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December 16th, 2011 by: Josh
Greetings and Happy Holidays from the iD Tech 365 Secret Headquarters!
internalDrive’s newest online program, iD Tech 365 has been up and running for only a month and a half and there is already so much to report!
The Gift of Knowledge!
Students are having a ball learning from our ever growing collection of tutorials! They are learning how to make their own video games with GameSalad, a game design software for all levels of skill that is used to make games for the iPad, iPhone and more! By popular demand, we’ve just released some Java tutorials teaching students the basics of how to program in Java – an excellent start for students who are gearing up for our summer programs! But that’s not all, we have nearly a dozen different technologies covered on iD Tech 365 for nearly every sort of interest, including UDK game design, making iPhone/iPad apps with iOS, special FX with After Effects and more!
Win a Free Week at Camp!
That’s right! Last month, user Slartibrtfst won a $100 dollar vouch to be put towards our camps or academy programs, which he’ll be using to treat himself to some time at the iD Programming Academy. How did he win this? Simply by playing the game Nyan Cat Fly at the iD Tech 365 Arcade! Every month a game from the arcade is featured and the winner(s) are eligible for a prize. It’s not too late to win a free week of camp for yourself, this month the user with the highest score on Tower of Greed will also win a $1000 dollar voucher! You can do it!
Spreading Good Will and Holiday Cheer on the Forums!
A wonderful community of bright, well-spoken and friendly students is forming on the iD Tech 365 Forums and it is a beautiful thing to watch! Every day I’m delighted by what I’m seeing on the forums, students helping teach each other, sharing ideas for projects and generally spreading the kind of good will that this holiday season is all about! You’ll want your student to be a part of this!
Come in a join the fun! Sign up today!
December 16th, 2011 | Tags: iD Tech 365
Posted in: iD Tech Bloggers
December 15th, 2011 by: Ryan
by John Mordecai
NEW HAVEN — Techie high school students will have a chance to delve into creating their own apps and learn programming skills when the iD Programming Academy camp comes to Yale University next summer.
Open to teenagers ages 13 to 18, the two-week overnight camp provides instruction on computer programming and application development. The camp has taken place on various university campuses across the country and comes to Yale for the first time in 2012.
“Our goal is to take a student’s hobby or passion and show them how they can do much more with it, and how they can even turn it into a career,” says Karen Thurm Safran, iD Tech Camps’ vice president of marketing and business development.
Click here to read the full article.
December 15th, 2011 | Tags: new haven summer camps, teen programming camp, Yale summer camps
Posted in: iD In The News, Sacred Heart University, Wesleyan University
December 15th, 2011 by: Donna
In my last post I answered the no-longer-elusive question: “What do you guys do when camps aren’t in session?” But have you ever wondered about the individuals behind the big green iD logo? What we’re like and what really makes us tick?
If you visited our offices and saw the festive decorations, the goals posted on our walls, and the many photos of family and friends (and pets), you would see that we probably have quite a bit in common with you. We care about what we do. We care about our families. We all have commitments and schedules to juggle – all of which can seem magnified this time of year.
And, like many of us, perhaps you haven’t had a chance to do any holiday shopping yet. But that’s okay! (The stores are open later during December for that very reason.) Maybe the list below will give you some ideas. Maybe you’ll get a bit nostalgic. Maybe you’ll glean a fun thought or even a chuckle or two. Here’s a look at what some of us are hoping for this year.
Jen, regional manager: “I would really like a snow tube and snow shoes. I know it sounds silly but the thrill of sliding down a snow hill is just as exhilarating now as it was when I was a kid.” Alisa, director, strategic programs: “I’d like to hear that the U.S. economy has gained some more strength. Good news going into the new year.” Sarah, payroll assistant: “All I want for Christmas is a Kindle Fire!” Alexa, co-founder & COO: “A day that is completely stress-free…full of laughter, giggles, beautiful memories to look back on and cherish for a lifetime.” Charlie, regional manager: “I want a legendary Daedric Sword in Skyrim 
” Allison, office coordinator: “I would love a Le Creuset French Oven so I can make some delicious soups and stews.” Pete, president & CEO: “I want to plant 25,000 trees.” [See One Camper One Tree] Robby, regional manager: “#1: New Golf Clubs” Marta, creative lead: “Garden Planters. Our apartment has this nice, large balcony and I think it would be so cool to plant some herbs, veggies and flowers and go back to my MN farming roots. (Whether I’ll be able to keep the plants alive is another thing though.)” Crystal, app dev lead: “A trip to Spain!” Nina, strategic programs coordinator: “I gotta dream big here…A good camera.” Julie, senior camp operations manager: “With all of this travelling I’ve been doing lately, I’m dying for the new Kindle Fire!” Jamon, program advisor: “Entourage Season 3!” Nova, administrative services representative: “The top of my wish list? SLEEP! All I want is some rest & relaxation.”
Hungry for more holiday tidbits? Check out some photos from our Ugly Holiday Sweater Contest. From decorator crab to pajama-fab – our outfits encompassed a very wide range (off the charts, really) of “holiday-chic” style.
- This is what happens when decoupage goes 3D.
- See? Told you we love our pets.
- Taking One Camper One Tree to the next level.
- And the ugliest sweater was worn by…Ryan! Umm…congrats?
- Vogue called. They want their December issue outfits back.
Happy holidays! Thank you for an amazing year. We have some great things in store for 2012…
December 15th, 2011 | Tags: Bay Area summer camps, christmas presents, corporate employment at iD tech, holiday camp, holiday wish lists
Posted in: iD Tech Bloggers, iD Tech Camps
December 13th, 2011 by: Audrey
Getting ready for college? Thinking about making campus visits? You’re not alone – according to an Art & Science Group poll, 65% of students say visits to schools are the most influential source of information in deciding where to apply and where to attend.
With the College Board recommending that students apply to 5-8 colleges, fitting in a visit to each campus can be a challenge. That’s why iD Tech Camps’ expansion of university locations is good news – with 13 new summer programs this year, bringing the total number of iD programs to a grand total of 78, students have more options than ever for sampling campus life.
“A college campus is the perfect place for younger students to supplement their education,” explains iD Tech Camps CEO Pete Ingram-Cauchi. “It’s a natural choice for us to host our programs on campus.”
New prestigious schools joining the list of universities that host iD programs include Yale University, Duke University, Amherst College, and the University of Texas at Austin. iD also has new summer camps in Nevada, with UNLV hosting programs, and new summer camps in New Mexico, with the University of New Mexico acting as host.
Counting the new additions, iD now has a presence at 7 of the top 10 national universities ranked by the U.S. News & World Report. It makes an ideal way for today’s busy students to sample college life at prestigious universities, while at the same time learning the skills necessary to get into those top schools.
Note: Many of our locations have recently become available for registration – check out dates and courses at these new additions: UT Austin, Princeton, Merrimack College, Sacred Heart University, and TCU. View all locations.
December 13th, 2011 | Tags: college visits, Duke summer camps, Nevada summer camps, New Mexico summer camps, summer camps in Nevada, summer camps in New Mexico, ut austin summer camps, Yale summer camps
Posted in: iD Tech Camps, Locations
December 8th, 2011 by: Ryan
Another informative post from one of our iD Gaming Academy Regional Managers Latonia on the benefits of 3D modeling classes. Enjoy!
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The world of 3D is wide-ranging. From the TV commercials we watch, to the video games we play, or even the sneakers we wear…3D visualization has played a part in their creation. If you’re thinking about a career in the 3D industries or simply getting experience with the software, you can’t go wrong. This is even more so for those of you who thinking about becoming designers and working on the conceptual side.
Representing and understanding design concepts in a 3D format is not the easiest (nor the most obvious) thing to do, but it is a lot of fun. As designers, in addition to creating, you will need to present your iDeas…whether they are about a video game, a car, a house, or a spoon. And the sooner you’re informed about your own creations, the more likely those creations will be successful end products.
As a college professor and iD Gaming Academy Maya course instructor, I have found that exposure and practice does in fact make better. You don’t have to possess prior experience to take a 3D modeling class, and you’d be surprised at how much exposure you’ve already had before you even get to camp. Like I said, the world of 3D is wide and diverse – it’s practically everywhere.
There are several ways to gain a deeper experience with the software, and taking a course in 3D modeling and animation is one of them. As a young architect, I trained myself – learning how to build 3D computer models by trial and error and by using books. While this was fun for me, it resulted in more “error” than anything else. I was learning both 3d Studio Max and Maya but this self-training method only got me so far (I had so many questions!). It wasn’t until I took a class where someone sat with me, showing me the correct and more efficient process of building 3D models was I of any real use professionally. Suddenly, I was able to build and animate 3D models faster – plus they looked a lot better! More importantly, I began to realize I really liked designing in 3D and seeing the endless possibilities of using software like Maya.
There are so many 3D modeling and animation software packages out there from which to choose, such as Autodesk’s Maya, or ZBrush, or Accurender. At iD Tech Camps and Teen Academies, we offer 3D modeling and Animation classes using Maya. Our classes teach software that is used by professionals and that can be used across many 3D industries – from gaming to film to industrial design. There it is again, that exposure value.
I’ve always said the best way to find a career you’re passionate about – or a hobby you love is – to constantly find experiences that are related to the things you love to do (or play). If it happens to be video games, or architecture, or watching those cool special effects you see in movies, try taking a 3D modeling and animation class during the summer for some inspiration.
Take care and see you this coming summer!
December 8th, 2011 | Tags: 2011 Summer Camps, 3D Animation Courses, 3D Modeling Classes, Learn How to Use Maya, Maya Camp
Posted in: iD Tech Bloggers
December 7th, 2011 by: Pete-V
My father is an incredible photographer. I remember being very young, smelling the chemicals from his improvised dark room – a staple of just about every weekend in my house. He has an unimpressive Pentax (maybe Nikon) SLR from the 60′s that he used to capture some vibrant and sobering imagery from the Vietnam War, particularly of children playing or talking to soldiers.
The Sunrise in New Orleans, by Pete Vigeant
I grew up with this level as the standard of photography and I can’t remember not having a camera of my own. Unfortunately, for years I was never able to get the same level of detail or focus in my photos. I was given an endless array of basic film cameras that (at first) had no focus at all or handled everything automatically. And these were film cameras, meaning that every photo cost money and was taken with a large dose of mystery. I remember sitting underneath a race track trying to get a single photo of a Hot Wheels car flying through the air… I never saw that picture, which likely means that by the time I got the film developed, I was stuck with a couple of ceiling shots that made no sense.
I met several photographers in college. They had similar cameras to my father and spent endless hours taking photo after photo, nervous that the exact shot they need wasn’t going to make it to film. As an outgoing dynamic performer, I was the subject of many long and tedious shoots – solidifying my concession that I would never be a male model (yes, that was my decision and I’m sticking to it!)
The Riverboat, by Pete Vigeant
Near the end of my college career, I took an Adobe Photoshop class. I had already used Photoshop a million times, but on a very shallow level. The professor had taught photography for over a decade and completely quit film in the early 2000′s, much to her peer’s dismay.
“A revolution is coming,” she told us, “The revolution of digital.”
I marveled at the power of Photoshop and I believed her that digital was the future, although my photography friends argued otherwise.
Eventually, I was given a digital SLR from my wife. It’s the greatest camera I’ve ever had – and I’ve always had a camera. Finally I was able to take the photos that I saw in my head. I can review the pictures instantly and still have advanced control over my scene – although I’m still (after years) fuzzy on all of the functionality. Truth be told, if I could take the class at iD, I would!
New Zealand - Mount Tongariro, by Pete Vigeant
I can experiment in ways I never could with film and bring my pictures to a new place using tools like Photoshop. In general, though, I don’t even need to get that far – I have the ability to take stunning memories and capture them the way I remember (like a pensive!)
Anita on a Pumpkin, by Pete Vigeant
I don’t think it’s likely that I will ever out-photograph my father, but because I am committed to documenting my world, my family and friends will remember the world from my point of view – and I will be able to share that point of view exactly as I want.
December 7th, 2011 | Tags: adobe photoshop, digital photography, photography, Photoshop, summer camp, summer photography class
Posted in: iD Tech Bloggers, Summer Camps
December 6th, 2011 by: Ryan
Each year we are amazed at the hard work and resulting projects created by iD Tech Camps and Teen Academy students across the nation. But this is summer camp after all, which demands balancing the day with fun, outdoor activities. Sometimes, those activities turn into something more, and in this case, published world records!
“Who’s egg-cited?” was the battle cry that pushed our 2010 Princeton summer camp students to beat the record for “largest group egg toss” (72 people). And there is nothing like a little friendly competition, as the previous mark of 60 people was set just one month prior by iD campers at our Colorado summer camps held at the University of Denver!
The very same season, iD Tech campers and staff at Villanova University were hungry for a record of their own, but opted for something a little less tangible (and potentially messy), setting the highest mark for “most people invisible hula-hooping at once.” While the act itself revealed 27 kids and teens attempting to set the record for something like most people dancing terribly, the campers pulled it off effortlessly.
All of this couldn’t have been accomplished if for not, as the book states, “well-oiled hip joints and overactive imaginations.” I can’t say I disagree, as we’ve seen these overactive imaginations create iPhone apps, work through learning how to make video games, and much, much more.
December 6th, 2011 | Tags: Book of Records, Camps for High School Students, Camps in NJ, Colorado summer camps, create iphone apps, How to Make Video Games, Princeton Summer Camp, Villanova Summer Camps
Posted in: iD Tech Bloggers
December 1st, 2011 by: Donna
Welcome to December! The weather is cooling off. The leaves are changing colors. Some of you may have already experienced storms and snowfall. Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in camp season anymore!
“So…what do you guys do when camps aren’t in session?”
This is a common question corporate iD employees receive. Allow me to demystify and give you an insider’s look; you’re officially invited to be a fly on our wall.
Put simply: We always have camp on the brain. When our summer camps aren’t in session, we’re prepping for the following season by putting together our catalog, solidifying new summer camp locations, attending camp fairs, hiring amazing summer staff, and combing through parent, student and staff feedback (to name a few things) – all to make next season even better than the last. Click here for a more detailed account of what’s new for 2012. Have a question about camp? Give us a call and one of our program advisors would be happy to help you out – any time of year!
We also devote hundreds of hours to website and systems improvements. These changes can be seen in our website and online registration process – which we’ve built from the ground up to ensure navigation and registration is a straightforward process.
But all work and no play makes iD a dull place. That’s why we take some time to have a little extra fun. Our Fall Festivities kick off each year when we dress up in our Halloween best for a costume extravaganza, along with some fun and games. Check out some of this year’s costume highlights:
- Peas & Carrots (Not always two peas in a pod)
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Sam from Tron: Legacy means business!
- Draco Malfoy came by to cast a spell…
- Heroes in a half-shell…turtle power!
- Nyan Cat even stood still long enough for a photo! (And was rewarded with a strawberry Pop-Tart.)
Although we’re pretty proud of our creative costumes, it’s a good time of year to give thanks too. I’ll go first: Thank you for stopping by the blog today!
Okay, I’ll get a little deeper than that. Here at iD Tech Camps, we like to say “Thank you!” in big ways. Our One Camper One Tree initiative was a smashing success this year. We’ll also be taking part in our annual Family Giving Tree holiday event which includes gift donations and volunteering inside the Family Giving Tree warehouse, sorting and prepping gifts for delivery to local children and families in need.
And what kind of Fall Festivities blog would this be without – you guessed it – TURKEY! A Corporate Office Thanksgiving Potluck ensued last week, complete with a wide assortment of the pilgrims’ finest fare.
- Macaroni salad rounded out our unique Thanksgiving feast…
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- …and even the dessert table included a turkey!
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- From our table to yours: We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this glance into the corporate life of iD Tech Camps. Curious for more? Check back later this month to find out which items top our holiday wish lists this season.
December 1st, 2011 | Tags: Bay Area summer camps 2011, best summer camp, camp catalog, Family Giving Tree, holiday camp, new summer camps, summer camp company, summer camp off season
Posted in: iD Tech Bloggers, iD Tech Camps
November 30th, 2011 by: Ryan
iD Tech Camps offers weeklong day and overnight STEM education courses for kids and teens ages 7-17. Students learn how to develop Android apps, iPhone apps, 3D models and animations with Autodesk Maya, video games, websites with Flash, C++ and Java programs, digitally edited films, robots, and more. Courses are held at over 60 prestigious universities nationwide including Amherst College, Stanford, UCLA, Northwestern, Princeton, and more.
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Not too long ago, U.S. News & World Report published their 2012 edition of “National University Rankings,” and anybody up on their university-knowledge game would recognize most of the names atop the list. Harvard and Princeton tied each other at #1, Yale finished #3, Columbia #4, MIT and Stanford at #5, Duke at #10…
Reading through the list, I couldn’t remember if I was reading the U.S. News report or if I stumbled back to the list of iD Tech Camps and Teen Academy locations.
Now that we have iD Programming Academy summer camps in New Haven (held at Yale) and Durham summer camps held at Duke, there is more overlap than ever between the two lists. Not to mention the fact that Amherst College was #2 in the national Liberal Arts Colleges category (we will be running summer camps in Amherst for 2012). Other new, prominent university names include our Albuquerque summer camps held at University of New Mexico, and summer camps in Las Vegas held at UNLV.
The aim of the U.S. News report is to provide students and parents the necessary data and tools to locate a school that meets their many different needs. And, to keep up with the proliferation of social media, the publication has implemented a new Facebook tool on usnews.com that allows readers to see which of their friends have attended – or are currently attending – a certain school.
All in all, it’s pretty cool to see that while we strive to provide a variety of valuable, relevant academic summer courses, the venues that host our programs are recognized to be the best of the best as well.
November 30th, 2011 | Tags: Amherst summer camps, durham summer camps, national university rankings, new haven summer camps, Summer camps in Las Vegas, top colleges in the united states
Posted in: iD Tech Bloggers
November 23rd, 2011 by: Pete-V
I’ll be brief. I’m obsessed with games – all games. Campers constantly ask about my console of choice and I cannot give a satisfactory answer. I love all of the consoles. And the PC. And the Mac. And the iPhone / iPad. I don’t have an Android device, but I love Linux and that’s pretty close.
Anyway, I attend a conference every year called “Games for Change,” where professional designers, educators, programmers and more all gather together to figure out how to educate (and other things) better using games. This past year, Gabe Newell gave a talk about using Valve software in education – particularly centered around a game called “Portal 2.”
After the talk, I met with Gabe and talked with him about – no joke – iD Tech Camps. One of our most popular outdoor games is “Outdoor Left 4 Dead,” inspired by one of Valves best-selling franchises. He said that he’d love to play! Perhaps we can get him at iD as a zombie this summer?
ANYWAY, Portal 2 is an incredible game and a perfect way to learn level design and develop critical thinking skills. And it happens to be the subject of a one of our new courses – 3D Game Modding. But the most important part of this post is that the STEAM THANKSGIVING SALE is happening RIGHT NOW (please forgive the caps, this is important!). From the timestamp on this very post, you have roughly 15 hours left to buy Portal 2 for $10. For a little more than $11, you can get the original Portal as well!
So don’t just sit there – buy the game now! And, when you realize how amazing it is (perhaps one of the top ten games of the last decade), sign up for 3D Game Modding. You won’t regret it.
November 23rd, 2011 | Tags: 3d game creation, 3d game modding, Gabe Newell, Portal, Portal 2, puzzle games, Summer Camps, Valve Software, video Game creation
Posted in: iD Tech Bloggers, Summer Camps
