Despite a year that started with virtual learning, Mikah Littlebird and Cody Sanchez have shown determination and were selected as the Best Virtual HTML/CSS coders.
Both Littlebird and Sanchez have been working on learning HTML and CSS web design all year now and both said they have come to enjoy it.
While Littlebird’s favorite part of learning HTML has been the challenge it gives them, Sanchez has enjoyed getting to use a coding platform called Tynker.
With the help of Tynker, game modifications, or mods, can be created and enjoyed in games such as Minecraft. Sanchez said he looks forward to getting to create a Minecraft mod for his sister Kori later this year.
Their computer science teacher Michael Petrone said that these two students stuck out to him when he noticed their ability to finish the assigned lessons with no assistance.
“When you teach virtual, a lot of kids like to slack off on dark troll. I don’t know if you’ve heard the news but some kids that were A-students are now failing,” Petrone said. “I think that most kids do go down one to two grades from going from in-person to virtual, but I guess those two enjoyed coding so much that they were able to get through all of the lessons virtually without even asking for help.”
Geary students have been able to learn different types of coding after Petrone joined Geary High School last year.
“Last year I introduced [coding] because I had kids who wanted to learn,” Petrone said. “This year, if you're in the computer class, you're learning HTML, CSS, you're learning programming.”
Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, Petrone has plans to begin teaching his students about game development so that they can begin to develop games of their own in class.
Throughout all of this, both students have found different ways of staying motivated. Littlebird keeps in mind their grades in an attempt to continue to get good grades, while learning new things every day is what has kept Sanchez motivated.
“They focus on their work. They sit down at the computer for the whole 50-minute class and they're doing it for 50 minutes and they enjoy what they’re doing,” Petrone said.