Check it out: MakeCode at the library

On a Saturday morning in April at the Public Library in Rutherford, New Jersey, an 8-year-old boy sits in front of a computer looking puzzled and possibly a little anxious. Alex Britez, senior designer with User Experience Design for Microsoft MakeCode walks over and begins a series of questions, “What’s not working? What have you tried? Why do you think it didn’t work? What do you think would work?” A discussion ensues and Britez is encouraged as the child engages in self-regulated learning.??

“Teaching how to find the answer instead of giving the answer helps the kids get through stumbles when they are on their own,” said Britez. The senior designer has begun teaching code at the local library to 8 through 12-year-olds. The April session called “Code your own platform game,” met once a week and offered participants an opportunity to build their own computer game.??

Teaching was always in the plan

Britez comes from a family of teachers, but coding was in there too. During high school, he began to reprogram the games on his PC. At college, Britez’s life was changed forever when he happened by the computer work room.?

“I walked into the lab, saw a room filled with brand new MACs, and that was it,” said Britez. “I changed my major from forensic psychology to a program that would allow me to learn how to code.”? When he secured a teaching opportunity at the lab as an undergraduate, Britez began helping other students learn Photoshop, illustrator, Flash, and any other products available.??

After getting a master’s degree in Digital Media Design for Learning from New York University (NYU), Britez went on to design higher education products at McMillian Learning. “While I was designing programs for college instructors, I started teaching as an adjunct professor at NYU, which allowed me to truly understand how the lessons worked in a classroom environment,” Britez said. “Also, I’m an educator and love teaching.”?

Day job

Within the Microsoft Developer Division (DevDiv), Britez is redesigning the Microsoft MakeCode editor to empower young learners to use it as part of their creative expression. MakeCode is a free online learn-to-code platform where anyone can build games, code devices, and customize their Minecraft experience. The challenge is enabling creativity while offering scaffolding for those new to coding, which can allow them to play on their own.??

“Teaching at the library has given me a window into how a student asks for help,” said Britez. “They don’t ask ‘How do I write a condition,’ they ask, ‘How do I add powerups to my level?’ or ‘How do I add some enemies to the level?’ Conditions, loops, and several other computer science concepts just happen to be the means to that end goal,” he said.??

With that insight, Britez can better advocate for the young learner who may be sitting at home on Microsoft MakeCode and dreaming up a world they would love to build and share with others.?

“How can we design a product that quickly unblocks children by answering their questions on their terms so a kid with little to no coding experience can understand and follow,” he said.?

Planning ahead

When the next session titled "Invent your own interactive toy using electronics and simple code" is offered, the librarian at the Rutherford Public Library knows it will be a full house.?

“Registration filled up almost immediately when the first class was offered in April,” said Jane Tarantino, the children’s librarian. “He really held the student’s attention; they were fully engaged.”???

Helping students to get comfortable with coding is good for the community and for MakeCode. “The work that Alex does feeds into how to improve the MakeCode experience, both from a student and teacher perspective,” said Becky Haruyama, the principal design director who oversees design across learning experiences, spanning elementary school through career. “Alex's passion for interacting with the actual audience MakeCode is serving helps us create a better quality and more targeted offering.”?

In the future, Alex would like to continue improving the class structure and offer it to nearby cities. His goal is to design his coding-for-kids program to make it gender-neutral and make it available to under-resourced communities.

Come join us!

Alex and Becky are both part of Microsoft Developer Division Design, also known as D3 Studios, a rapidly growing studio of talented and enthusiastic designers working on software development tools and technologies who focus on defining, designing, and delivering an exceptional, customer-centered experience for developers and their teams.?We are focused on open design, and being kind, curious, and capable. Want to join us? Check out our open positions by going to https://www.aka.ms/devdivdesignjobs.