Never Underestimate a 13-Year Old With a Computer and a Dream

Now I taught middle school during the longest year of my life. And I do guest talks at middle schools all the time. But honestly I do not have the knack for doing it full time. My wife does and I know many wonderful middle school teachers who do. The thing is with middle school students is that you never really know what they are going to be up to next. Bill Gates started with computers in middle school. One of the most read blog posts I ever wrote was about a 12 year old who created his own web browser. Today I was reading about Johnny Simmons on the Windows Phone Developer Heroes Landing Page. Not long ago I got slapped for suggesting that college Phone development was a big deal - Student Develops Games For Windows Phone 7 – well hopefully this is young enough to be impressive. Johnny is 13!

You could say Johnny has apps. In fact he has at least 15 apps on the marketplace. DrawPad, pictured above with two other apps, is the most popular though Johnny likes Ink Notez best. His Dad helps him a little with the user interfaces and graphics but the code is Johnny’s work. Most recently Johnny took part in a Windows Phone 7 Hackathon in Bellevue WA and took first place for the app he created there. Now that is impressive! People come to Hackathons to learn but also to show off.

Like a lot of students, Johnny got his start through the DreamSpark program. DreamSpark is the best way for students to get free development software and to start following their dreams. So take a look at Johnny Simmons’ story on the Windows Phone Developer Heroes Landing Page. And then start working on your own dreams.

If you want more of a start, check out these previous posts for more information: