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July 24th, 2008 by: Elise
iD summer tech camp includes design classes
Participants work for one week to finish video game projects
By Ines Min
On a UT blackboard Wednesday, 15-year-old Tyler Bautista worked out the equation for an algorithm to make his video game function properly.
Bautista came to the solution a few minutes later using the Pythagorean theorem and guidance from an instructor. The algorithm would keep the video game’s enemy from fruitlessly entering a tower’s line of defense and dying senselessly, Bautista explained.
For the past eight years, internalDrive, a family-founded technology education organization, has put on a summer technology camp for kids ages 7 to 17 on the UT campus. The camp is a technology-driven educational program consisting of week-long specialized courses in robotics and video game and Web design.
Every summer, the kids and staff members come from countries around the world, including Canada, Egypt, Norway and France, to participate, said Jennifer Suarez, director of the Austin program and first-grade teacher who has worked at the camp for two summers.
Up to 70 kids enroll each week and are allowed to take as many of the courses as they want. A week-long overnight course costs about $1,200, and a week-long day course is about $750.
The most popular courses at UT are 3-D game design and video game creation, Suarez said.
Kids in the 3-D design class build video games from scratch using a special design program. The robotics class started with a basic square bot and focused on making their robots able to move before making more sophisticated robots that can fight with each other using weapons.
“I was blown away by the kids here,” Suarez said. “They are all brilliant.”
Freda Li, a 14-year-old from Houston who took the Web design course, spent the week creating a Web site of her favorite bands and worked Wednesday to create an animated background for her site using Adobe Photoshop.
“I think it’s really fun. I like working with computers and we get lots of time to hang out,” said Li, who is one of three girls enrolled in the camp.
“We’ve found that the girls in the camp are really creative,” Suarez said, adding that the program is trying to recruit more girls. “They create the most visually appealing games.”
Peter Golightly, a 15-year-old who recently moved to Austin and partook in the program’s camp at Stanford University, based his work on a popular online game. Using a computer program, a designer creates a game by first starting with a model, then creating a skeleton, adding texture and eventually a script, Golightly said.
“It’s like a jigsaw, but the pieces can be molded to any shape you want,” he said.
Staff member Eric Cooper, 22, said the game can become as complex as the designer wants and depends on the time and effort put forth. Kids are given the entire week to finish a game, working for approximately six hours a day on the computer. Outdoor activities are integrated into the schedule.
Walker Summers, 13, spent his week in the game programming course. His game combined elements from the video game World of Warcraft III and the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.
“It’s a lot of fun here,” Summers said. “[The programs] are easy to work with, and it’s fun to make maps.”
July 24th, 2008
Posted in: St. Edward’s University
July 24th, 2008 by: Jimmy
Hello iD Nation!
It’s that time of the week again when we announce the photo-of-the-week winners at our summer computer camps! Jimmy has gone through all the photos posted for all the summer camps at all iD Tech locations and has found some great content! It is great to see you in action! Remember, this week’s theme for the photo contest is “iD Spirit.”
Let’s jump in. Winners for the week…
iD Spirit – Top 10
Emory University Summer Computer Camp
Macalester College Summer Computer Camp
Merrimack College Summer Computer Camp
Rider University Summer Computer Camp
Stanford University Summer Computer Camp
Towson University Summer Computer Camp
University of Incarnate Word Summer Computer Camp
University of Washington Summer Computer Camp
Northwestern University Summer Computer Camp
iD Gaming Academy- Villanova University Summer Gaming Academy for Teens
Congratulations to all those selected for this week, and thanks to all the summer camps and programs that got into the spirit this week, posting pictures, making great projects and friends–and learning life long skills. Have fun out there, and be safe!
-Pete
July 24th, 2008
Posted in: Summer Camps
July 23rd, 2008 by: Pete
Hi All,
I just received this and had to post it.
First ever iD Tech Camps staff trading cards. Macalester Week 5 limited edition.
Macalester staff and campers, you are getting mad props today! Your tech camps looks awesome and the iD Spirit is tangible. Nice job!!!
Hope you guys are having fun!
Keep up the fine work and keep the spirit flowing!
-Pete
July 23rd, 2008
Posted in: Summer Camps
July 23rd, 2008 by: Pete
On behalf of my staff, I must request that you pick a CLEAR winner of the photo of the week contest. Runners up, sure! But let’s get one out in front! OK, I even had trouble picking just one photo. But this stuff is too good to ignore. Check out these pics!
As you’ll see here, our summer computer camps at Macalester had an actual appearance by the Spirit of iD!
http://imageevent.com/id_mac/july20?p=36&n=1&m=-1&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
http://imageevent.com/id_mac/july20?p=40&w=4&c=4&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
http://imageevent.com/id_mac/july20?p=41&w=4&c=4&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
http://imageevent.com/id_mac/july20?p=42&w=4&c=4&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
http://imageevent.com/id_mac/july20?p=43&w=4&c=4&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
http://imageevent.com/id_mac/july20?p=44&w=4&c=4&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
http://imageevent.com/id_mac/july20?p=45&w=4&c=4&n=0&m=-1&s=0&y=1&z=2&l=0
http://imageevent.com/id_mac/july20?p=46&n=1&m=-1&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
and apparently an Oompa Loompah
http://imageevent.com/id_mac/july20?p=30&n=1&m=-1&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
http://imageevent.com/id_mac/july20?p=31&n=1&m=-1&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
Our summer computer camp at UW had some great shots as well:
http://imageevent.com/id_uw/july20?p=1&n=1&m=-1&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
http://imageevent.com/id_uw/july20?p=0&n=1&m=-1&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
Our staff at our Georgetown summer camps eats, drinks and sleeps iD
http://imageevent.com/id_gu/july20?p=53&n=1&m=-1&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
http://imageevent.com/id_gu/july20?p=50&n=1&m=-1&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
Also the kids at Georgetown – look at lady liberty! Wait, that’s Mr. iD!
http://imageevent.com/id_gu/july20?p=74&n=1&m=-1&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
http://imageevent.com/id_gu/july20?p=73&n=1&m=-1&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
http://imageevent.com/id_gu/july20?p=72&n=1&m=-1&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
Our summer computer camps at Towson answers the question, “Who are iD’s biggest fans?”
http://imageevent.com/id_tu/july20?p=20&n=1&m=-1&c=4&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2
Thanks for the great photos, guys. Keep the content coming and let’s get more great photos posted!
-Amelia
July 23rd, 2008
Posted in: Summer Camps
July 23rd, 2008 by: Pete
From Marta, iD Spain staff:
If you haven’t done so, check out www.internaldrive.com/photos. I’ve uploaded over 200 more photos and they’re all pretty fun to look at so enjoy! Remember that the location is “University of Cadiz.”
Estimados Padres,
What a week it’s been! Kevin and I and all of our awesome students have been constantly on-the-go visiting places and experiencing ,first-hand, the life and culture of Spain. There is so much history to all of the places and activities that we do. It’s simply amazing. This teen study abroad program in Spain is action-packed! Have fun reading this blog post.
The schedule for this coming week will slow down a bit with all of our students going to class from 10 until 1:30 in the afternoon, going home for lunch and a siesta or to relax and then go to film class from 4 until 9 in the evening–unlike last week, where not only were we doing all of that, but were also fitting in a cultural activity almost every day in the late afternoons. Even though the schedule was busy, each activity helped to instill even more of an appreciation for this beautiful country.
Here’s a little overview of the cultural activities we did each day last week:
Monday: One of the Mundo Lengua instructors, Yaye, helped us cook an authentic and delicious Spanish dish called Paella. Paella consists of rice, saffron and olive oil. Scatter about some veggies, meat and seafood of your choice and you have one of the tastiest dishes in Europe. Each student helped slice and dice, season and stir, so you should all ask your kids to cook it for you when they arrive home so you can taste a little bit of Spain for yourself. (Whether they will actually do so, is not up to me…
Tuesday: We went on a walking tour and explored the La Catedral and El Barrio Pópulo in Cádiz. The Cathedral (also known as the La Catedral Nueva–the New Cathedral.) actually stands on the same location of an older Cathedral that burnt down. The current Cathedral’s construction began in 1776 (while we were gaining our Independence, the people of Cádiz were busy building Cathedrals) but it wasn’t finished until 116 years later! The inside was enormous (though not nearly as big as the one in Sevilla), and there were two people singing up in the balcony, which added to the atmosphere and beauty of the building.
After that, we walked along a narrow, but picturesque cobblestone street right next to the Cathedral called El Barrio Pópulo where we learned more about the walls of the old part of the city, which are actually parts of the original walls that were there when the city first was built. We then saw the location of a famous Admirals house–which was an entire building. We couldn’t see too much of it, since it was undergoing a complete renovation, as are many of the buildings in the Cádiz because the everyone is getting ready for the 200 year anniversary of the signing of the constitution in 2012.
That night, we rented out a discoteca and had a costume party just for our iD Spain group and the other students who were taking classes at Mundo Lengua (but weren’t part of iD). Abuelo Gaupo (Kevin) came in full attire that night as made sure to keep all his little nietos in line…and of course he showed them a move or two on the dance floor.
Wednesday: This was our day off from cultural activities and so everyone had a good five hours in the evening to catch up on all of their editing from the footage that they had captured earlier in the week. It was awesome to see their work in progress. So far, I’ve seen some great intros to videos.
Thursday: We all learned how to dance a traditional dance of Spain. Understandably so, the guys weren’t so crazy about it, but I was happy that they made the effort to at least try to learn how do it. I tried to let them know that someday the girls would go crazy if they knew how to dance a Spanish dance, but that didn’t convince them too well. Our two girls in the group, Hannah and Kayleigh, enjoyed the lesson though.
Friday: Our last walking tour of our trip included meeting at the large stone gates of the that separate Old Cádiz from the newer part and then walking through the city on the cobblestone streets and learning more about the history of the people who lived there. We then walked along the beach and had a breathtaking view of the vast ocean that surrounds Cádiz.The beach was pretty enticing because the weather was hot, but we stopped by a street vender selling ice cream, slushies and water.
Saturday: The weekend is a time to relax, so instead of running around all day, we simply met at 1:30 and had had lunch together. Lunch consisted of variety of tapas that we passed around and shared as a group. Everything from octopus to chicken was devoured within a couple of hours. Cádiz is very well known for their seafood, so everything was so fresh you could almost taste the ocean water on it.
Sunday: The day was left to sleep in and hang out in Cádiz. Then at 5:00 we met to go to Puerto de Santa Maria, a city nearby, to see a bullfight. We took a ferry over, which enabled us to get a perfect view of Cádiz from the water. We made it to the bullfight and watched one of the most common cultural sports of Spain. The crowd went wild and while our group had mixed feelings about it, we all enjoyed the experience of seeing it and being in the atmosphere of the people.
As you can tell, we’ve packed a lot of fun things into an entire week and we have been busy! This week, we’ll continue to focus on the Spain documentaries so everyone has the best film possible by Friday when we show them to the entire Mundo Lengua staff and other participants! It will be a great cinematic debut for our students.
That’s about all I have for now…I can honestly say that I’ve really enjoyed getting to know and spend time with every single student. Each one brings their own unique personality to the program and it will be hard to say goodbye in a little over a week. However, I won’t think too much about that just yet.
If you haven’t done so, check out www.internaldrive.com/photos. I’ve uploaded over 200 more photos and they’re all pretty fun to look at so enjoy! Remember that the location is “University of Cadiz.”
As always, feel free to call of email with anything….thanks for reading!
¡Hasta pronto!
-Marta
July 23rd, 2008
Posted in: Summer Camps
July 21st, 2008 by: Ryan
Gone Campin’
July 21st, 2008
Posted in: iD In The News, Vanderbilt University
July 17th, 2008 by: Jimmy
Hello there iD Nation!
Jimmy posted these photos for us today. He scanned through all of the photos on www.internalDrive.com/photos and selected these. The theme for this week, based on last week’s staff newsletter, is “close-ups and smiling faces.”
Thanks for taking the time to take great photos and for painting the picture of what our summer computer camp is truly like! Enjoy these photos!
Arizona State University Summer Computer Camp
Brown University Summer Computer Camp
Cal Lutheran University Summer Computer Camp
University of Denver Summer Computer Camp
Emory University Summer Computer Camp
iD Film Academy : UC Berkeley Summer Film Camp
Lake Forest College Summer Computer Camp
Merrimack College Summer Computer Camp
Pepperdine University Summer Computer Camp
Rider University Summer Computer Camp
Santa Clara University Summer Computer Camp
Sacred Heart University Summer Computer Camp
Southern Methodist University Summer Computer Camp
Stanford University Summer Computer Camp
St. Mary’s College of CA Summer Computer Camp
UC Davis Summer Computer Camp
University of Central Florida Summer Computer Camp
UC Irvine Summer Computer Camp
UC Santa Cruz Summer Computer Camp
UT Austin Summer Computer Camp
University of Virginia Summer Computer Camp
Vanderbilt University Summer Computer Camp
Vassar College Summer Computer Camp
Wake Forest University Summer Computer Camp
Washington University Summer Computer Camp
College of William & Mary Summer Computer Camp
Thanks to all of our campers, staff and parents who are enabling the iD Tech experience!
Have a great day, and have fun at Family Showcase tomorrow.
Best,
Pete and Jimmy
July 17th, 2008
Posted in: Summer Camps
July 16th, 2008 by: Pete
!Saludos desde Cádiz!
This post was entered by Marta, one of our chaperones and instructors on our summer Spanish immersion program for teens. Please have fun reading through this post, and check back often to see more posts of the students’ journeys. Also, don’t forget to click on www.internaldrive.com/photos for many more photos. Don’t forget, we’ll be blogging more and posting more pictures frequently. Travel with us!
It was quite the journey to Spain, but everyone made it safe and sound and we’re well into the swing of things here in our home away from home, Cádiz. The students are becoming close friends and enjoying the opportunity to see such a beautiful country, with many historical aspects to it.
For most of us in the iD Spain group, we started our journey together at the JFK airport.
Everyone arrived on time, which I was grateful for because it helped us out so much since we had a few things that had the potential to hold us up. Other than a short half hour or so delay from JFK, everything went smoothly on the plane ride to Madrid.
Things got a little hectic in Madrid. Since our plane had been slightly delayed and we needed to wait in line for customs, we ended up just barely making it to our connecting plane to Jerez. Kevin, being the great guy that he is, actually ended up staying back since two of our students met us at Madrid and didn’t have time to meet us and check-in before the plane took off. While the rest of us took off, Kevin was able to get the two other students onto another flight and the three of them made it down to Jerez safely to join up with the rest of the group. That is why we always have a back-up plan!
After the rest of us made it to the Jerez airport, we were taken care of and we were all able to board our charter bus and relax for a bit on the hour long bus ride to Cádiz, which passed through scenic olive groves and wine country. We finally arrived at the coast and beautiful Cádiz.
As we entered the magnificent city of Cádiz, we were in awe of the scenery surrounding us, as Cádiz is the oldest city in Western Europe. Our first stop in the city was at a cafe area so that all of our students could meet their host families.
Soon every student had been introduced and led of in pairs to their new home for the next two weeks by their welcoming Spanish families. Despite our long hours of traveling and being tired from it, it was amazing to see each student with a smile on their face and anticipation in their eyes. What would tomorrow bring? What an adventure!
On Saturday, everyone was able to sleep in a bit and then it was off to our meeting place of the Cathedral so we could take a short tour of Cádiz and get acquainted with the city. We learned some of the history of our new, temporary home, which was really interesting. By mid-afternoon, everyone was free to go explore the city in groups. Everyone really got a feel for Cádiz living!
On Sunday we boarded another bus and we were off to Sevilla!
Quaint streets of Sevilla
La Torre del Oro on the Guadalquivir River, a gorgeous strolling promenade
Guadalquivir Fisherman
Hannah taking footage in Sevilla
The Cathedral–One of the largest in the world and home to the tomb of Christopher Columbus
A top the Giralda
A top the Giralda. Many gorgeous views of the city. What climb!
A top the Giralda, Robbie and Andrew with a 34-story climb to the top.
Plaza de Espana
More of the Plaza de Espana
It was a busy, fast-paced day of touring, but the views and the old world charm were unlike anything we have back in the U.S.
Now with the week in full swing, we’re simply getting used to being in a new city and beginning to adjust to a set weekly schedule. For this week especially, we have a lot of fun cultural activities. Already we’ve made an authentic Spanish meal of paella (which was delicious, your children are all great cooks!) and we’ve learned a traditional dance of southern Spain.
Gambas para paella
Cooking!
Peppers for paella
Cooking with Yaye, one of the professors
Start cooking
Chop it!
Let’s eat!
Kevin and his Spanish Girlfriend, Yaye! (Just Kidding, but I had to do it!)
All of our adventures will make for some excellent documentaries and everyone has already dived into shooting footage and bringing it into Apple Final Cut Pro.
Kevin and I have activated our phones so the students and parents can always be in contact with us in an emergency or crucial situation.
Also, be sure to check out our camp photos at www.internaldrive.com/photos. There are a lot more photos, with cool captions, so everyone is famous! Note: Click on University of Cádiz (Spain) and you’ll see the photographic result of our travels. More will be posted throughout the next two weeks, so check back for new photos of our adventures.
So far our iD Spain excursion is awesome, so I’m excited to see what the rest of our stay here will bring!
Take care!
Marta
July 16th, 2008
Posted in: Locations
July 15th, 2008 by: Jimmy
Forget the campfire-campers are creating video games
By Emilie Doolittle
“The 13-year-old gamer from Los Gatos was not passing his summer days playing computer games, though – he was actually creating a game.”
Click article to view in full size.
July 15th, 2008 | Tags: stanford computer camp news articles
Posted in: Stanford University
July 14th, 2008 by: Pete
After heading from Fordham University back to the city, I gathered my things and made a site visit to our summer computer camp in New Jersey. We have a location at Seton Hall University in South Orange. I arrived in time for our Family Showcase. It was great to see the projects, meet our parents, talk to and visit with our staff campers. Thanks for showing me around and giving me a chance to see the projects and participate a bit in Family Showcase.
Enjoy these pictures from Friday!
Arrived to campus!
Camp Director signs-out parent
Mom and son duel at Guitar Hero at Family Showcase
Rock on!
Mom, you rock too!
Still dueling at Guitar Hero!
The whole family shows up for Family Showcase
Happy camper, mom, and cousin
This is me with a future CEO of some big, great company! Intern at Apple?
Rockin with mom
Taking on the staff
Guitar Hero with Auntie
Staff in our Gaming Courses
We’re your biggest Fans!
During Diploma Ceremony
Green Hair Day?
Reading Diplomas
The guys at iD
Love the shoes!
The UNREAL winner! Nice job!
Camp Director in action
Check out my video game!
All–it was a blast to meet you and I thank you all for your hard work, commitment to fun, and overall camp spirit and great attitudes. Have a great summer. Be safe out there!
-Pete
July 14th, 2008
Posted in: CEO's Blog, iD In The News
