iD News and Blog

Group of 60 caught tagging in Santa Cruz

Over the weekend, a large contingency of iD Tech Camps employees and their families ventured out to Santa Cruz to volunteer their time in our first major iD Greening event of the year.  iD Greening is an initiative we concretely formalized in the fall to tackle some of the social and environmental concerns we face in the communities where we conduct business.

Here is a press release covering the weekend.  I have interspersed some pictures that were taken by our employees:

Group of 60 caught tagging in Santa Cruz

Keeping Santa Cruz graffiti-free and a little bit greener

Something other than rain and clouds pounded the Santa Cruz coast this past weekend. But it wasn’t the typical hoard of tourists who come to relax on the beach, bike along the shore, or ride the Giant Dipper at the Boardwalk. Instead, a group of 60 volunteers, armed with paint brushes and rollers, stormed in on Santa Cruz to wash out what the taggers had started.

iD Tech Camps, a Campbell-based company, organized its employees and their family members to volunteer to paint over a thousand yards of graffiti, plant hundreds of plants, and pick up multiple truckloads of trash.

“We’re a small army out here,” said Pete Ingram-Cauchi, CEO of iD Tech Camps. “It’s pretty unusual to set a start time of 8 AM on a Saturday morning and have more people show up than expected. We ran out of donuts for our volunteers.” iD Tech Camps, the nation’s largest summer computer camp, has the goal of not only maintaining its status as the country’s largest computer camp, but “we also intend on making it the greenest,” said Ingram-Cauchi. Locally, iD Tech Camps operates its summer computer camp at UC Santa Cruz, Stanford University, Santa Clara University, and other prestigious universities nationwide. It even offers a unique hybrid camp where students spend half the day making video games and the other half of the day learning to surf at Cowell’s and other hot surf spots.

Working with the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County, iD Tech employees and their families carpooled to Santa Cruz early Saturday morning. The Volunteer Center has a Graffiti Free Santa Cruz program, sponsored by the City of Santa Cruz Redevelopment Agency. Its mission is to maintain the natural beauty of Santa Cruz by preventing and removing graffiti through community involvement, eradication, education, and enforcement. The ultimate goal is to have volunteers Adopt-a-spot to maintain a graffiti free area in a neighborhood or place of work.  Volunteers are provided with graffiti removal supplies and training to support their commitment.

In three hours the results were clearly visible as positive synergy extended beyond the iD Tech Camps volunteers. Neighbors south of 30^th Avenue and Brommer Street came out of their homes with wide smiles and kind words of thanks. “Two neighbors showed up and handed our volunteers Hershey’s kisses,” said Ingram-Cauchi. They were really excited. And even neighbor Marina Corcoran(below); a five-and-a half-year-old helped joined the group to plant ivy.

“This is truly wonderful,” said resident Chris Marc (pictured below, right) who peered over his fence to see what was going on. ”I’ve lived here a long time and have never seen a group this size out here to clean up.” Ingram-Cauchi hopes to leave some momentum for the neighbors to continue to clean up the area.

One neighbor who teaches middle school and wishes to remain anonymous stated, “Now that the graffiti is painted over, hopefully the neighborhood can adopt this area to keep it clean. It’s good that kids can express themselves, but schools need to re-channel this energy into more positive venues.”

Ingram-Cauchi and his sister and business partner, Alexa Ingram-Cauchi, set the goal of making iD Tech Camps the greenest computer camp in the country last year. That idea has turned into a full-fledged initiative, which is now being implemented throughout the entire company.  “There’s nothing more rewarding than getting your hands dirty and making a difference. It’s important to my sister and my family and our employees. In three hours, we accomplished an awful lot as a team. In the past, we have gone on company ski trips. I think those are a thing of the past. This was much more rewarding,” said Ingram-Cauchi.

The residents south of 30^th Avenue and Brommer Street are probably thinking the same thing.

To participate in the Graffiti Free Santa Cruz initiative, please visit http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/ra/Graffiti.html.

The above concludes the press release.  But, I wanted to thank all of our employees who showed up on Saturday.  We have a million pictures, I wish I could post them all so that each of you is personally recognized and celebrated.  You will find some more pictures below.  Nice work, team!  Who said a computer camp has to stay indoors all day?  We don’t exactly fit the mold now, do we?

Heading to the clean up site:

Even iD Babies showed up to do their part!

“Where do I start?”

iD’s CFO, Alexa, explaining the proper painting technique:

You missed a spot!

Until next time, iD Nation!

 

Posted in Summer Camps | 4 Comments »

 

 

Happy Valentine’s Day, iD Nation

It’s Valentine’s Day and I want to wish all my readers a very, very happy day.  I hope we can remember that this day has become sickly commercialized.  It is not about chocolate or diamonds or a fancy dinner.  This day is about spreading love to the people in our lives.  Give them a call.  Send them an email.  Blog them.  This day is about being noticed in a way that is different from the other 364 days a year.  So, sorry Naty, but your time is up!   Will you be my valentine?  My wife, Natalia, is the love of my life.  We’ve been married for 5 years.  We have two beautiful children.  Natalia is a rock for me.  She keeps me grounded.  She understands the late nights and frequent travel that come with running iD Tech Camps.

When iD Tech Camps was still in its infancy, we definitely had our days.  There isn’t an entrepreneur out there that hasn’t felt the startup blues.  Is it worth it?  Are we on the right track?  Is this all going to come crashing down?  Do we know what the heck we are doing?  Can we compete?  When these questions presented themselves in the startup days, my wife was there.  She’d tell me to stick with it.  I remember one evening several years ago when the stress and the tough finances and the sheer exhaustion got the better of me.  My wife put her hand on my shoulder, looked me right in the eye, and softly said, “Just give it one more season.  You can do it.”

Well, I, along with my family and incredible crew, gave it more than just one more season.  Next year we’ll be celebrating ten seasons running summer computer camps.  Ten seasons in the summer camp business is a pretty big achievement on its own.  But the fact that iD has risen to the top of the food chain is a source of tremendous, tremendous pride for all of us in the company.  We love being able to say that “more students enroll at iD Tech Camps than any other computer camp.”  We don’t say it to brag.  We say it because we are insanely proud that so many people have entrusted us.  And they know they can count on us.  But things could have turned out differently.

I dedicate this blog to my wife who didn’t let me give up when the going got tough.  I dedicate this blog to my wife because she believed in me, and the potential of iD Tech Camps at a time when it was just too hard for me to recognize the potential that was knocking on our door.

Should I ever complain, or point out to my wife that there are not too many guys out there that have the versatility of running a company, cooking for the family nightly, being completely involved in raising our two boys, blah blah blah, then my wife is always quick to retort, “I don’t compare you to other guys.  I compare you to your potential.  And you can do better.”  Thanks, Naty, for knocking me down a peg or two, and keeping me grounded.  Thanks for helping me reach my potential.  You are right.  I can do better.  I think we all can.

So, iD Nation, what are you going to do to help make someone better today?  Give them a call.  Send them an email.  Blog them.  But make sure they know they are special.

Te quiero, Naty!  Un beso!

-Pete

 

Posted in CEO's Blog | No Comments »

 

 

Game On!

Hello iD Nation!

We’re getting excited about the launch of the new summer camp season.  Just 3 1/2 months until the start of camp!  It might seem far away to you, but we eat, sleep and drink this stuff.  Yesterday at lunch, we had a group of people here in the main office try their hands at Guitar Hero 2.  As you know, Guitar Hero is an awesome game that we’ll be using at all iD Tech Camps locations this summer.

But don’t think for a second that we’re going to let our campers have all the glory.  We’re practicing hard here in the main office, getting ready to challenge our campers.

I personally want to be ready to take on our campers this summer.  There is nothing WORSE than being beat by the CEO of iD–except for, maybe, being beat by the CFO, Alexa.  So, watch out!  And, when it happens, you better believe that we are going to blog the stats.

iD Tech Camps has built its reputation for consistently pushing the envelope with creative course offerings that are slightly ahead of their time.  It’s probably not surprising that video game camp courses are a substantial portion of our course portfolio.  Parents often ask us “will my student learn anything?”  The question is valid.  And the answer is “yes.”

Here are a couple of questions I’d like you to consider:

Can you make a living in the industry?

According to The New York Times (January 31, 2007), “the video game industry generated more than $12 billion in sales last year.”  The video game industry is now larger than the movie industry. (This seems to be a favorite stat of the video game industry–I can’t blame them).   But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or computer scientist) to recognize that the industry is on fire.  Major game development studios are having a tough time filling their job openings, despite the fact that there are more gamers out there than ever.  Can you spell OPPORTUNITY?  In the past five years, we’ve had thousands of inquiries from students asking how they can break into the industry.  We’ve answered that question with an awesome game development program offered exclusively at UCLA, Stanford, Berkeley and Villanova–the iD Gaming Academy.  This is an intensive 3-week program that gives teens a window into the world of game development.  Something we always tell our students is that a typical blockbuster game can take multiple years to develop and the level of collaboration between teams and hundreds of individuals is incredible.  We hope to give our students a taste of the true game development environment.

Can you make a living just playing games, rather than working for a studio?

Yes.  But it isn’t easy.  I was flying home from Los Angeles earlier in the week and came across an article in Southwest’s Spirit Magazine about Fatal1ity.   Fatal1ity, aka Jonathan Wendel, is a 25-year-old PC pro-gamer who is attracting a lot of buzz these days.  He was recently featured on 60 Minutes.  If you don’t know about him.  You will.  He is called the Babe Ruth of E-sportsmen and has an enviable list of endorsements…oh, and by the way, he makes more than a “comfortable” living being a professional athlete.  We should also note that he is not just good at gaming, he is also a well-rounded athlete himself.  But before you decide to ditch high school or college for the Major League Gaming pro circuit, we encourage you to gain some valuable skills at one of our Gaming Athletes Camps.  You’ll hone your skills at some of the top selling games on the market–and you’ll make Mom and Dad happy that you are honing your gaming skills during summer break.

Is there educational value in what you teach?

It does seem strange, doesn’t it?  You can actually learn something from making a video game, or even playing a video game?  This all seems counter-intuitive as we envision our kids lumped on a couch with a bag of chips and a soda in one hand and a joystick in the other.  We think their brains will turn to mush if they game too much.  The term “video game” has an inherent stigma that correlates with “waste of time.”  But is it fair?  Last year the Federation of American Scientists (Newsweek, Oct. 19, 2006) released a study that found that “best-selling video games are built in surprisingly pedagogical ways.”  Those who play must experiment, fail and learn.  Many games require collaboration and leadership.  Players can be challenged and continually gauge progress while proceeding at their own pace.   To me, it seems that we’re finally starting to wake up.  Is it time to at least challenge conventional wisdom?  We now realize that if gaming is what a student loves, and if gaming is what they know, then maybe it is time that we embrace their passion.  I don’t see the preponderance of schools clamoring to introduce gaming into their curriculum anytime soon,  but I am sure that if we can find ways to use gaming as a tool in the classroom (as we do at iD Tech) then we may be on to something.  Something big.

Gaming is here.  It is real.  Let’s embrace it.  Game on!

-Pete

 

Posted in Summer Camps | 3 Comments »

 

 

Summer Camp Trends

So, we’re off to the races with the 2007 season.  Summer camps all over the country are starting to take registrations, getting their marketing materials out the door, attending camp fairs, taking calls from clients, preparing their facilities, addressing their risk management practices…and it is certainly an exciting time for us here at iD Tech Camps.

Because of our size, we have to get out in front of the summer camp trends and make sure we are constantly in tune with what is on the collective mind of our client base.  Here’s what we see.

1.  Social networking sites are a major concern of parents and camps alike.  MySpace and YouTube are two examples of sites that seem to be in the news weekly, if not daily.  We pulled a committee together this fall and spoke with a team of camp experts and risk management consultants and came up with a responsible policy.  Both our staff and students have to agree to the policy before they get to camp, once they are at camp, and after they leave camp.  My suggestion for all summer camp operators is to take the issue of sites like MySpace seriously–but to also build in practical measures.  Kids and teens at summer camps have grown up with technology and, rest assured, if we clamp down in an excessive manner, our policies will be circumvented and disregarded in nano-seconds.

2.  Another trend in the summer camp industry is the upward progression in the sheer volume of medications that a summer camp must handle.  Every season we reevaluate our policies because medications change, the amount of students on medications changes, and industry standards change.  On July 16, the New York Times released an article stating that, according to the American Camp Association, 25% of camp participants across the country are medicated.  This poses a challenge for all summer camps.  We have to get it right all the time.  There can be serious health consequences for campers if medication is not administered properly.  In my view, it is every camp’s responsibility to thoughtfully implement policies and practices that will ensure the well-being of each student.  It is also the responsibility of the camp to clearly outline what the camp’s policies are, so that a parent can make an informed decision.  Every season, we invest more and more (in personnel and training) to make sure our camps are keeping up and can manage the evolution of medications.  The policies a camp puts in place must be realistic and thoughtful–and the camp has to be completely committed to the execution of those policies.  Without such diligence, the downside can be gravely serious.

3.  Too connected at camp?  OK, we’re a technology camp.  It’s what we do.  We teach our students to make video games.  We teach them to make movies.  And to program.  Design websites.  Build robots.  You get the idea.  But are our students too connected?  Have we gone off the deep end?  You might be surprised to find that we discourage students from bringing cell phones and GameBoy’s and iPods to camp.  As mom would say…Find the right balance!   A lot of summer camps have instituted policies of “No Internet” and “No Cell Phones” and “No Video Games” and “One way email” and those policies have a time and a place, depending on the kind of camp experience you are looking for.   But, we are a technology camp, so isn’t it fair that we should embrace all technologies all the time?  Shouldn’t a student be able to text message a friend any time?  The short answer:   No.  There is a time and a place and our camp has adopted an “appropriate use” policy.  Electronic devices have to be turned off at certain times–just like when you are flying in an airpline.  If a cell phone rings during class time, a warning will be issued.  If the problem persists, we’ll take the cell phone away.  It’s that simple.  We’re not just teaching technology.  We’re teaching responsibility and life skills and it’s pretty amazing to see what can happen when expectations are set clearly.  Students have embraced our respectful policies, and the end result is we see well-balanced camps where student aren’t just engaged in technology, but also in traditional camp activities like sports and chess and soccer and movie nights.  Here are some pictures taken at camp.  It looks fun, doesn’t it?!

Until next time, iD Nation!

-Big Pete

internalDrive.com

 

Posted in Summer Camps | No Comments »