[community] Inviting kids to join a two-day coding & co-creating workshop

[Sepideh Shahi]

Dear inclusive design community!

We are looking for 6 kids in grade 1-3 who may have special learning needs to join a two-day coding workshop at OCAD University. Our team is currently working on a project called Weavly<https://weavly.org/>, which is an open source and accessible coding environment for kids. Children’s participation in these workshops gives them an opportunity to learn about a new software and practice their coding skills as well as a chance to participate in collaborative and creative activities to make Weavly more participatory, inclusive, and accessible to all.

Workshop Details

  *   Date/Time: Monday, August 14th and Tuesday, August 15th, 2023 from 9:30 am - 12:00 pm
  *   Location: Red Lab, 49 McCaul Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1V7
  *   Food: Snacks will be provided during the break time on both days.
  *   Compensation: These workshops are free and each child will also receive a $50 honorarium for their participation in these workshops.
  *   Activities: During the first day, we will talk about coding and introduce kids to Weavly. Kids will have a chance to play with Weavly on the computers we will provide and complete a few simple coding activities. On the second day, the kids will complete more advanced coding activities with Weavly and will participate in several brainstorming activities to express their ideas about Weavly and the features they want to add to this coding environment. Over this two-day workshop, kids will have the opportunity to interact and engage in group and individual activities, suitable to their learning. Parents are welcome to stay with their kids and participate in the activities.

For the interested participants, we request parents and guardians to sign three forms prior to the first session. These forms include:


  *   Contributor license agreement: This form explains that any creative outcome from these sessions will be licensed under Creative Commons.
  *   Consent form: In this form, we describe how the rights and privacy of your child will be protected during these two sessions.
  *   Media release form: In this form, we describe any intended use of images, video, or recording of a person.

We only have 6 spots available for these workshops and we would like to work with kids who can commit to joining both days. Please let us know if you are interested in being a part of this collaborative event. Thank you!


SEPIDEH SHAHI

SENIOR INCLUSIVE DESIGNER
INCLUSIVE DESIGN RESEARCH CENTRE
OCAD UNIVERSITY

sshahi at ocadu.ca<mailto:sshahi at ocadu.ca>
www.ocadu.ca<http://www.ocadu.ca>
www.idrc.ocad.ca<http://www.idrc.ocad.ca>