Tips for starting your own tech (coding or robotics) camps.

1. Tech Camps
at the Library
Nicole C. Engard

2. Why Kids Should Code
• Give kids a head start in coding because:
• Proficiency and fluency learned early on can
help with problem solving and independent
thinking
• It’s the foundation and building block for all STEM
• Early success is needed for strong algebra skills
and higher level math & science classes

3. STEM Job Pay
http://college.usatoday.com/2015/02/02/the-5-highest-paying-degrees-of-2015/

4. Careers in Software Dev
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/software-developers.htm

5. STEM Job Increases
http://www.ed.gov/stem

6. We Need More Experts
• Demand is there, but supply is not
• There were only 48,700 undergraduate computer
science graduates from accredited US
universities in 2014.
• In 2015, the coding bootcamp market was
estimated to grow by 2.4x, to an estimated
16,056 graduates in 2015, up from 6,740 in 2014.

7. What Can We Do?
• Libraries are known for their programming to help
educate their communities
• Coding camps for kids (like Bootcamps for adults)
can get more people interested in software
development
• For little or no cost you can host these camps to
teach software development and/or robotics

8. Not A Programmer?
Stencyl and Scratch make it easy

9. Coding Tools
• Scratch (scratch.mit.edu)
• Tynker (www.tynker.com)
• Stencyl (www.stencyl.com)
• Greenfoot (www.greenfoot.org)
• Blocky Games (blockly-games.appspot.com/)

10. Let’s Play!!!

11. Circuit Tools
• LittleBits (littlebits.cc)
• LilyPad Arduino (lilypadarduino.org)
• Snap Circuits (www.snapcircuits.net)
• Circuits Scribe (www.electroninks.com)

12. Robotics Tools
• Finch (www.finchrobot.com)
• Hummingbird robotics kit (hummingbirdkit.com)
• Raspberry Pi (bit.ly/1UgmoTl)
• Arduino (bit.ly/22l22gO)
• VEX (www.vexrobotics.com)
• Lego Mindstorms (mindstorms.lego.com)

13. For Toddlers
• Code-a-pillar www.fisher-price.com/codeapillar/
• Cubetto www.primotoys.com

14. Potential Projects
• Create a website
• Create a story in Scratch
• Create a light up monster with the Lilypad
• Build your own Lego robot
• What are you ideas?

15. Possible Languages
• HTML/CSS
• Javascript
• Python
• Ruby
• MySQL

16. Costs
• Computers or tablets for each student (already in
the library or BYOD)
• Open source software for programming ($0)
• A trainer ($0-$100/hr)
• Hardware ($16/e LilyPad Arduino, $200/e LittleBits
Kit, $36/e Raspberry Pi, $99/e The Finch)
• Misc tools and supplies ($200-$1000)

17. Volunteers / Donations
• Find volunteers using Idealist, VolunteerMatch,
AllForGood or other such sites
• Request donations on sites like GoFundMe or
YouCaring
• Create an Amazon wish list for your organization
(for example: http://amzn.com/w/NF8ABQSCGRDI)
• Of course you can just ask!

18. Structure
• One Off: Have a project for everyone in attendance
• Hackathon: Have an 8 -12 hour event
• Over time: Have a project a day (every few days)
or have a goal that has to be completed in a period
of time. This might be a robotics or coding club.
• Look in to starting a Dojo : coderdojo.com

19. Promotion
• Many conferences offer free tables to non profits
• Meetup.com
• Social media
• Local universities and colleges
• Partnerships
• Swag

20. Partnerships
• Talk to :
• coding/tech/stem groups/meetups
• area tech companies
• coding bootcamps
• maker/tech shops
• schools with stem programs

21. Final Tips
• Write a code of conduct
• Have parent’s permission (note any security risks)
• Take into account level of experience of attendees
• Offer different levels of events if necessary
• Create tutorials (Guide on the Side)
• Create evaluations (LimeSurvey)

22. Additional Resources
• Free coding courses for kids : http://bit.ly/22mSqPk
• Choosing a summer coding camp : http://bit.ly/1PcklrF
• 45 places to learn to code for free : http://bit.ly/1Vd58xQ
• 12 sites to learn to code for free : http://entm.ag/1ROFyK7
• Cool products for teaching kids to code : http://huff.to/
1pM1bV9
• Teach your kids to code : http://edut.to/1R3E9je

23. Nicole C. Engard
nengard@gmail.com
http://web2learning.net
http://austin.chicktech.org