Ben Makarechian, Brian Underwood, and Max Ptacek tell the story of their experiences trying to create a virtual reality dodgeball game with little knowledge of computer code. They share the methods they used to teach themselves coding so students around the world can learn
on their own.

Brian Underwood is currently an 8th grader at Hillbrook School. He has always had an interest in science, technology and coding, and has become even more interested with the releases of virtual reality headsets. In his TEDx Talk, he and his friends talk about empowering students through coding and what schools could do better to inspire kids to code. In his free time, Brian enjoys programming, water polo, and hanging out with his friends.

Max Ptacek is an 8th grader at Hillbrook School in Los Gatos, California. He loves all things technological and mechanical, and he has always loved the concept of VR. His passion for video games led him to join his friends in creating their own game. In his talk, he and his friends will talk about empowering kids through code, how schools are teaching kids coding wrong, and how that can be fixed. He hopes he can inspire children and adults alike to try their hand at coding.

Ben Makarechian is an 8th grade student at Hillbrook School in Los Gatos, California. For the last two years, his passions have been playing sports, exercising, and computer programming. In his talk with Brian Underwood and Max Ptacek, he describes how his own experiences with programming were enhanced by connecting it to his passions. He and his group also outline how they hope others can enjoy learning to code by connecting projects to an existing passion.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx