Learning through play: Coding Pirates Denmark is for pirates of all ages
The Coding Pirates association was founded in 2014 with a vision to introduce children and young people into programming, technology and creativity. Since then, the association has grown more and stronger, and there are now local branches spread across Denmark. They organise workshops, camps and events where children can explore everything from game development and robotics to 3D printing and electronics.
And Coding Pirates Denmark is more than just an association. It is a community dedicated to spreading IT creativity among children and young people through club evenings, events and activities. Although they do not fly the black flag as real pirates, they have captured the heart of many with their innovative approach to teaching and play. At the heart of the organisation is one in their own words ‘blurred skare’ of IT professionals, teachers, programmers, researchers and entrepreneurs, all of whom have it in common that they see a need for an offer for children and young people that will strengthen their IT skillsand creativity.
Read also the article on the history of the association here on the page.
Why is Coding Pirates unique?
- Learning through play: Coding Pirates understands that children learn best when they have fun. Therefore, they combine learning with play and creative expression. Children are allowed to experiment, fail and create their own projects.
- Inclusion and diversity: Coding Pirates wants to include all children, regardless of their background or prerequisites. They have a particular focus on attracting girls and other minorities who have traditionally been under-represented in the IT world.
- Voluntary artefacts: The association is run by volunteers who burn for sharing their knowledge and passion with the children. These atroles are often themselves students, professional developers or IT enthusiasts.
In most parts of the country, there is a local branch where children, young people and adults can join and participate or help. The Association’s website provides a map and contact information on local fire tar and pirates: Associations and departments of Coding Pirates.
Coding Pirates is often looking for volunteers because demand in the country has been increasing for a long time. In order to take advantage of volunteers, catalogues of guides and guides to volunteer have been developed and the Association offers both membership benefits and social experiences across the board. Each local association constitutes an independent entity, united and assisted by the Association’s National Board of Directors, which carries out its operations.
How does Coding Pirate affect children and young people?
This can be said in many ways – here in short form:
- Creativity: Children learn to think creatively and solve problems using technology.
- Self-confidence: When they see their own projects take shape, their self-confidence grows.
- Community: Coding Pirates creates a safe and supportive community where children can exchange ideas and experiences.
Learning through play – they call it “workshops”
A typical Coding Pirates workshop is full with fun, learning and creative expression. An example of a workshop on “Scratch game development” is given below. The target gup in this case is children aged 8-12; Clearly, coding Pirates has many other offers and ideas:
- Introduction to Scratch: Children learn to use Scratch, a visual programming language that makes it easy to create interactive stories, animations and games.
- Design of characters and backgrounds: Children will be able to design their own figures and backgrounds using simple tools.
- Programming of games: Children learn basic programming concepts such as loops, conditions and variables. They create their own game by encoding character movements, collisions and scoring systems.
- Testing and adjustment: Children test their games and adjust it based on feedback from instructors and other participants.
- Presentation: Finally, they proud their finished games to each other.
The result is clear: Children go from the workshop with a level of understanding of basic programming and a completed Scratch game prototype. They have gained creativity, interpersonal skills and self-confidence, and as a bonus, Coding Pirates often offers a ‘Show and Tell’ session where children can share their projects with parents and friends. The leading experiences take nobody from the children again; but in addition, it may well turn out to be the start of a career as an IT professional.
First ® LEGO ® League in Denmark
In 2023, Coding Pirate became the operator of the FIRST ® LEGO ® League in Denmark, i.e. has become an essential part of the global knowledge and technology tournament for 4-16 year-old children and adolescents, which introduces the children to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering Math). For Coding Pirates, it is an obvious match.
Inthe FIRST ® LEGO ® League, children and young people are inspired to become engineers, researchers and problem-solving of the future. Through societal issues, participants experience science and technology in an engaging and exciting way. The First ® LEGO ® League is a multidisciplinary process based on the concepts of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) and targeted pathways that can be used in early childhood education, schools, leisure clubs and associations.
Only very few materials in the world are as well worked and didactically adapted as those of LEGO Education and the FIRST ® LEGO ® League. This is why they have enthusiastic children and young people, pupils and teachers and volunteers around the world for more than 20 years, and are still doing so. In 2022, more than 300.000 young people in 80 countries participated actively in the challenge of the year and the ambition remains to increase these figures.
In addition to insight into the social theme of the year, the development of a multitude of skills, which are the building blocks for growing up and becoming an entire human being, and the ability to decide/make choices.