Noelle Spends Her iPad Time on Tynker!

Noelle is perhaps the most enthusiastic maker we’ve ever met! When we gave her a call from our office in Mountain View to her home in Kansas, her mother Heather told us Noelle had been excited about the interview for days! Noelle has limited iPad time but always chooses Tynker for her allotted time. Heather told us, “You know, on the days she does have her iPad, she pretty much plays Tynker until the battery dies! She’s got a ton of other apps, but she really just loves Tynker!”

We loved chatting with Noelle! Her unprompted statement at the end of our interview sums up her attitude toward coding with Tynker: “It’s my favorite app – ever! For any parents who are skeptical about Tynker, I would say, ‘This app offers kids something to do with their hands. It also allows them to draw their own creative art, and convert plain ol’ walking Codey into a complex and awesome project!’”

During our chat, Noelle walked us through a few of her awesome projects, inviting us to “dive into the code” to learn the what, why, and how behind each project. She’s created some great games incorporating her love of Pokemon with her love of coding, and we were excited to learn a bit more about her!

What do you want to be when you grow up? A vet. It’s what inspires me to make animal projects, even though I’m big into Pokemon.

What’s your favorite subject in school? Art! I only get to use my iPad once a week. When I get to use it, I code!

Do you like to tell stories when you code? Sometimes. I almost always create artwork.

How did you get introduced to Tynker? When we lived in South Korea, my mother downloaded the Tynker app and I absolutely LOVED it! I loved Codey. I started out small with beginner projects.

How did you learn how to use Tynker? Well, on Tynker, you can actually follow some project templates that have been created for you, not just the blank ones.

What is your favorite thing you’ve made? Happy Meowth GIF.

“Happy Meowth GIF”

Do you look at the Tynker community projects? Of course I do – who doesn’t!

Do you get inspiration from the Tynker community? You could say I’m an independent Tynkerer. I save copies of others’ projects because I really like the projects, though!

How do you get inspiration for your projects? I usually just think of a project to do after selecting a blank template, then I convert Codey into whatever my imagination desires!

What’s your favorite feature in Tynker? Oh, I actually have two. One, the fact that you can create whatever you desire because I’m very creative, and two, the fact that I can draw!

What do you do with a project when you’re done with it? Well, I like to debug it. If I’m satisfied, I usually save, but if it’s a mess I just get rid of it.

Check out her latest project, “Pikachu’s Deafeat” 

What are you planning to make next? If I get 100 likes on Happy Meowth GIF I’m going to create another cat game.

Why do you like to code? It gives me the opportunity to create whatever I desire!

Do you think other kids should try coding? Yes, if they’re looking for something to do with their hands!

What advice would you give to kids starting out with Tynker? They should know that Tynker is a wonderful app and they can create whatever they can desire! One, report projects that are disturbing; two, have fun; three, don’t let a lack of likes get you down; four, you can draw; and five, likes are wonderful! Those are five tips I would give them.

Noelle’s mom Heather loves that Noelle is learning to code! In fact, according to her, “Coding has gone outside of just the iPad – she reprogrammed our cable remote!” Heather gave us a little insight into Noelle’s coding journey and growth. First, Noelle “started out by copying other people’s projects and modifying them, and then the past few months she’s been making them herself.”

Heather thinks Tynker is the best coding app for Noelle. “I like that the Tynker app is positive, I like that people can’t respond and comment on it – we’d tried Scratch with MIT and there were some negative comments. I feel like Tynker is a much safer website for kids to be on. It’s better than the other apps that she’s used throughout the years – it allows her skills to expand more.”

According to Heather, Noelle’s creativity has grown as she’s continued to deepen her coding understanding and abilities. “I think it’s worked on her art skills,” Heather said. “She had eye surgery about a year ago, and her art skills have advanced since then. It’s a nice outlet for her when she doesn’t feel like drawing or going outside or something. It’s been really good for her!”

Thank you for speaking with us, Heather and Noelle! We’re so glad that Tynker is such a great hobby for Noelle, and we love that she’s so passionate about coding. We can’t wait to see how you continue to use your skills to create impressive projects.