Meet Reda: Winner of Ctrl+Shift 2021
Reda Elmountassir, 14, took the knowledge he learned in CbK Academy and turned into an amazing art website that earned him a $5,000 prize.
When Coded by Kids announced its 4th annual Ctrl+Shift coding competition earlier this year, Reda Elmountassir jumped at the chance to participate.
The 14-year-old Mast Community Charter School student had spent the summer of 2020 learning how to code through CbK Academy Online — and was itching for the opportunity to put his new skills to practice, while also learning more about the website development process.
“I was waiting for a chance to compete,” he said, “and I liked that there was a time limit and time constraints for the project. I looked at the opportunity like it was work, where you have to manage your time to get something done.”
His summer spent learning code paid off.
“Before CbK Academy, I didn’t know any principles, what a wireframe was or anything like that,” he said. “But I’ve always been amazed by and curious about technology and exploring how things work.”
His new skillset set Reda up for success; he took home this year’s Ctrl+Shift grand prize –$5,000 — with his art education site, Artistry Machine.
Art-Inspired
Reda, who enjoys spending his time reading fiction (Harry Potter is his favorite), playing soccer and drawing, has always been interested in exploring the intersection of technology and the arts. His interest in art is thanks, in part, to his dad and his sister who are both talented artists. Reda estimates he started drawing at the age of 5.
“I like looking at a scene and drawing it on a canvas,” he says. “My favorites are landscapes.”
So, when the opportunity to compete in Ctrl+Shift presented itself, Reda knew exactly what he was going to create and the Artistry Machine was conceived.
“When I saw the prompts for different subjects, I saw art and I knew instantly what I was going to do,” he says. “I wanted to demystify the historical significance of arts across the eras. It’s targeted for kids, but I wanted to teach and inspire anyone who wanted to learn more. I think that there are adults who would like it, too.”
Artistry Machine is an interactive, hand-coded website lesson in art history. Users are greeted by quotes from famous artists, like Van Gogh, before they enter. They’re then encouraged to “Start Learning” and kick off their education with works of prehistoric art, along with a short description of the era, tools and media used and more.
Keep scrolling, and site visitors learn about 12 more eras, including Renaissance, Neoclassicism, Realism, Expressionism and more. Once a user completes their journey through the eras, they are prompted to “Learn More” and are treated to additional works of art that depict the various eras.
A thorough resources page provides additional ways for users to continue their art history education.
“Drawing is the opposite of coding, but the creative and technical work off of each other. I enjoy the visual aspects of coding.”
Lessons Learned
The end product that Reda presented to Ctrl+Shift judges is impressive — but it wasn’t without its challenges.
“When I entered the contest, I thought it would be easier than it was. I was quickly humbled,” he says about his fellow Ctrl+Shift competitors.
He also underestimated some of the technical needs for his site.
“Responsiveness was very difficult,” says Reda. “I had heard of the term ‘mobile first’ before, but it didn’t stick in my mind. I wanted my site to be responsive to reach a wider audience, but it was very challenging because a lot of code worked better on specific devices rather than across all of them.”
Another challenge: timing. While Ctrl+Shift spanned several weeks and included built-in mentoring sessions with Coded by Kids technical experts, Reda found himself often working up against deadlines and certain aspects took longer than he’d anticipated. Like written content.
“I did the writing for the site last, which took more time than I thought it would and was harder than I thought it would be. A lot of content would overflow out of the containers that I was writing in,” he says. “I learned to start with the most important thing first. Don’t save what you think is boring for last because that is just as important as the rest.”
Future Forward
When asked if Reda plans a career in technology, he gives a one-word answer: “Definitely.”
“I’ve been doing this for a few years now, but I know I need to narrow down exactly what I want to pursue,” he says. “I think the creative and technical aspects are both entertaining and fun to me, but I know that fixing stuff is not my favorite.”
And the $5,000 prize?
“I will probably invest it or use it for college,” he says.
About Ctrl+Shift
Ctrl+Shift is Coded by Kids’ annual coding competition that’s open to Philadelphia-area students, ages 13–18. To compete, students are required to build a website, coding it by hand, in the arts, education, entrepreneurship or social impact categories. They must also participate in mentorship and educational sessions with technical experts in the weeks leading up to the event. After 10 weeks of instruction and mentorship, finalists are invited to pitch their websites to a panel of judges and participate in a panel discussion.
This year’s event was sponsored by Dell, SAP and Boomi. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary Michael Newsome kicked off the live, virtual event, which included a panel discussion on the topic of the state of tech in Philadelphia. Panel members included Sec. Newsome, Andy Mulumba, IMPACT MBA Leadership Program participant, SAP; Jamila Cowan-Wideman, Director of Corporate Responsibility, Dell Technologies; and Cindy Leavitt, CIO at Temple University. Brian Reaves, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Dell Technologies, served as moderator.
Jiaqi Shao and Yangci Ou earned second prize for their website, Cough Cough, a COVID-19-themed site that gamifies decisions users make during a simulated pandemic experience. Shuo Lin and Andrew Zhang earned third prize for Marino, an educational site that explores creatures found at various levels in the ocean.
