Ted, a middle school CodeWizardsHQ student, is no stranger to rigorous competition. He plays both water polo and volleyball and is a USA swimmer. These sports require tremendous discipline, self-motivation, and dedication. He brings these same qualities to the coding classroom and is this month’s subject of a well-deserved Spotlight.
A Love of Technology
As far back as he can remember, Ted was interested in technology.
“I always liked technology, coding, and computers. Whenever I wanted to watch a TV show as a kid, I always wanted to find one that was technology-based.”
Ted’s dad noticed his son’s affinity for technology and wanted Ted to have the opportunity to pursue his interest. He explained why they chose CodeWizardsHQ and its structured curriculum.
“We’re fans of online learning. I thought CodeWizards was a nice opportunity because it certainly had remote learning and it’s staged to build on success, so you weren’t jumping around; you were starting at one class, the classes built upon each other and you grow your skill sets. I decided to give this one a try, and here we are six classes later.”
His dad also recognized the importance of learning to code.
“Whatever career he chooses in the future, having this knowledge is going to be helpful. It will help him problem-solve and use different brain muscles versus traditional learning.”
Ted’s interest in coding centers on the behind-the-scenes mechanics of everyday technology.
“I wanted to know how to make the stuff. How long it would take to make a video game or make a website that you use every day, like YouTube, and how long it would take coders to finish it.”
Ted’s Coding Journey
Fourteen-year-old Ted is currently in Wizard Level II, Interactive JavaScript. In this class, students learn to add JavaScript to their web pages to create interactive and dynamic applications that engage users.
His favorite project has been in a Wizard Level I Capstone class. Every Wizard Level ends with a Capstone Course where students demonstrate the skills and languages they’ve learned in the three previous classes to produce comprehensive projects.
“I really liked making the Wizard Quest project. It was a game where I had to code a wizard, obstacles, and potions, and add buffs or debuffs. You have to get ten levels to win the game. I liked it because you could change how you win lives or lose lives and it was just very fun to make.”
Ted has also enjoyed two more recent projects that he created in his current JavaScript class, a Fruit Zen slot machine game, and a Magic 8 Ball game. Both projects allow students to customize their work, adding their own flair to each one.
Ted’s favorite languages center around building websites.
“I really like HTML and CSS because they are about making websites and seeing how things work. You can change the CSS to make things look like whatever you want. I’m looking forward to learning how to make video games and how to actually start making bigger kinds of websites like YouTube and Spotify and the more advanced ones.”
Middle school students at CodeWizardsHQ start their coding journey by learning Python. This is one of Ted’s favorites as well.
“I did really like Python. It was the first language that I learned. It’s the language that people know about and Python is a good base code to know.”
Ted sees programming in his future and although he wants to leave his options open right now, he is interested in cybersecurity. He wants to learn how to build firewalls and about other security-based technology.
Hobbies and Sports
In school, Ted’s favorite subject is social studies. He likes learning history, specifically about WWI, WWII, and the Civil War. Ted is also an avid reader and reads as much as his schedule will allow. His love for history spills over into his reading choices. He enjoys realistic historical fiction, citing books about WWII. He also prefers sci-fi and fantasy books like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.
Ted participates in sports year-round and is drawn to activities that include intense competition. His favorite sport is water polo, but he also plays volleyball and has been a competitive swimmer for eight years. His favorite stroke is the breaststroke, one of the most difficult strokes to perfect from a technical standpoint. This is not surprising for a student who doesn’t shy away from challenges. It seems his instructor agrees.
Ted is a great student! He is always engaging in class, often answers code call questions first, and he does a great job explaining his code, which is often just as hard as coding itself. He is a proactive and driven student and a pleasure to teach.
Justin Johnson, CodeWizardsHQ Instructor
