Once again DojoCon 2015 delivered a host of new ideas and technologies for Champions/Mentors to take back to their groups, here are some of the highlights of this years conference
BBC Micro:Bit – Howard Baker
For all you that might remember the BBC Micro – the first computer made for the public domain, well the BBC as part of its Make it Digital Campaign are once again bring that first IoT experience to the market promising a cheap and flexible communication device to every school in the UK in 2016.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4hVG2Br1W1LKCmw8nSm9WnQ/introducing-the-bbc-micro-bit
Apple’s has recently launched their new Swift 2 modern programming language – ideal for rapid App development, here being demonstrated by some Ninja’s to an audience of mentors!
https://developer.apple.com/swift/
Bits and Bots – making education fun!
What you might see coming soon are these kind of kits appearing in Dojo’s and Schools designed to introduce hands on technologies
http://www.tts-group.co.uk/shops/tts/Products/PD4281749/
Minecraft EDU – coming to a school near you? Well its being trialled in 25 Schools in Northern Ireland so watch this space – we met the CEO of Mojang Vu Bai, and the producers of the popular YouTube channel WonderQuest – where Stampy the Cat makes a Cartoon appearance!
http://services.minecraftedu.com/worlds/browse?&&&sort_by=created&sort_order=DESC&page=1
https://www.youtube.com/user/Wonderquest
And a very interesting sessions on how to effectively work together in teams – with help from the guys at Trinity College’s programme- Bridge21 – www.bridge21.ie
There was of course some very practical and informative sessions on
Zen – http://zen.coderdojo.com/
Belts – http://www.coderdojomidwest.com/belts/
Sushi cards – http://kata.coderdojo.com/wiki/Sushi