First published on MSDN on Dec 05, 2014
Love to code? So do we! But we also know that learning to code can be a real challenge for students of any age. And while Microsoft has some great programs like Imagine Cup and DreamSpark to connect university student developers with contests, free tools and great opportunities to learn and grow, we also want to welcome younger students just taking their first steps into this amazing world.
That’s why we’ve created Microsoft Imagine, a new cornerstone of the
YouthSpark
initiative, and launched it today to celebrate
Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code
. At our new website,
http://imagine.microsoft.com
, students of all ages and skill levels will find everything they need to create apps and games. Whether you’re a 10-year-old student who wants to make your first game or a 25-year-old university student with a project to develop and sell in app stores, Microsoft Imagine is where you get started.
For students who have never coded before, we’ve got great free software like Kodu Game Lab, TouchDevelop, and Windows App Studio. For those ready to graduate to real coding, SmallBasic and WebMatrix 3 will help you learn programming and website development. And for experienced student developers, free tools like Visual Studio Community and the Unity game engine let you code like the professionals do.
In the months ahead, we’ll be releasing lots of great projects for students of all ages to download and build on: games, apps, simulations and much more, all of it free. And we’ll be expanding our Imagine Cup global student technology competition to even younger students.
For now, please take a look at
http://imagine.microsoft.com
and share it with the younger aspiring coder in your life. We also hope you’ll check out our new Microsoft Imagine presence on
Facebook
,
Twitter
and
Instagram
!
We are thrilled to open a whole new door for students worldwide. Take your first step into coding and you’ll be surprised where you can go!