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July 8th, 2008 by: Pete
UC Davis– YOU HAVE BEEN BLOGGED! Thanks for the letter and photos. You are now famous in the iD blogosphere…
-Pete
Hullo Pete!
Sarah, Lead Instructor at UC Davis, here to give you the official run down on why UC Davis is the most epic location iD has to offer (SARAH, YOU ARE NOT BIASED ARE YOU? -PETE). I have attached several photos in order to further your education on our awesomeness. They will be referred to throughout the e-mail, so I recommend you download them and then refer to them as they are mentioned.
First, I would like to introduce you to the staff. (See photo epic01)
As you can see, we rock. And we rock hard. Starting in the light blue on the left and going clockwise, we have myself (Biscuits), Jamiel (Shark), Brian (Chicken Noodle), Devin (Rocky), Eli (Mimi Shot Omega Mega), our camper turned honorary staff member Trevor (Neo, more on him later), and Patrick (Maverick).
The next thing to show you is our lab. (See photos epic02 and epic03) First of the lab photos is the large glass overlook above the main section of our lab. You will quickly notice that in said windows we have constructed not one, not two, not even three but FOUR old school games. From left to right, Space Invaders, Super Mario, Pong, and Tetris. Myself and one of our instructors from last week (Ravin Craig, Toast), made these lovely displays of old school gaming watching over the new school of iD Tech at UCD. These games proudly stand guard over our campers, reminding them of their gaming roots.
The next photo of our lab is of our 4th of July decorations. As you can see, we went all out in making sure our lab was as patriotic as possible. Look even closer and you will notice a few of our instructors wearing very large American Hats. These hats were loved by campers and parents alike to the point that several even mentioned them in their evaluations (of which this week, our parent evals were 100% positive and many wrote paragraphs about how awesome we are).
I would next like to inform you of the creativity and resourcefulness of our campers. (See photo epic04). Here we see the results of campers getting together with their instructor and planning one of the best jokes we have seen on our Director. Instructor Shark and his Web Head group took a photo of Director Mimi Shot Omega Mega and made 17 paper masks with ribbon to hold the mask on. Under guise of group work, Shark moved his group of prankster kids out of the lab and into the hallway to put on the masks. Then they all streamed back into the lab like some sort of iD style ending to V for Vendetta. I would like you to refer to that photo one more time and imagine 17 of those coming at you at once. Enough said there.
Finally, possibly the most epic photo of all. (See epic05). At first glance this photo is only mildly epic, but allow me to walk you through why it is EPIC. Let us begin on the left, with Instructor Chicken Noodle. As a returner, he has now amassed about 4 iD polos. For 4th of July he sacrificed one of them in order to complete his red, white, and blue outfit. He is also wearing the aforementioned large American Hat. Now the reason for his positioning in the photo is not to run away from the water, but because the bucket of water was too heavy for the camper who is dumping it. Dominique B (my only student for the week) had her ticket pulled to dump water on a staff member. She chose Mimi Shot Omega Mega. With Chicken Noodle’s assistance, she was able to lift the full bucket of water. She is an amazing camper and we were all pleased she was chosen for the biggest prize. You can see the happiness on her face as she gets the dump that water on our Director. Next, we have our Director himself who took the water like a pro. I don’t think I need to say much more about that part of the photo, as it is EPIC on its own. Finally, we have Neo, our honorary staff member. Neo was with us for 2 full camp weeks and for an Ultimate Gaming Weekend in between. It was clear to the entire staff that being with us was a positive life changing experience for him. You could see not only on his face, but the faces of his family at Showcase, what an amazing and positive experience the computer camp was for him. Our camp gave a bright, funny, amazing kid the belief and confidence in himself that we strive to see in all our campers. It was a very rewarding experience for all involved.
UC Davis is EPIC.
Epic 01 at UC Davis Summer Camps and Computer Camps
Epic02- The Groovy Lab
Epic 03–Groovey, Baby
Epic 04–4th of July Celebration
Epic 05–Camp Director taking one for the team!
UC DAVIS, you do ROCK! Thanks for sharing your stories and photos!
-Pete
July 8th, 2008
Posted in: CEO's Blog, iD In The News, UC Davis
July 8th, 2008 by: Pete
My peeps at Sacred Heart University–You’ve been blogged!
It was great meeting all of you out at our summer computer camp at Sacred Heart University today! I hope I surprised you!
Enjoy the pictures and have fun out there. I thank you, the staff for your dedication and I also thank the students for their optimism, commitment, laughter, and ability to experiment and try new things! Great work, team! Have a blast the rest of the week!
-Pete
Sacred Heart University. Arrived on a beautiful July 7 day!
Great schwag in the store!
Management Staff ready for business at iD Tech Camps!
Hardcore Web Design Instructor. Die-hard Microsoft evangelist–tie and all!
The perfect lunch time shirt!
The King!
One of iD Tech Camps’ finest Video Game Creation instructors!
Handshakes. Got game?
Summer camp staff put a twist on the handshakes with their feet!
It’s all good!
Safety First!
Build it. Model it! Create it!
1-on-1 Instruction
Robotics Programs
iD on the Big Screen
Keep this place running ship shape!
UT3 and Game Design Course
Focus
Smile for me!
Happy staff = happy campers
Let Freedom Ring!
Have fun out there, make some amazing projects, laugh a lot, and get out there and play!
Best,
Pete
July 8th, 2008
Posted in: CEO's Blog, iD In The News
July 8th, 2008 by: Pete
I received this email from a staff member at our summer computer camps at Wake Forest University. Enjoy!
From: Zoltan (iD Summer Camp Staff Team Member, Wake Forest University)
To: Pete
Subject: RE: Outstanding Student
Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2008 11:58:41 -0400
Hey Pete,
Adam (last name not shared for confidentiality purposes) was taking the Videog Game Creation and Web Design Hybrid course at Wake Forest this past week and build a three-layer, 46 page long Website. In two days! When we had outdoor activities, he always participated, but he almost always opted for working on his site when he was given the chance to do so. He was really amazing. You should have seen how his face lit up when I mentioned him that he might have been the only student in iD history who managed to achieve something like this in such a short period of time. (A 46 page website?!)
During the first day we worked through his first Video Game, the second day he completed the basic modules in Web design, and on the third and fourth days he started and finished his Website. Adam had to do tons of image cropping and even more link checking on his pages. He also opted for learned Dreamweaver to help him in completing his site even faster. We agreed on one thing though: he had to have different content on every third-level page… and Adam did it. He didn’t have the time to write paragraphs for these pages, but he managed to put in at least one or two short sentences for each page. At the end it was only a few pages that needed to be corrected on Friday morning (linking), but since Adam was on the top of it, he could even participate in the Jeopardy game for all students afterwards.
On Friday our director mentioned that Adam had been planning on signing up for another week. I hope he would do so, since with his diligence Adam could move on to more advanced modules in the curriculum, including Flash animation too. His Website with animated Flash banners would look just AWESOME!
On Friday, he was pointing to his diploma a few times very proudly when showing it to his parents. On his way out from our class, you should have seen him smiling when I told him that I meant every single word of it. It might not be possible, but it would probably mean a lot for Adam if he could receive some other forms of acknowledgment – other than what has already read on his diploma -; an e-mail or a letter…
Thank you and hope you’ll have a great week.
Sincerely,
Zoltan (Adam’s Instructor)
Wake Forest University
Zoltan, I can do better than just email Adam. His story, courtesy of you, has now been blogged. Thanks for letting us know about his experience at iD Tech Camps! Please let him know about this blog post!
Adam. Way to go!
July 8th, 2008
Posted in: Summer Camps
July 7th, 2008 by: Elise
Camp for Computer-Age Children
By Rob Ikoku
CHAPEL HILL—For many children, summer camp offers the opportunity to get away from mom and dad, make new friends and have all kinds of fun on the lake. But for some children, camp involves more conditioning. Air conditioning, that is.
Campers at iD Tech Camp at UNC take the summer camp idea and turn it inside-out. Designed to cater to the computer crowd, the camp, based in UNC’s Spencer dorm, offers classes ranging from programming to video game modification. Open to kids as young as 7, the weekly camp caters to those who have frown up surrounded by an electronic culture, and who represent the future of a booming industry, explained cam director Kathy Trimble.
“For this age group, it’s a very natural thing,” she said. “Each child takes their own track and makes their own custom-designed project.”
As she spoke, fingers clicked away at keyboards as games of all types were being constructed, tested and tweaked. Mason Garard, 12, of Noblesville, Ind., took time away to describe his 12-level creation.
“I guess it’s an adventure game,” he said. “The spider’s name is Cirrus and he’s fighting Nimbus, the demon. I’m going to sell the idea to Nintendo.”
While it might be a few more years before the designers behind titles such as blockbusters Halo and Grand Theft Auto take notice, it’s not as far-fetched as it might seem, Trimble said. “We have iD Tech campers who have published games.”
For parents who might second guess sending their children to a computer camp, Trimble was reassuring, insisting that the game-based camp offered an opportunity to be creative rather than just an escape.
“It’s logic based,” she said, referring to the game design software, before adding that every game “has to be carefully designed and built.”
As for video games in general, the freedom involved with constructing is the real draw, but that freedom has limits, said Andy Arminio, a camp counselor from Flagstaff, Ariz. He spoke at length concerning violence in video games and the balance between allowing campers to build them as they wish and ensuring they keep violence to a minimum.
“It does look a lot more realistic,” he said, referring to the violence in some of the advanced campers’ creations. “But in the end, you’re responsible for what you do. It’s always a trade-off between freedom of expression and the public good.”
In the end, the camp gives all comers the opportunity to work with computers and do what they love, Trimble said. “It gives the campers the change to live a college life and also experience being independent.”
This article first appeared in the July 7th edition of the Chapel Hill Herald.
July 7th, 2008
Posted in: UNC Chapel Hill
July 3rd, 2008 by: Jimmy
Hello iD Nation!
Happy 4th of July!
Jimmy went through the camp photos posted on www.internalDrive.com/photos and found some really terrific 4th of July Summer Camp Spirit out there! Below are the winners for the week! Please remember camp IS in session tomorrow (for the 4th) and let’s make it special!
UPDATE: We’ll work on combing through additional pictures for tomorrow, July 4th–we know additional pictures are forthcoming. Have fun!
I want to thank all of you who are participating and getting into the spirit at iD Tech Camps, iD Gaming Academy and iD Film Academy.
Wake Forest University Summer Camps and Computer Camps
Wake Forest University Summer Camps and Computer Camps – Photo 2
Villanova University Summer Camps and Computer Camps
Villanova University Summer Camps and Computer Camps- Photo 2
Vanderbilt University Summer Camps and Computer Camps
Vanderbilt University Summer Camps and Computer Camps Photo 2
UT Austin Summer Camps and Computer Camps
UT Austin Summer Camps and Computer Camps photo 2
University of Denver Summer Camps and Computer Camps, Tie Dye Shirts
Santa Clara University Summer Camps and Computer Camps
University of Houston Summer Camps and Computer Camps
Macalester College Summer Camps and Computer Camps
Congrats to all the iD summer computer camps that are showing their spirit! Remember, you can always have a blast and get into the spirit! Have fun tomorrow and be safe out there!
-Pete, Jimmy and the rest of the iD Tech Camps Team
July 3rd, 2008
Posted in: Summer Camps
