WAGGA’S teen inventor makes waves in Sydney, winning a NSW award for digital innovation and excellence in Australia.
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The iAwards recognition program was held last Thursday by the Australian Information Industry Association.
Just 15 years old, Michael Nixon, won the senior student’s category for his Amazing Annoyatron coding kit and said his product is designed to make technology more enjoyable for children and teenagers.
“It’s targeted at those who wouldn’t normally be interested in coding, or who might think it’s just too difficult for them, or something they think they’re not going to use,” he said.
“It’s designed to break down that barrier, showing them that they can code and they can create lots of cool things through 20 different coding projects.”
Having a passion for coding and electronics since the age of 10, Nixon was determined to create his own online app for communication, similar to a social networking site like Facebook.
“It was a very difficult process for me because there were no resources or kits to learn from,” he said.
“I had to learn off textbooks from Wagga’s TAFE library and I thought this process was a little cumbersome, as it should be easier for kids to learn about something that is very essential for some of the jobs that are emerging.”
Nixon hopes his invention puts a new face on technology, coding and electronics as “not being nerdy but rather something that is while still intelligent, something that’s lots of fun and quite analytical.”
His father, Matthew Nixon is “incredibly proud” of his son’s ability to maintain his grades at school, while spending “hundreds of hours” on coding.
“It’s awesome the industry has acknowledged the impact he is having on helping kids around Australia have great first experiences in learning about the difficult concepts of coding and electronics,” Mr Nixon said.
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