CoderDojoDC has a new Google Group (sorry!)

[Jason Blum]

Hello,

I must apologize I did not realize you all had already set up this User Goup and that you all had already been working towards bringing CoderDojo to D.C. and in the meantime, I went ahead and set up spaces on FaceBook, GitHub, grabbed the domain and set up the similarly named Google Group at: http://groups.google.com/group/coderdojodc.  Just waiting to hear back from CoderDojo that everything's official from their pov.

Rather than risk annoying anyone further, I won't direct add folks to the new group and just encourage you to join, if you have time / interest in working on this.

But a quick summary of where things stand now: I've spoken with Kevin and Brian at http://dc.ubuntu-us.org/, several area parent listservs, several area schools, HacDC, a couple Civic Hacktivist groups and the interest has been a little overwhelming.  At least ten parents have expressed interest in volunteering and several dozen more want their kids to sign up.  So, four core parents and I, all in the Wheaton/Kensington/Silver Spring/Bethesda area are beginning to look for space, and I have to read through your threads here to see what's already been offered, and whether it's still available.

Another challenge is keeping folks focused on maybe just tackling Scratch and HTML for now, and postponing ideas like JavaScript, Python, salvaging and donating old machines with Ubuntu, programming Makey-Makeys or making marshmallow shooters until things really get rolling.

As for location, we know it's "DC", and maybe it'd make sense to eventually splinter off into CoderDojo's for MD versus VA, etc.   But for now, most of us are near the DC/MD border and are sort of inclined to do this close to home - we do want to make sure we find something at a metro stop however.

And as for scheduling, we're thinking every over Saturday morning - but, in keeping with CoderDojo's core value, we're cool with wherever participants and volunteers want to go with all of this.  We just want to see it happen!

Anyway apologies again for starting up another group without checking first, but hope you'll join us!

Thanks

-Jason Blum

BTW any chance anyone is heading up to http://coderdojonyc.com/ for their December 1 kickoff meeting?