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Rancho Santa Fe Review

As appeared in Rancho Santa Fe Review

April 19, 2007

Digital Kids Byte Into Being Entrepreneurs

By Karen Thurm Safran

Today’s youth is inundated with technology.  From Xboxes, TiVos, iPods and cell phones, Generation Z will be the most “connected” generation of Digital Kids to ever to walk the planet.

After watching his twelve-year old son surf the net, text message friends, and immerse himself in technology, sales consultant and business owner Peter Hanson had an idea.  Why not harness his twelve year old’s thirst for technology and redirect it towards a skill that would help him compete in the 21st century?

Although his company was doing well, his website didn’t adequately portray his firm.  If his son Kyle learned how to build websites, he could then hire him to redesign and update his company’s site.  Luckily, while surfing the web, his wife had come across a technology camp where they could send their son Kyle to learn these new skills.

So while most young boys are busy playing sports during the summer, Kyle attended iD Tech Camps and learned how to make websites pivot, jump and bounce with Flash Animation.

iD Tech Camps provides weeklong, beginner to advanced, hands-on summer technology courses for ages 7-17 at 50 prestigious universities in 22 states, including UC San Diego.  During the week, students produce 2D video games with Torque Game Builder, design 3D video games with Beyond Virtual^TM, create zany digital comic books using Comic Book Creator^TM, Wacom® Pen Tablets and Adobe® Photoshop®, and much more.  With small class sizes averaging only five students per instructor, students are given the attention they need to excel.

Besides a week of fun, these Digital Kids leave with a completed project using products which professionals use, increased tech-confidence, and a competitive edge.

“I was really proud that I created a really cool website within one week that made my instructor’s jaw drop when he watched my Flash Animation morph from different shapes into a logo,” said Kyle.

With the Flash Animation Shape Tween tool, Kyle made his animation come alive.  He used different colored shapes that finally morphed into his “Kyle Henson Productions” logo.

“At first it was hard, but my instructor showed me how to morph objects.  I think making animations for my site was not only super fun, but really rewarding knowing that I was using the same software that professional web designers use.”

The end result is a sense of empowerment, independence and self-confidence as students learn to articulate their creativity through new ways by using technology.  Often times they incorporate what they’ve learned in their school projects or even start side businesses.

With these Digital Kids, the sky is the limit.

For more information about iD Tech Camps, please visit www.internalDrive .com or call 1-888-709-TECH (8324).

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