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July 6th, 2011 by: Elise
TCU academy prepares teens for career in video games
By Diane Smith
Enter the world of Cupcake Zombies at your peril.
Once in, you’ve become a lemon that shoots forks. Your mission is to destroy the hungry cupcake zombies because it’s only through their elimination that the Food Pyramid can be rightfully reclaimed. Does this sound like too daunting a mission? Relax. It’s just a video game.
Cupcake Zombies was created by 16-year-old Zach Villarreal during a two-week summer program at Texas Christian University that ends today. The academy takes teens deep into the world of creating video games. Participants tap into graphing, math, storytelling, computer programming and art skills to learn how to create video games.
Click here to read the full article about our video game summer camps
July 6th, 2011
Posted in: iD In The News, Southern Methodist University, St. Edward’s University, Trinity University, University of Houston
July 16th, 2010 by: Elise
Tech Camps teach kids to create video games
By Salvador Rodriguez
They laugh and giggle as they make their characters jump from platform to platform, avoid traps and shoot bad guys, but don’t mistake what these kids are doing for play time.
They’re actually working — testing each other’s video game designs.
Thirty-seven children ages seven to 17 are in a weeklong session at the University of Houston learning to make websites and create and modify video games at a technology camp put on by InternalDrive, a California company that hosts similar summer computer camps around the country….
Click here to read the full article about our Houston summer camps
July 16th, 2010
Posted in: iD In The News, Southern Methodist University, St. Edward’s University, Trinity University, University of Houston, University of the Incarnate Word
June 29th, 2009 by: Elise
While peers play games, 6th grader creates them in summer camp
By Anna Schuman
Northpointe Intermediate student Gabe Shah is creating a 15-level multi-player Mario computer game in his iD Tech camp.
When Gabe Shah returns to school in August, his friends might tell stories of places they visited in the summer, of sites they’ve seen, of games they’ve played, but few can say they have done what the 11-year-old has.
The soon-to-be sixth grader at Northpointe Intermediate said he wishes he could spend all day every day at iD Tech Camp, held at the University of Houston. In just a few days, he has learned to create, and has completed, his very own 15-level, multiplayer “Mario” computer game.
An avid game player, Shah has had his sights set on becoming a game maker and working for Jagex Games, an independent game publisher and developer based in England. He, like many of his peers, was already familiar with playing games, but now he knows how to make them as well.
Creating games, he said, takes a lot of creativity. He was given few guidelines about the type of game to create, so most of it is straight from his imagination. Not only do he and his fellow campers leave at the end of the week knowing they were able to create something, they get to take their game home with them.
“It’d really be cool if my friends could play my game, and think it’s really cool, then they can ask where I got it and I can say I made it,” he said. “I’m the only one who can say they’ve made their own game.”
Students like Shah, ranging in age from 7 to 18, can participate in iD Tech’s gaming, film and programming camps nationwide. Some students travel across the country to go to the camps, others from across the world.
Anela Wenger, the camp director at U of H, said one of Shah’s fellow campers flew in from Japan for two weeks to participate in the camp in Houston. Wenger said she believes the popularity, though Houston is one of the smaller camps, is due to the program’s reputation.
“Some people might be skeptical to send their kids to a camp where they play video games all day,” she said. “Yeah, they do play games, but here they create the games.”
An educator by profession, Wenger said she is amazed by the focus the campers have when they start their projects. When they are doing other camp activities, indoors and outdoors, and even during lunch, campers ask if they can go back to work on their projects.
There’s more to what the campers learn than just how to program computers, design and create games, she said. They also learn great problem-solving skills through the medium of game creation.
Shah plans to return to the camp each year, taking different classes at different levels, learning everything he can, and hopes to one day be among the college and graduate students who teach the camp classes.
He said people might think of people who love computers as nerdy, but he wants people to remember how Bill Gates got his start, and said he and future campers might be among the next Albert Einsteins and Bill Gates’ of the world. Until then, he plans to spread the word about his favorite camp and the importance of computers to everyone.
“They always say reading, writing and math are what you need to know, but I think everyone should know computers these days,” he said. “Kids don’t have to love computers to come to this camp, but I bet they will when they leave.”
Share the Experience
iD Tech Camps run at the University of Houston through July 24. For more information or to reserve your spot, go to www.internalDrive.com.
June 29th, 2009 | Tags: Summer Camps, Technology summer camp, University of Houston, video game camp, video Game creation
Posted in: Southern Methodist University, Trinity University, University of Houston, University of the Incarnate Word
July 19th, 2007 by: Ryan
Digital Camp: No singing “Kum Ba Yah” here
by Bob Bartel
As this summer’s almost daily rains have inundated local residents, three Baytown students have found what may be the perfect summer camp: the iD Tech Camps at the University of Houston Central Campus.
These camps teach kids the basics of computer programming and game design, and let them create their own computer games.
Camp director Trae Stanley explained how the camp works. “This is a niche camp. We teach children how to build games, using proprietary software from many of the game manufacturers themselves. We have different levels of instruction so that campers can start at a beginning level, and work their way up to more difficult programming tasks. At the end of the week, the students get to take their games home on a CD where they can continue to work on them if they want with help from the manufacturers,” he said.
The camp day is divided into instructional time and free time. During the free time, youngsters can play any of a variety of popular games on the market, some of which call for dividing into teams. Teens and pre-teens are separated for these activities. Supervised outdoor activity is also encouraged during free time.
Daniel Krizak, 13, and his brother William, 10, were both enjoying the camp. The brothers signed up for two weeks, so they were able to try more activities. Daniel is making himself a “Star Wars space game.” His is a single player, two-dimensional game.
He said, “It’s really simpler than you might expect to create all the features. I made a simple game, and it took two to three days to create it.”
Jessica Parker, 14, also from Baytown, was equally exited about the game that she created. “I’ve always wanted to make a video game with my own characters
since I was little,” she said. “I’m having fun doing everything. It’s great making my own backgrounds, drawing my own things, animating everything and making it all work. The program they have makes it really easy, because it does everything for you.”
Stanley said that students can choose from a variety of basic shells for games. They have libraries of characters and objects from which to choose and integrate into their own games. There is an instructor for every six or seven children, so if they run into a problem, the counselors can help them. Counselors are given a week of training before camp, and have a large support network, including help lines and online forums.
“Even though each game is different, the problems are often similar in nature, making them easy to diagnose and fix,” he said.
One of the instructors, Joey Lapetina said, “This is the kind of camp that I would have wanted to do when I was their age. The kids are learning a lot about games and programming concepts in general, and we’re all having a lot of fun.” Lapetina is in web development and was recruited for the position by his college professor.
Each of the children said that they hoped to come back next year, and learn to work on 3D games. They were going to invite their friends, as well.
iD Tech Camps started in California nine years ago. They are now operating in 50
college campuses around the United States. Each student has his/her own computer to work on, and they use leading edge products from major software and hardware manufacturers in the classroom. Classes are limited to 36 or 37 campers per weekly session. The cost of a week at camp is $729 for commuters or $1,129 for students who stay in the dorms. For information call 1-888-709-TECH (8324), or visit web site:
www.internalDrive.com.
bbartel@hcnonline.com
July 19th, 2007
Posted in: iD In The News, St. Edward’s University, University of Houston, University of the Incarnate Word
April 6th, 2006 by: Ryan
April 6, 2006
Southern Methodist University is one of the 40 locations in 19 states where iD Tech Camps will provide weeklong, beginner to advanced, advanced, hands-on summer technology courses for students, ages 7-17.
From June 11 through July 31, students may take courses in Web design, digital video production, 2-D and 3-D video game creation and programming and robotics. With classes averaging only six students per instructor, students are given the attention they need to excel.
Students use industry products from tech leaders like Adobe, Macromedia, Apple, Canon, Radioshack, Wacom, AutoDesk, and Western Digital. Besides a week of fun, these kids leave with a completed project, using products which professional use and gain increased tech-confidence, and a competitive edge.
Today’s challenge for parents is helping their kids learn technology that they themselves do not use or understand. They depend on school to achieve this goal, but unfortunately schools today still lag in integrating technology into the curriculum.
Thomas K. Glennan and Arthur Melmed address this critical issue in their report “Fostering the Use of Educational Technology: Elements of a National Strategy.”
“The nation’s most important educational goal must be to produce learners adequately prepared for life and work in the 21st century,” the report reads. “In 1994, U.S schools spent about $3 billion on computer and network based technology. Despite all this activity, however, examples of schoolwide use of technology are comparatively rare and isolated.”
To address this pressing need, iD Tech Camps uses tech-savvy role models for instructors. As role models, these college students and recent grads try to make learning fun and share how technology is making a positive impact.
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, they incorporate what they’ve learned in their school projects or even start side businesses.
For more information about iD Tech Camps, please visit ww.internaldrive.com or call 1-888-709-8324.
April 6th, 2006
Posted in: iD In The News, Southern Methodist University, St. Edward’s University, University of Houston, University of the Incarnate Word
