Coding for Kids
Meet our newest Featured Maker, 14-year-old Aaron from Illinois! He likes to play chess, and when he grows up he’d like to be a programmer. Awesome! Aaron recently spoke with us about his experience coding with Tynker.
What are some of your hobbies?
I like to play chess and program things.
That’s fantastic. Do you have an idea of what you want to be when you grow up?
Probably a programmer.
Very cool. What’s your favorite subject in school?
Probably math because it’s useful for writing programs.
So did you like Tynker’s Coding Cup?
Yeah. I liked the Coding Cup. It was a fun challenge.
What was your favorite thing about the Coding Cup?
My favorite thing about the Coding Cup was that you didn’t necessarily know what the opponent’s strategy was, and you might have to try to figure out a new strategy. For this one, there is only one real goal.
How long did it take for your team to get on the leaderboard?
We started playing in the second round, and I think we got on the top 10 a couple of times, but we didn’t end up on the leaderboard until the third round.
What was your favorite code block that you used in the Coding Cup?
Well, I had a strategy where the players would try to shoot the ball towards the opponent’s goal when everyone was behind them. So I mostly checked the properties of the opponent’s X coordinates and then compared them to our coordinate.
Wow. Very complex. Do you think other kids should compete in the Coding Cup?
Yeah, I think it’s a good introduction to learning how to program AI because it’s all pretty simple.
How did you get introduced to Tynker?
When my brother got it for a present. And then I watched him doing the courses and things like that. I don’t think I did much coding before that, if at all.
So Tynker really got you on your coding journey?
Mmhmm.
How did you learn to use Tynker?
I learned how to use Tynker with the Goblin Quest course. I also liked the tutorials because then you could easily make something where you could fight monsters and things like that.
Have your coding skills improved since you started using Tynker?
My coding skills have improved a lot, and I started making games with professional libraries and text coding.
How did you feel when you found out that you were a featured Coding Cup competitor?
Happy.
That’s great. What’s your favorite project you’ve made so far?
I made a game where you have a spaceship, and you’re floating around in an endless world. And one thing I like about it is that it’s first person, and your character always stays in the middle of the board. And when you move, it doesn’t actually move your character, it moves everything else towards your character.
Very cool. So you programmed that all yourself?
Yeah. I programmed that myself.
That’s great. How do you get inspiration for your projects?
I just look at other games sometimes to get inspiration.
Why do you like to code?
I guess because I like making games and stuff.
What’s your favorite way to use code?
I like to make games and sometimes make presents for other people. I like using functions and things like that and lists and more advanced blocks.
What do you do with the project when you’re done with it?
Well, after I debug it, I don’t usually do much with that afterwards.
You don’t publish it to Tynker’s community?
Not usually. Unless it’s something I really liked.
What’s the best thing about Tynker?
I think it’s a good introduction to learning how to code and start learning how to program.
Do you think learning to code has prepared you for the future?
Probably because I want to be a computer programmer when I grow up, so I need to learn how to code.
Do you think other kids should try coding?
Yeah. They should try it because they might like it and eventually use that skill.
Absolutely. What advice would you give to kids starting out with Tynker?
Just to try some of the courses and stuff, learn how the tutorials are and the things that show up on the dashboard.
Awesome job, Aaron. Thank you!
Parent Questions
Aaron’s father, Nathan, spoke with us about his sons coding with Tynker:
They’re learning a lot, and surprising me how well they can program and how creative they are in their ideas. I think they’ve done a great job and have been progressing from little kids all the way up to big teenagers now.
What benefits do you think coding has for them?
Well, I think they’ve learned a lot of logic and understand how things work and can think through problems, even if they’re not in the computer but just think logically. And they use programming a lot too to solve problems or to do math or different things they want to do, play games. So they use it a lot in their free time and for fun.
Do you feel that they’re better prepared for the future?
Yeah. I think so. I think they’ve learned skills that they can use professionally if they want to, or they could just have the ability to make programs for their own and just use it to help them do something more quickly than they could otherwise.
I think programming has a lot of uses in many different ways. And it’s an important part of our modern society to be able to understand computers and programming. I think they’re really well-equipped for the future.
Absolutely. How do you support their coding endeavors?
We give them time to use Tynker and to have fun and also learn things at the same time. So we encourage them to do that. And we have set times where they can use Tynker and either do some courses or just have fun and make something. So we like to encourage them to do Tynker whenever they have the opportunity.
That’s fantastic. What do you think of Tynker?
I think Tynker is great. I’ve been very impressed with how fun it is and how the kids can make some really impressive programs and games pretty easily. And it’s got a lot of good media assets built in, and you can make some pretty nice-looking animations and graphics with very little knowledge of graphic arts and those things.
So I think that it’s a really good tool to be able to not just learn the basic principles of programming but be able to actually make something that is really cool looking. So that’s I think one of the best benefits of Tynker, that it’s very professional and very well designed to make good-looking programs. And I think they’ve learned a lot with block coding.
Thank you. Those are all the questions I have for you. You guys did a great job as a family. It was so great meeting you all.
Nice to meet you too.
We want to thank Aaron and his father for taking the time to speak with us about coding with Tynker. We can’t wait to see what he creates next – HAPPY CODING!
