Meet Ethan, the Creator of “Avoider”

Ethan is a 10-year-old from Western Australia. After being introduced to Tynker at school, he continued coding on his own on the Tynker app and has made some really cool games and projects. We interviewed to learn more about what motivates him to code and what he’s working on.

What are your hobbies? I love playing handball, coding on Tynker, and I like playing with my Ollie that I just got.

What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be an engineer and also make cars and remote controlled ones as well.

How did you get introduced to coding? In year 4, we had school Macbooks to use Tynker that our teacher was setting up for us. In year 5, when I got my iPad, I realized you can get the Tynker app and started using Tynker on my iPad. And I got a lot better. We still use Tynker in school.

Do you look at the Tynker community projects? Yes, I do, I’m amazed by how good other people are at Tynker as well. The projects are really fun.

What’s your favorite feature in Tynker? Probably the drawing feature where you can draw texts and make trails.

What are you planning to make next? I’m working on this quiz that asks you questions

Why do you like to code? It’s just really fun and addictive.

Do you think other kids should try coding? Yeah, well it’s educational.

What advice would you give for kids starting out with Tynker? To try the [coding puzzles] Candy Quest or Crash Course.

Ethan’s mother Joanne says being exposed to coding in school “started a spark in him.” Coding on the Tynker app has proven to be a good fit for Ethan’s learning style: “He’s very self-directed in his learning but if we give him the opportunities, he will absorb as much as he wants to take in. On Tynker, he will keep trying things until it works the way he wants it to.”

Thanks so much for talking to us, Ethan! We’re still trying to beat our high score on “Avoider.” We can’t wait to see what you’ll make next!