Young coders assemble

By Matt Romania

The world of technology is vast, fast-paced, and ever-evolving.

To help the next generation navigate and potentially contribute to this dynamic field, CoderDojo @ Ballan Library is equipping young minds with the skills and tools they need. This initiative is a free computer programming club, where children aged 7 to 18 can immerse themselves in coding, problem solving and creativity.

Ashley Nicholls, who leads the program at Ballan, shares an infectious enthusiasm for the impact CoderDojo is making.

“It’s great when they finish a project they are working on and then want to show it off,” Mr Nicholls said.

He highlights the unique problem-solving skills learned in coding.

“It is also exciting when they come up to a problem and work out how to solve it, as coding is something different to what we teach everywhere else. You will hit errors and the code might not work how you expected and so you need to problem solve and learn from your mistakes.”

The CoderDojo experience is not your typical classroom environment.

“The Ballan CoderDojo is not like a school setup. Everyone attending goes at their own pace and it might be that they are all doing different types of coding,” he said.

Adults also become part of this journey, especially if their child is under 12.

“The adults learn the basic Scratch program as well.”

Mr Nicholls said coding is actually a versatile skill that can be applied almost anywhere.

“Coding is something you can use at nearly any place of work and even if they just learn the basics, it might be that they can be more efficient at their future job,” he said.

Having a background in various computer related roles, Mr Nicholls found coding skills particularly useful.

“Knowing how to do Excel formulas can speed up my workflow,” he reflected.

With the rapid pace of computers and technology, Mr Nicholls believes the importance of basic coding skills for adapting to the evolving technological landscape is vital.

“New jobs are always going to be created with this new technology, so starting young with basic coding skills can even just provide a good foundation for adapting to the pace of technology.”