Wyatt Loves All Things Computers – Including Tynker!

Meet 10-year-old Wyatt from West Virginia! He loves all things computers; his favorite subject in school is computer lab, and outside of school, he loves to play on the computer – Minecraft is his favorite! He’s been coding for a few years, and told us that he’s “currently trying to learn the programming language Java.”

He’s only in 5th grade but already has a goal for his future career – he wants to be a programmer. We chatted with Wyatt and his mom, and by the end of the interview he was already focused on coding again!

How did you get introduced to Tynker? At school.

How did you feel when you found out your project had been featured? At first I just started using Tynker at school. When I saw [the notification] I got happy and then I used it to email my mom!

How did you learn how to use Tynker? I’ve taught myself how to program! It wasn’t that hard. I’ve been coding since I was 8 or 9, since 3rd grade.

How do you get inspiration for your projects? Usually I just browse around Tynker, then I’ll think of a bunch of different projects.

How do creativity and coding fit together for you? I’ve been trying to use my own assets when I do Tynker, like draw my own characters! The first one I made, my featured project, I had to use a couple of Tynker premade characters for mobile app.

Why do you like to code? Because it’s mainly just a way for me to make stuff that I like and it’s not very much effort for me to do it. I mean, it’s still hard, but it doesn’t take very much effort.

What is your favorite project you’ve made so far? Probably Planet Space!

“Planet Space”  Check out more of Wyatt’s projects here!

What are you planning to make next? Actually, right before you called I was working on a new game! Basically it’s like a platformer game that…well, it’s hard to explain!

What do you do with a project when you’re done with it? Usually I’ll just publish it, then normally I wait a week, then I’ll check it.

What’s your favorite feature in Tynker? Well, the thing I like the best about Tynker is that I can use physics, which makes it a lot easier than having to use other code blocks! I tried doing that once and I couldn’t get it to work. When I started to use physics in Tynker it made it a lot easier – a lot! You can change the amount of gravity up and down and from side to side, which makes it a lot easier to make stuff!

“War Attack”

Do you ever Tynker with your friends? Sometimes some of my friends at school will help a little, but most of the time it’s just me.

How do you think learning coding now might help you in the future? A lot of people agree that the future is going to be much more digital and stuff, so if you learn how to program when you’re young, when you’re older you’d already know how.

Do you think other kids should try coding? Yeah! It allows you to show off your creativity. With Tynker, it’s more than just making games – you can make videos, a bunch of stuff. It’s not just a game.

What advice would you give for kids starting out with Tynker? Keep trying! When one code doesn’t work, others may.

When asked how she feels about Wyatt learning to code, his mother Lori said, “We’re thrilled with it! For Wyatt and for kids like Wyatt, it gives them something to focus on, when they might not find other subjects engaging. With most subjects in school, he’s there to finish it and get it over with; he’s not interested in it. It gives them something else, and it definitely helps them with creativity.”

Lori reaffirmed that Wyatt learned to code on his own, saying, “It’s something that his dad and I know very, very little about, and when he was in third grade he just got interested in it. He started watching YouTube videos on how to do it. Now most of the time he talks about things and we just have no clue, we’re like, ‘Okay!’ It gives him something to do, this is something he can focus on. It’s a good outlet for his energy.”

We were really impressed by Lori’s story about Wyatt’s start with programming. “His third grade teacher pulled me aside and said, ‘He’s writing code out on pieces of paper; I don’t know if it’s right or not.’ The IT person was there one day and she asked, ‘Can you come and look at this?’ She had him look at it, asking, ‘Is he actually writing code?’ The IT guy said, ‘Yeah, it looks like he’s writing code for a calculator, how to add or subtract.’ That was in third grade and we were just kind of blown away!’”

We love how Lori rounded out her comments, saying, “Any time kids can be involved in technology – period – it’s wonderful, and that’s what the future is.”

Thanks for speaking with us, Wyatt and Lori! We can’t wait to see what Wyatt comes up with next. Happy coding!