Over the years I’ve found ways to turn some of my interests into volunteering opportunities. With the support from my team of volunteers I run the following organizations –
CoderDojo Altona North – CoderDojo is a global movement of free, volunteer-led, community-based programming clubs for young people. Anyone aged seven to seventeen can visit a Dojo 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. Within the CoderDojo Movement there is a focus on peer learning, youth mentoring and self-led learning. We aim to help young people realise that they can build a positive future through coding and community.
At CoderDojo Altona North we work with our parent / child teams on coding (Scratch, BBC micro:bit, Web Development, Python, etc.), robotics (Raspberry Pi, Arduino and BBC micro:bit based robots), electronics (BBC micro:bit, Arduino, Raspberry Pi Zero / Pico / Pi 3, etc.) including amateur radio related challenges. Our approach to STEM education is very different from what one would see in any school. At CoderDojo Altona North our approach involves working with the individual parent / child teams and supporting them on their STEM learning journey. It’s absolutely important to us that every child at CoderDojo Altona North works on a suitable challenge, based on their level of understanding, area of interest. We do our best to keep our kids challenged with the support of our volunteers and parents.
At CoderDojo Altona North we help kids build critical life skills (logical thinking, problem solving, learning from failure, computational thinking, etc.) through coding, robotics, electronics. It just so happens that we do that through coding, electronics and robotics. Check out the work we do at http://altonanorthdojo.com or http://altonanorthdojo.com.au.
Melbourne Raspberry Pi Makers Group – Melbourne Raspberry Pi Makers is a platform that meets once a month with the objective of sharing, collaborating on interesting Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ESP8266 / ESP32, 3D printing, robotics, amateur radio, etc. related projects. From time to time Melbourne Raspberry Pi Makers Group conducts tutorials/workshops to get folks started macking with their Raspberry Pi, Arduinos, ESP32’s, etc. You can read more about the Melbourne Raspberry Pi Makers Group and check out the different initiatives we have in progress at – https://melbourne-rpi.com.au.
Our monthly meetups are open to anyone with an interest in Electronics, Robotics, Home Automation, 3D Printing, Laser Cutting, Amateur Radio, High Altitude Balloons, Space Tech, etc. Makers with interests in open hardware e.g. Arduino, ESP8266, ESP32, Raspberry Pi, Onion, OrangePi, etc. are invited to bring along their projects, project ideas and come make, create with us at the meetup. It’s an opportunity to meet other makers here in Melbourne, get one’s questions answered, show off one’s work you and get support to resolve any nagging issues that might have stalled progress on one’s projects.
Check out the work we do at https://www.meetup.com/Melbourne-Raspberry-Jam/ and RSVP for our next meetup. Also encourage you to drop by and say hi at discord – https://discord.gg/4FkrKJeNt5.
EMDRC HAB Group – EMDRC or the Eastern and Mountain District Radio Club is one of the largest Amateur Radio clubs here in Victoria. Amateur radio is a popular technical hobby and volunteer public service that uses designated radio frequencies for non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communications. Amateur Radio is governed in most countries by the official communications body and governed across borders through an international treaty. As a radio amateur one is able to transmit radio signals on a number of frequency bands allocated specifically to the radio amateurs.
The High Altitude Balloon initiative at EMDRC Amateur Radio Club which focuses on the development, build, launch of High Altitude Balloons. Check out the work we do at http://www.emdrc.com.au/high-altitude-balloon/.
Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to help start a number of other local code clubs, some of them include –
Coderdojo Footscray – CoderDojo Footscray is a joint venture between CoderDojo Altona North and West Footscray Neighborhood house. Along with the support of my team of volunteers at CoderDojo Altona North we have agreed to help out with recruitment and training of the volunteer team. These volunteers will then help run CoderDojo Footscray. CoderDojo Footscray is expected to commence operations in July 2023. See the CoderDojo Footscray website for details.
CoderDojo Melbourne Creators Collective – I helped mentor the leads at CoderDojo Melbourne Creators Collective many many moons ago. This codeclub has evolved heaps since i initially helped get them going. They have reinvented themselves a few times and now run weekly sessions at the Melbourne PC Club Rooms on Warrigal Road, Moorabbin, Melbourne.
Coderdojo Docklands (Now closed) – I helped launch Coderdojo Docklands as a joint venture between CoderDojo Altona North and Docklands Makerspace. Along with the team of volunteers at CoderDojo Altona North we helped recruit and train the volunteers for CoderDojo Docklands. Unfortunately for reasons beyond our control CoderDojo Docklands closed down within the first year of operation.
