmail.com.
