Brock Dubbels is leading the charge on Hamilton’s first ever CoderDojo! What’s a CoderDojo all about? Check out the interview below for all the details:

Tell me about yourself.

My background and training is in human learning. I was a public school teacher, and teacher educator at the University of Minnesota. I spent 14 years at the Center for Cognitive Sciences at the University of Minnesota. I studied human behavior at the HumanFIRST (http://www.humanfirst.umn.edu/) Laboratory, and then at the Minnesota Laboratory for Low Vision Research (http://gellab.psych.umn.edu/), and later building games for United Health Group, Benedictine Health Group, Minneapolis Public Schools, the University of Minnesota, and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

My first exposure to software testing and development was as an intern at Xerox PARC and Oracle. I found that I really liked studying human interactions with computers, and the power that software can have in human learning and development.

What do you do at McMaster University? What is G-ScalE about?

I am a post-doctoral researcher at the GScale Games Development and Testing Laboratory.

Our project examines issues in scaling games across different devices.

Of particular interest to me are games to help improve quality of life in health, happiness, and family.

Are there any plans to connect the G-ScalE facilities to local industry somehow?

We are very interested in connecting to local industry. We have amazing facilities at GScale, and local businesses can actually get support through the NSERC Engage program, as well as MITACS. This allows them to have one of our researchers work on problems they might have in their software development, from market research, programming, to user experience, and scaling up. Local companies need to provide an in-kind contribution — such as interaction, information related to their problem, or the software itself. The company keeps all intellectual property, our researchers gain valuable experience, and the local economy benefits with another success story.

What is the HammerTown CoderDojo?

CoderDojo is a movement orientated around running free not-for-profit coding clubs and regular sessions for young people.

Local leaders like Fluidmedia, Hamilton-Wentworth Schools, Innovation Factory, Mohawk College, and McMaster University CAS have supported the initiative. We are looking forward to our first program Dec 7th. This first session filled in 5 days. We know there is a desire to learn programming and to make games. we are going to need to expand, so that we can open up more seats for the children who want to learn. So we need volunteers and mentors to come and work with children. Volunteers and mentors do not need to be programmers. They need to have an interest in helping kids, and be good at high fives.

At a CoderDojo, young people learn how to code, develop websites, apps, programs, games and more. Dojos are set up, run by and taught by volunteers. Dojos organize tours of technology companies, bring in guest speakers to talk about their career and what they do, and organize events. In addition to learning to code, members meet like minded people, show off what they’ve been working on and so on. CoderDojo makes development and learning to code a fun, sociable, fun experience. CoderDojo also puts a strong emphasis on open source and free software, and has a strong network of members and volunteers globally.

CoderDojo has just one rule: “Above All: Be Cool“, bullying, lying, wasting people’s time and so on is uncool.

How did you get the idea to start a CoderDojo in Hamilton?

I started taking my 7 year old daughter and 8 year old son in Minneapolis, then in Toronto. We really enjoyed it, so I put it in my mind that we would start on here to benefit the kids in Hamilton.

When will the first event take place?

Dec. 7th at Mohawk College

What can parents, children and other participants expect at this event?

That we are going to gather and participate in a fun activity related to game programming.

What are your goals for the future of the HammerTown CoderDojo?

to serve many children in Hamilton. To provide a safe space where kids can explore, create, and build skills, knowledge, and experience.

How can we best encourage more local youths to pursue careers in software development and technology?

By making the learning fun. By emphasizing playful learning, and reducing the emphasis on consequences.

What do you think of online learning platforms like Codecademy and Khan Academy?

I think they are great resources. I am glad they are available.

How can the local community help you make HammerTown CoderDojo a success?

Smiles, laughter, kids making cool games, bringing families together, and lots of high fives.

Please join us at:

our website http://hammertowncoderdojo.org/

on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HammertownCoderDojo#

on twitter https://twitter.com/HammertownCDojo