Student Feature: Meet Weston - AKA “Blake”

Blake is a 7^th grader at Crain's Creek Middle School and is, in my opinion, a           
“kid techie.” Blake will be assisting me with my digital news program because of his familiarity with Apple's imovie program. He is an extremely talented video editor.  He also has his own website, which is extremely detailed and professional looking.  When students spend their spare time and energy creating and publishing a project to be seen by the entire world, not required by their teachers, they start preparing themselves for a successful future.  

Blake does not hesitate to email me when he notices that I have posted something new to my website: classreynolds.org. He enjoys my site and is a frequent visitor.

One day, I received an email from Blake stating the following: “I was just on your website and saw that you like codeacademy.com too!”

I replied, “I'm actually at a conference right now learning all sorts of coding stuff! I'll share with you soon!”

Then Blake stated, “Cool! I am about to start a freestyle script for my gaming guild for an in-game car radio.”

At that point, I knew I had to find out a little more about this interesting kid!

Blake even has his own Youtube Channel.

Interview:

When did you start becoming interested in coding?

A couple of years ago when I got my first computer. I wanted to know exactly how that computer worked.

What are your favorite games?

ArmA III and Battlefield Hardline, which I pre-ordered and it comes out today. I can't wait! I've played both of the beta versions.

What are your favorite subjects in school?

ELA and History

How do you think coding affects how we learn in school?

Everything we see on our Chromebooks is a result of code. If it were not for coders, we would not see any websites or games or anything. We wouldn't even have Google.

If you could create anything using code, what would it be?

First I would learn how to edit HTML and CSS. I want to learn how to completely understand that language. I would love to be able to create my very own website from scratch, not using any form of template.

Who is the primary audience of your website?

Students who are my age.

Do you plan to become involved with computer science in the future?

I want to go to college to study computer science. I was thinking about applying to NC State. They have an excellent computer science program and I have always been an NC State Fan.

What is your greatest dream for the future?

It is my ultimate dream to develop my own operating system and be the CEO of a computer company like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.

Tell me some other interesting things about yourself.

I went to a coding class at the Natural Science Museum in Raleigh. We used Linux to run some simple code. I am not a big fan of the Linux Operating System because the controls are not very user friendly and I have not practiced enough with it. I prefer Windows over anything else, and I am comfortable on Macs too. In this class we used LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) to practice coding. I learned how to program this little 3x3 light grid to light up at specific times. I learned about the “Raspberry Pi” device. I have one at home, which I use to practice coding.

Raspberry Pi

What is your website about?

Miscbuck.weebly.com is the address and it has game links, links to things students may explore when they are finished with their work or at home like comics, forums, and links to coding websites where they can learn and practice coding. I created this site using The Weebly Website Builder. Weebly.com

Why does your site address contain “miscbuck?”

Many of my peers say I am very random. That's what the “Misc” is for. “Buck” is short for my last name.