Why coding?

The NSW Government is helping kids get creative with the new Creative Kids initiative. From 1^st January 2019, parents of children aged 4.5 – 18 years old can apply for a voucher with a value of up to $100 per child per calendar year to put towards the cost of their child creative activities – this includes Coding!

At CODE4FUN, we are very excited to be a part of this NSW Government program as a registered Creative Kids provider. It’s a great opportunity to let kids find their passion and learn new skills.

How you can get $100 back on your child’s enrolment with CODE4FUN:

APPLY FOR A CREATIVE KID’S VOUCHER

Please go to Service NSW website and sign in into your account using your credentials:

APPLY NOW

 

ENROL YOUR CHILD WITH CODE4FUN

COURSES CAMPS

When enrolling, you will need to enter your child’s name exactly as it shown on your voucher, your child’s date of birth and 16-digit voucher code.

GET YOUR CREATIVE KID’S $100 REFUND

We will be processing refunds fortnightly. Please keep in mind your refund will be sent to the exact same card that was used to make the enrolment.

If you have already enrolled your child in for any of CODE4FUN courses or camps, you still are able to claim your Creative Kid’s refund from us. In this case, please simply send your Creative Kids 16-digit voucher code, your child’s date of birth and your child’s name exactly as it shown on your voucher via info@code4fun.com.au with subject Creative Kids / your child’s name (Creative Kids / John Smith).

IMPORTANT:

Please note once your Creative Kids voucher was paid by CODE4FUN, under no circumstances you will be eligible to claim any other refunds from CODE4FUN even though you may want to cancel your child’s registration with CODE4FUN.

Last week, Microsoft Reactor – the biggest Microsoft Startup Hub in the Southern Hemisphere – hosted the top 45 students of the CODE4FUN Christmas Coding Challenge. It was an incredible opportunity for our students to meet, learn and be inspired by Annie Parker, who is Microsoft’s Global Head of Startups; Dave Glover, Regional Developer Advocate; Lynn Dang, Head of Talent Acquisition; Dr Neil Roodyn, VR Advocate and Michael Watson, Microsoft Reactor Program manager.

The students learnt about cutting-edge technology such as AI, Machine Learning and Virtual Reality. Dave Glover helped our students to try machine learning for themselves and they taught a computer how to distinguish a banana from other fruits. It was so much fun to see how the machine did exactly what it was programmed to do and pick the banana from a table of many objects.

The students also had the opportunity to experience Microsoft’s ‘Mixed Reality’ headsets. During the experience, they learnt about space and saw the connection between virtual and real reality.

One of the main takeaways from Annie Parker is that it’s never too late to start to learn to code. She was confident that many of the talented CODE4FUN students would one day become Microsoft Developers and use their skills to make positive change.

Thank you very much to all the Microsoft staff for inspiring our students and encouraging them to continue their coding journey. Our students are more excited than ever about the endless possibilities of coding and the opportunities this important skill will create for them in the future.

The 2018 CODE4FUN Christmas Coding Challenge is proudly supported by Officeworks and ASUS.

We will be announcing the details of the next CODE4FUN Coding Challenge in early March 2019. We invite all our students to participate in the next challenge for their chance to win fantastic prizes, visit a leading tech company and of course, learn and have lots of fun along the way!

Check out some of the photos from the day below:

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the 2018 Christmas Coding Challenge.

This year we challenged our students to develop an Interactive Resume with WOW factor! We achieved a record number of entries from 282 students and the calibre of submissions was absolutely outstanding!

Submissions were judged on creativity, originality, design, coding skills, animation skills and overall WOW factor! Digital literacy skills are critical for children growing up in a world being reshaped by technology and the challenge aims to reinforce the skills and concepts they have learnt in class.

In addition to these skills, the challenge also helped students to express creativity and develop their confidence in presenting to their peers, which is a valuable skill in any context; whether it be in school or in their future careers.

By participating in the CODE4FUN challenges students continue to build on a breadth of important skills with the support and guidance of our teachers. The increasing quality of work that is being submitted each challenge is a testament to the effectiveness of the challenges in motivating our students to explore new ideas and push their skills to new limits.

Thanks to our supporters Officeworks and ASUS, every participant will receive a prize and certificate in recognition of their hard work. Prizes include Laptops, Tablets, Virtual Reality Headsets and other cool gadgets. The Top 3 Winners won an incredible ASUS ROG Strix GL502 laptop!

In addition to the fantastic prizes, the Top 45 students will receive an exclusive invitation to visit MICROSOFT REACTOR SYDNEY where they will meet Annie Parker, Microsoft’s Global Head of Startups, and many other inspirational Microsoft staff members.

Special congratulations to the top six students below who received the main awards for the challenge:

FIRST PLACE:

Cooper – First place & ASUS laptop in Unity 3D category, Pro coding class in Mosman

Project link: https://adiggins.itch.io/cooper-heriot-resume

Rafael – First place & ASUS laptop in Java & Processing category, Pro coding class in Bondi Junction

Project link: http://raf-resume.herokuapp.com/

Kai – First place & ASUS laptop in Scratch category, Advanced coding class in Glenhaven

Project link: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/247640805/

SECOND PLACE:

Isabella – Second place & laptop in Scratch category, Robotics class in Mosman

Project link: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/256240815/

Mateo – Second place & laptop in Scratch category, Advanced coding class at Our Lady of Good Counsel

Project link: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/245343358/

Bryce – Second place & laptop in Scratch category, Intermediate coding class in Granville

Project link: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/246445884/

Thank you for supporting this challenge and we look forward to announcing details of the 2019 Coding Challenge in the new year.