Code Club Aus

Three reasons to take part in Moonhack 2021!

Code Club Australia are the masterminds behind Moonhack, the much loved global event that brings children together to code on the theme of ‘planet-saving solutions’! 

We share three reasons why your Code Club should join this year’s Moonhack, which takes place between 24 and 30 May.   

1. Learn alongside young coder Clayton

Australian coder Clayton (aged 8) is excited for people to join him on Moonhack to learn about the Gomeroi people of Australia through the Scratch project ‘Dhinawan in the sky’ and the story of the Dark Emu. 

Clayton (8) shares why he is looking forward to taking part in Moonhack

The story of the Dark Emu has been passed down within Australian Aboriginal communities, who are the world’s oldest astronomers. Tess Reading from Code Club Australia explains more about the importance of the Dhinawan story. 

Scratch project ‘Dhinawan in the sky’

2. A great way to get started with code

Nicola Curnow, Program Manager for Code Club Australia, shares why Code Clubs from across the globe should get involved in Moonhack 2021! 

“Moonhack is a great way to get started on, or continue, your coding journey! It’s fun, free, and easy to code your own planet-saving solutions.”

A young male coder is sat at a desk looking at a laptop. A female educator is standing in the background

3. Fun, educational projects!

The Moonhack projects are educational and encourage young people to think about the world around them. 

The Code Club team in the UK are interested to learn from the ‘Nature returns’ project, which was created in the wake of the severe Australian bushfires of 2020. The project helps coders to understand bush regeneration after a bushfire and learn how Indigenous Australian cultures have used fire to manage land areas for centuries. 

Scratch project ‘Nature returns’

How can my Code Club take part? 

Step one: register your Code Club on Moonhack.com.

Step two: if your club is running online or in person, choose a date between 24 and 30 May to code your Moonhack projects. 

That’s it! Your club is now set to have fun and join thousands of other curious coders from across the world to code planet-saving solutions!  

Celebrate your code

Make sure you share your coding achievements with Code Club Australia on Twitter using the hashtag #Moonhack. 

Our Code Club global tour — find out what we learned!

Over the last year, our global Code Club team has missed being able to make in-person club visits. Seeing our clubs’ creativity, enthusiasm, and love of coding first-hand is a massive inspiration to us.

This year, the team decided to take a tour of the world to visit clubs online, and in some countries in person, to see how everyone is getting on. Here are a few highlights!

First stop…the USA!

Kevin, our Club Program Coordinator for North America, joined educator David Slavin at his online club session at Pajaro Valley Virtual Academy, in California.  

The club members he met were enthusiastic, polite, and keen to share their ideas. They were also excited to learn more about how they could share their coding creations as part of Coolest Projects.

Kevin reflected on his visit:  

“I can’t imagine how difficult it has been for educators and learners to have had to transition to online learning so abruptly, but to see these students bursting with curiosity was inspiring!” 

Let’s head Down Under!

Nicola Curnow, Program Manager for Code Club Australia, has been able to resume in-person club visits and joined Ferntree Gully Club in Melbourne. This club thought about what they have learnt at Code Club and decided to build a school newsletter using their HTML knowledge! 

“When I visited they were working on formatting and editing the newsletter. The teachers and volunteers did an amazing job working together to build the newsletter for their community.”

Approximately 4800 miles away in India…

Vasu, our Club Programme Coordinator in India, had the exciting opportunity to go online to see a hybrid club at Core Programmers Academy in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. In the session, some children took part in the classroom, while others joined online from their homes.

Vasu enjoyed seeing the club in action and the leader had planned the session perfectly to help the young coders interact and learn alongside each other.

Vasu said:  

 “It’s great to see that the Code Club India community is working so hard to continuously stay updated with different models of learning in this ever-changing new world!” 

Vasu joining the Core Programmers Academy from her home

Meanwhile, in the UK

Zoe, Programme Coordinator for Code Club UK & Ireland, popped online to visit Rugby Library in Warwickshire, where their creative coders were enjoying launching into space with Astro Pi Mission Zero and racing to the finish line of Scratch module one with Boat race!

“It was wonderful to see the kids working independently through the projects and feeling confident to ask for help. I had so much fun and loved when Hazq showed me his super cool Boat race project!”  

The Scratch game Boat race

What we learned 

What shone brightly throughout these visits, is how well everyone has adapted during these challenging times. The resilience of the Code Club community has been nothing short of inspirational.

There may be less noise in an online session, but the fun learning environment where coders can continue to explore and be creative, is still very much alive! 

Visit my club

You can get in touch to invite us to visit your online club. We would love to see and celebrate your amazing achievements, so please share them with us on Twitter at Code Club UK or Code Club World using the hashtag #MyCodeClub! 

Community members share advice for running online Code Club sessions!

We understand that going online to run a Code Club session might be making you feel a little nervous. We’re here to support you every step of the way on this new learning journey. Check out our new guidance on online sessions, and read on to hear top tips and words of advice from Code Club educators around the world.

Try it! 

After a summer break, Meriden Code Club are back running online club sessions on Zoom. They shared these words of encouragement: 

“For people worried about starting something online, or doing anything different with their club, a tip would be to just try it; people won’t expect perfection from day one and you’ll learn so much about what works for you and your club.” 

Encourage creativity

Leeds Libraries created a multilevel game at their online Code Club session. We asked what their top three tips would be:

  1. Make content available in a range of formats and on different platforms to allow as much accessibility to participants as possible.
  2. Create projects with flexible goals in mind to allow for different skill sets and interpretations. 
  3. Encourage creativity! If a coder wants to try something different to what you had in mind, let them run with it. You’ll be amazed at what they come up with.
Lee has attended Leeds Libraries online sessions

Slow your sessions down 

Nicola from Code Club Australia has given some advice on how the pace of your Code Club may change:

“Talk and progress through the lesson much slower than you would face to face, and explain every detail (otherwise you’ll have to repeat it, many times).”  

Nicola from Code Club Australia

Adjust your Code Club start time

Adam runs Fleetville Code Club and has been running online Code Club sessions, using Scratch and Minecraft. Adam shared his advice to help your online sessions run more smoothly: 

  1. Assume your first session is going to be all about getting people set up on their computers. The students might use Scratch at school, but getting it running at home at the same time as a Zoom call takes a little getting used to. 
  2. An after-school online club session will need to start a bit later than an in-school club since the children need to get home ( now many schools have staggered leaving times). 
  3. Students are just as thrilled by receiving online certificates as they are by the paper equivalents – use the Code Club ones or prepare some of your own.

If you are running online sessions and want to share your tips with the rest of the community, write to us at support@codeclub.org and we’ll make sure to pass them on.