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Activities

Linkki organizes programming clubs and camps for about 8 to 16 year-old children and young people. Additionally, Linkki takes part in arranging programming competitions and receives school classes for science classroom visits.

Clubs

Registration

  • The news section will be updated when the registration to the next period of clubs begins.
  • If you would like to get email in advance, please send a message to linkki-kerhot@cs.helsinki.fi. Those whose child is already attending clubs will receive the messages automatically.

About the language in the clubs

  • The programming clubs are in Finnish. The participant should have sufficient language skills in Finnish to be able to follow the given instructions. Sometimes there have been bilingual children in Linkki clubs. The instructors are usually able to answer single questions in English. English skills are also helpful with some programming applications used in part of the advanced-level clubs.
  • For already formed groups, Linkki might be able to organize instruction in English. If you are interested, please contact Linkki.
  • Linkki welcomes wishes and questions regarding the clubs to linkki-kerhot@cs.helsinki.fi.

Choosing a suitable club

  • Please read the short descriptions of the clubs first. The descriptions contain information about the target groups and themes of the clubs.
  • The collected answers to the most common questions are found in the section Information for parents.
  • The coordinators of Linkki are pleased to help you with choosing a club. To reach them best, please send a message to linkki-kerhot@cs.helsinki.fi. Especially if the age of your child is not yet above the age limit of the club, please contact Linkki.
  • Also in case of your child has some special needs which would be good to know, please contact the Linkki coordinators at linkki-kerhot@cs.helsinki.fi. The Linkki coordinators and instructors will handle all issues confidentially and ensure the needs are taken into consideration.

Suggested ages of participants

The recommendations for participants' ages are given in the school grades of the Finnish educational system. Finns generally go to school the year they turn 7, so grades 2-4 encompass children around 8-10 years of age, grades 4-6 children 10-12 years of age and grades 7-9 children 13-15 years of age.

Club descriptions

Children's programming club for beginners

For whom?

  • For children interested in programming in grades 2-4
  • Those who are either at the beginning of their programming hobby or want to still gather more knowledge before changeing to advanced club
  • This club does not require any skills in programming
  • Literacy is required as well as basic mouse and keyboard skills

What?

  • Game programming with Scratch.
  • Activities such as games and plays to learn the basic principles of programming.
  • The class is mostly instructor-driven; participants work through projects as shown by the instructors

Children's advanced programming club

For whom?

  • For children interested in programming in grades 2-6
  • Those who have some experience in Scratch or other visual programming from Linkki clubs or from somewhere else
  • Participants should be able to program Keräilypeli (Collecting game) independently from the instructions

What?

  • Advanced game programming with Scratch
  • Trying out some text programming with eg. Logo or Python
  • Participants in the club can practice programming skills with game projects from the instructor or brainstorm their own project ideas and get help from the instructors to implement their own ideas.
  • We will do our best to accommodate students who wish to advance at their own pace, but this requires firm motivation and some more advanced programming skills from the participant; the de facto method of teaching in this club is instructor-driven

Python programming club for beginners

For whom?

  • For children/young people in grades 6 to 9
  • If your child is younger than 11 years old and would like to join this club, please contact us (linkki-kerhot@cs.helsinki.fi)
  • Suitable both for absolute programming beginners and those who would like to move on from visual programming languages such as Scratch

What?

  • Text-based programming with Python
  • The class is mostly instructor-driven; participants work through tasks set by the instructors.
  • Trying out programming visual games with Pyglet library for Python.

Text programming club

For whom?

  • For children/young people in grades 6 and beyond, who

    • have participated in programming clubs or have gained programming experience from somewhere else

    • are motivated beginners who are fine with working independently, want more personalized help and for any reason cannot participate in other beginner clubs

  • If your child is younger than 12 years old and would like to join this club, please contact us (linkki-kerhot@cs.helsinki.fi)

  • Suitable both for those who would like to move on from visual programming languages such as Scratch, or have some text-based programming experience

What?

  • Text-based programming with eg. Python or Java
  • The class is mostly participant driven: instructors help participants to find suitable exercises and programming tasks or help them with their personal projects.

Competitions

Linkki organizes the Datatähti competition in co-operation with MAOL ry and Aalto University. Further, Linkki coaches participants for the International Olympiad in Informatics and Baltic Olympiad in Informatics.

The competitions are targeted to secondary and high school aged. More information about the competitions is provided on the websites of the competitions and on Linkki’s page in Finnish.

Information for parents

Linkki has collected answers to frequently asked questions about the programming hobby and clubs.