A colleague of mine just sent me a link from the Canadian Press.  Most people in the U.S. know we host our summer technology camps at the top universities in the country – Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Princeton, UCLA…

As we begin our expansion into Canada, it is interesting to get a lay of the land.  Here’s a quick read on some of the top schools in Canada.  We’ve launched iD Tech Camps at the University of Waterloo.  We’ve also launched the iD Visual Arts Academy at McGill University.

The Canadian Press

Date: Thursday Oct. 8, 2009 5:55 PM ET

TORONTO — The prestigious Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings are out and 11 Canadian universities have made the Top 200 list.

Six Canadian universities have even advanced in their standings over the previous year’s list, with Montreal’s McGill University ranking the highest at number 18.

McGill, which is the only Canadian university in the top 20, was also one of the six Canadian institutions that advanced in its ranking this year over last year’s list.

The University of Toronto was the next highest on the list at number 29, improving from 41st spot last year, while the University of Alberta made a huge leap from 74th spot last year to number 59 this year.

The universities of Waterloo, Calgary and Western Ontario also moved up on the list, with Calgary soaring from 170 to 149.

The other Canadian schools that made the grade were UBC, the Universite de Montreal, Queen’s, McMaster and Simon Fraser.

So, rest assured, when you attend one of our summer programs in Canada, you’ll have the peace-of mind-in knowing that your are not only learning great technologies–but you are doing so at an institution of prominence not only in Canada, but also the rest of the world.

Have a great day!

-Pete

Dear iD Nation,

I want to personally welcome you to the iD Family.  To our returning families, I know you’ve been looking forward to our 2010 launch.  Yesterday we started taking registrations at 8 AM, and the phones were ringing busily all day.  That’s a good sign!  We had  a banner year in 2009, so we think 2010 will be even better.

An obvious question many families are asking is “What’s New?”   I am going to cut and paste some content from our “What’s New” page on our website:

• Digital Catalog – Our summer camp catalog is now available.
• Registration is now live! – Register with our latest promotion and save $100 by 12-15-09.  And when you refer-a-friend, you now save $50 and your friend does too!
• New Locations – New prestigious university locations including the campuses of Harvard, Princeton, Adelphi, Bentley, the expansion of our Teen Academies nationally, and our expansion into Canada.
• New Courses at iD Tech Camps – Awesome new courses include iPhone® App Development, Digital Photography & Photoshop®, RPG Game Design & Graphic Arts Hybrid, Game Modding with titles including Warcraft® III, Starcraft®, Half-Life® 2 and more.  Go to courses and programs.
• Expansion of our Teen Academies – The  iD Programming Academy has expanded to MIT.  The intensive game development program, the iD Gaming Academy has expanded to Chicago and Seattle.  We’ve also launched the new iD Visual Arts Academy. The Teen Academies are for ages 13-18.
• iD 365 – Endless Summer – Upon registration at iD, you now get access to our monthly FREE online workshops, taught year round by live instructors.  More.
• Receive Continuing Education Units from Villanova University or Stanford Continuing Studies.  Details.
• The iD Guarantee – We average 6 students per instructor at iD Tech Camps.  If we exceed an  8:1 ratio, you get to return for a free week of camp at equal value.  It’s that simple!  It’s iD quality.  And it’s only at iD!  Note:  Not valid for Teen Academies. Get details.
• New Games – Hot new commercial gaming titles used in our gaming courses, gaming tournaments and Ultimate Gaming Weekends.
• Learn Valuable “Life Skills” – We’re building new life skills content for this year.  The curriculum will round out the summer experience. See the benefits of iD. We’ve also got fun new camp activities for students.
• Technology Isn’t Just for Boys – We’ve created more courses and modules that are be appealing to girls including Web Design & Flash® Animation, Graphic Design, Video Editing & Special Effects, Digital Photography & Photoshop and the new teen-only  iD Visual Arts Academy.
• Go Green – We continue our iD Greening initiative by promoting carpooling, reducing travel and energy consumption and establishing new outreach partnerships in the communities we serve.
• The Basement.  For Students Only! – Find out what the buzz is about.   Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.  Blogs.  Student Project Uploads.  Camp Photos.  iD 365.  And more.  Head down to the The Basement!

OK, I’m back.  As you can see, we’ve been a bit busy preparing for this launch.  You might expect that we kick back and take a few months off in the Fall, but nothing could be further from the truth.  We’ve got the hardest working crew in the summer camp industry.  We’ve had teams working round the clock to pull all the pieces together…working with new locations (including the expansion of our Teen Academies and a push into Canada), developing curriculum, developing back-end applications, signing contracts, overhauling our website, developing content, designing our camp brochure, working with new corporate partners, creating new courses, and so much more.

The launch is a big, big, team effort, and it is a sign of our company’s organization and dedication to providing the very best.

On behalf of all our employees, we want to welcome you to the new camp season.  We hope you’ll take a few minutes to look around our website.  And, as always, we’re just a phone call away.

Best,

Pete Ingram-Cauchi

CEO, iD Tech Camps

iD Nation,

We’re rounding the corner to Summer 2009.  Our camps are thriving right now, and interest is at an all-time high for our summer computer camps.  But what makes a camp unique?  What makes iD Tech Camps unique?  SImply put:  It’s people.  Check out a few of the cool photos from a few of the very cool and creative people that are responsible for bringing iD Tech Camps to you.

A company that celebrates its employees is a company that thrives.

From our team of Regional Managers, Client Services Representatives, Admin folks, Field Services, IT and Marketing…the best team in the camp business is counting down the days until summer.  We are ready for an amazing summer.  Climb aboard!

-Pete

Developing apps and widgets for the iPhone, Facebook, etc. is hot right now.  There is keen interest in developing the skill set to enable the development of these apps.

Our client services department recently received an email from a client looking to register for the iD Programming Academy.  The client wanted to know if the skills learned at our summer camp will be transferable to a MAC working with X-code for the iPhone (specifically developing iApps).

Here is the answer, unedited, from our curriculum developer

Skills learned at iDPA are definitely transferable to X-Code.
The iD Programming Academy curriculum starts off with a brush up of programming basics and
then we jump right into programming of graphical user interfaces using
the Swing framework for Java and/or .NET for C#. Both frameworks are
extremely similar to Apple’s iPhone SDK (software development kit) used
to write iPhone applications on the Mac platform using X-Code. Students
will also learn how to create 3D graphics and animations using OpenGL, a
technology that is also integrated into Apple’s iPhone SDK. In summary,
the iD Programming Academy is the best fit for this student.

The iD Programming Academy is offered at Stanford University, and is almost sold out.
iD Tech Camps also offers programming camps in both C++ and Java at locations across the country.  The goal here is to create the next generation of computer science students.  Have fun.  Get interested.  Learn to program!

Check out all iD Tech Summer Camp Courses by clicking here.

When it comes to applying to college, some people turn to the U.S. News & World Report’s Top 25 List that comes out annually for guidance. Below is the Top 25 for 2009 in the “National Universities” category. According to U.S. News, “Schools in the National Universities category, such as Yale and UCLA, offer a full range of undergraduate majors, masters, and doctoral degrees. These colleges also are committed to producing groundbreaking research.”

Keep in mind that these are not necessarily the “most popular” colleges according to number of applicants. Numerous lists are compiled annually, including a list of the best smaller, liberal arts colleges. *Please note that some rankings came out as “tied” and therefore numbers may be repeated.

Why is any of this important? Well believe it or not, a school’s popularity and prestige plays a huge role in both the minds of the prospective students as well as the parents. With this in mind, iD Tech Camps and iD Teen Academies pride itself on offering students the opportunity to experience life on campus at many of the colleges below (and many more prestigious university locations that are not listed). Click below to learn more about the day camps and overnight camps we offer at the location of your choice.

Get a leg up on the competition and plan early!

1. Harvard University
2. Princeton University
3. Yale University
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
4. Stanford University
6. California Institute of Technology
6. University of Pennsylvania
8. Columbia University
8. Duke University
8. University of Chicago
11. Dartmouth College
12. Northwestern University
12. Washington University in St. Louis
14. Cornell University
15. Johns Hopkins University
16. Brown University
17. Rice University
18. Emory University
18. University of Notre Dame
18. Vanderbilt University
21. University of California-Berkeley
22. Carnegie Mellon University
23. Georgetown University
23. University of Virginia
25. University of California-Los Angeles

You can find more university and college rankings from U.S. News here. You can also register for our camps or contact us with any questions.

We look forward to seeing you this summer at one of our 60 prestigious locations nationwide!

When you choose your child’s summer camp, you want staff and instructors who are knowledgeable, caring, professionally-trained and FUN! As a family company, we place huge importance on hiring, training and retaining only the best staff. Other summer camps may boast these features in their summer staff, but few can say they have a staff return rate of 65 percent. iD Tech Camps can. This is the iD Difference.

iD Tech Camps recruits tech savvy, passionate staff from the nation’s top institutions including UCLA, MIT, Stanford, UT Austin, NYU & more!

Our goal is to ensure that every location is comprised of experienced, returning summer camp staff along with new individuals who bring a fresh perspective and energy to camp. Our staff knows that when they get to camp, they will be working alongside the best in the industry. We interview thousands of candidates each year – but only those applicants who meet our strict criteria are chosen. Next, staff are required to pass strict guidelines and attend in-person trainings. Much of the success of iD Tech Camps we attribute directly to our careful staff selection process and comprehensive training.

“Our hiring process is one of the most strict I’ve seen in the entire summer camp industry,” said Kate DeHart, Human Resources Manager at iD Tech Camps. “We hire adult-only staff and we conduct criminal background checks, multiple reference checks and require valid CPR & First Aid certification and in-person training of our staff members. We work hard with risk management specialists to anticipate problems before they even arise. That’s no small feat!”

A 65 percent summer camp staff return rate means our staff is committed to providing an amazing experience for your kids. Staff retention-like camper retention-means we’re doing something right. How we teach is a big factor.

iD Tech Camps provides some of the best camper-to-instructor ratios, with an average of 6:1. The small class size allows campers the individual attention necessary to thrive in their chosen course(s) and the opportunity to complete an impressive project by the end of the week. Instructors then get the opportunity to bond with their campers and create lasting memories that encourage, inspire and drive campers to do something big with what they learn at camp. We have built our reputation on small ratios. Parents notice. Instructors are inspired. Students are engaged. The quality speaks for itself.

“Everything is really organized and it is obvious iD designs everything around fun and safety,” said Bryan Campbell, an iD Tech Camps Director. “iD is incredibly supportive so it’s reassuring knowing that the staff can reach someone at the iD office anytime 24/7.”

We expect a lot out of our summer staff, therefore we pay them considerably more than other camps. Our staff appreciates the excellent work environment that we provide – high expectations, high pay, periodic evaluations, in-depth curriculum, teaching tools, clear processes and endless summer fun. We train our staff both in person and via the web, and evaluate them consistently. There are even surprise camp visits by the iD staff throughout the summer to ensure that our high standards are being met. By the time camp rolls around, the iD staff is motivated by excellent compensation, thorough training, small class sizes and the knowledge that they are inspiring students to do big things.

Our staff is pleased to work for a professional organization. They want to work for the best. If you choose one summer camp this season, make sure it’s iD. Then sit back, relax and get ready for a summer with stellar instructors who make tech learning fun while enjoying their job. See you this summer!

Here’s the scenario: It’s almost summer, your child or teen wants to go to a summer camp (or you need to figure out what to do with them when school is out), and with all the options available you don’t know where to start. Sound familiar? Choosing a summer camp can be difficult and with today’s economy, choosing the right summer camp has gotten even harder. Read on to learn more about your summer camp options and to see what type of camp would be best for your child.

Day Camps vs. Overnight Camps
There is one simple difference when it comes to summer camps. Depending on your child’s age and comfort-level with being away from home, day camps can provide the opportunity for kids and teens to socialize, learn new skills or play sports during the day, while getting picked up at the end of the day each day to return home.

Overnight camps provide a student the chance to learn independence in a supervised setting. Overnight camps are a great option for students who are comfortable with being away from home for one week or more.

Summer Camps on a University Campus
Some Academic, Sports, Arts and Technology camps team up with universities to provide camps in a collegiate environment. Students meet in university labs, eat in university dining halls, tour the campus and enjoy recreational time in university facilities. Plus, overnight campers stay right in the college dorms on campus.

iD Tech Camps chooses to hold its camps exclusively at prestigious university locations. By doing so, younger students are exposed to a college setting and begin thinking about their future at a young age. Teen students get the chance to explore a college campus that they may aspire to attend before applying or committing. Parents also find this choice enticing as college tours and activities on or near campus give students the chance to explore while learning!

Technology Summer Camps and Science Camps
These camps give students the chance to focus on a specific interest, such as video game design, programming, graphic arts, digital video production and photography, robotics and more. Sometimes tech camps focus on one specific class or element, while others offer a broader range of courses to meet the desires of the student. Oftentimes these summer computer camps have teamed up with industry-leading companies to provide students the chance to work with real-world products used by industry professionals.

Academic Summer Camps
These types of camps give students the chance to focus on one particular academic activity or skill and develop it over the length of the camp session. Many camps provide math, language arts, theater, photography or computer-focused areas of study. Cost can vary widely depending on materials used and length of camp. Some academic camps offer special Teen-Only options for older, more mature campers.

Art Summer Camps
Art camps offer students the chance to explore their artistic interests in a group setting outside of school. Kids sometimes focus on painting, drawing or the visual arts, while other camps provide the opportunity to learn more about computer-based design and graphic arts.

Sports Summer Camps
Great for kids and teens who want an outdoor camp experience! If your child wants to learn a new sport or improve their current skill level in soccer, swimming, football, hockey, basketball, or even bowling, there are sports camps available. Some camps even provide a sports element with an academic element to create a balanced atmosphere. iD Tech Camps offers hybrid courses like Sports & Tech or Surf & Tech. Students spend half the day learning a new sport or learning how to surf, and the other half creating their own video game or personalized website.

Religious-Specific Summer Camps
These camps often combine one or more of the elements above with instruction and time set aside for religious study. These are often run by local churches and sometimes have a community service element involved.

Special Needs Summer Camps
These camps create a summer camp environment for students who, due to physical, mental or emotional challenges, might not have the option to attend typical summer camps or activities. Staff are chosen with this in mind and activities can vary widely. Camper-to-staff ratios are lower to provide individualized attention and create an environment that is comfortable and appropriate for the campers needs.

Making the Final Decision
Whatever type of camp you choose, make sure it is one that puts your child’s safety first and also one that has a track record for providing a quality summer camp experience year after year. Also explore student and parent testimonials from each camp and contact their client services team with any questions.

Whether you decide to attend iD Tech Camps this summer or another camp, make sure you are investing wisely in your child’s future. Good luck, we hope to see you this summer!

Hello iD Nation,

It’s Big Pete!  Yesterday I had the chance to head to the User-Generated Content Conference in Silicon Valley at the San Jose Convention Center.  I went with two colleagues.   If you think of companies like Facebook or MySpace or YouTube…or Craig’sList, then you actually have an idea of what user-generated content is.  In a nutshell, it is about letting the customers choose and decide what is important and relevant.

Social Media Conference

I took these pics on my new Blackberry curve (Nextel service).  So, the pictures aren’t all that hot.  While I’m at it, if I can ask Nextel to upgrade their network, it would be much appreciated.  I drive all over the Valley (always hands free!) and there are more dead zones than anyone should have to take.  The walkie talkie feature on the phones is awesome for communicating with our summer camp staff, but the Nextel network is spotty and it’s been that way forever.  Help!

OK, back to the conference.  We got to hear Craig Newmark (Craig’s List Co-Founder) speak.  I even snapped a few low-quality photos of the outing.

Pete and Craig. Good buddies!

That’s Craig in the background.  You can tell we are highly engaged in conversation!  OK, all joking aside, Craig was a pretty cool cat.  He is a nerd, and proud of it.  But he is sincere, and he had some good reminders and lessons.  Here are a few of the things I plucked from his talk:

Fun Facts about Craig’s List:

Craig’s List started in 1994/1994 as an email list serve.

The company started from Craig’s living room in San Francisco.

Today, the site attracts 50 million unique visitors per month and 13 billion page views per month.  Wow!

The company is a combination of a business and a community service.  It is an interesting hybrid.

To Craig, the internet = inclusion.  It is the biggest tent possible.

Craig’s secret for success?

Ask for feedback.

Listen to it.

Do something with the feedback.

Repeat.

Did you know that Craig spends 50% of his time in customer service?  Why?  So he can listen to feedback and hear what the customers have to say.  It seems so basic, doesn’t it?  He said one of the hardest things to do is to follow through with good customer service.  But, once you master it, you need to do it even better.  Keep improving.

Another lesson he preached was “getting out of the way.”  He had several examples of how he and his team stepped to the side and allowed the Craig’s List users to lead the way–even if it meant the business had to flex and change.

Finally, Craig talked a lot about creating a “culture of trust.”  He said “you don’t need surveys if you are listening carefully.”  This is an interesting point.  He wants to make sure his site is simple and fast (hence the spartan design and layout) and he wants to make sure it works.

It was a pleasure to meet Craig yesterday.  He is pretty unassuming–but very smart and he is actually funny, despite what he says about himself.

Craig Answering Questions

At iD Tech Camps, we use Craig’s List quite a bit for recruiting.  It is nice to know the man behind the list is real and genuine.

Until Next Time, Live Long and Prosper!

-Pete

For Immediate Release
Contact: Donna Pianka, iD Tech Camps
408.871.3734 or donna@internaldrive.com

iD Tech Camps Gets Girls Interested in Technology

In today’s ever-evolving world of technology, it may seem that girls have taken a backseat to boys. While the market is tailored more toward boys, girls are just as capable as boys when it comes to learning new concepts-however they sometimes lack encouragement from inspirational role models and miss opportunities that are tailored to their interests.

In recent research published in the journal Science, it was revealed that parents and teachers consistently believe boys are better at math and technology and this “keeps girls and women out of a lot of careers, particularly high-prestige, lucrative careers in science and technology,” said Janet Hyde, the University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher who led the study.

The study went on to conclude that things are changing, albeit slowly. Forty-eight percent of undergraduate college degrees in math are now earned by women, but they still lag far behind in physics and engineering. Educators across the nation are working to combat this issue by introducing girls to technology at a younger age with programs designed more towards their interests. Paving the way in the summer camp industry is iD Tech Camps, the largest summer technology camp in the nation.

iD Tech Camps is serious about fostering a love of science and technology through an updated and diverse curriculum that is designed for girls’ tastes and interests as well as boys.

Mary Ann S. (Parent, iD Tech Camps-Emory University) wanted her daughter to discover whether she liked programming to determine a specific direction with her college major. “We searched very deeply for the right summer camp-she almost went to another, but I’m glad she didn’t,” stated Mary Ann. “She learned a lot at iD Tech Camps and this gave her the confidence she needed in programming without having to worry about a grade or being intimidated in the classroom.” Mary Ann added that her daughter has been accepted to Auburn University and is going to major in Engineering and Computer Science. iD Tech Camps helped her decide this would be her career focus!

“Engaging more girls in technology is a priority so we’ve introduced courses targeted towards girls which show through hands-on projects that a hobby can be turned into a potential career,” said Karen Thurm Safran, VP of Marketing. “For example, in our Graphic Arts course, girls that like fashion can use Photoshop® and Illustrator® to create designs for logos, fashion apparel and merchandise labels.”

At iD Tech Camps, girls can choose from a variety of courses, including graphic design, filmmaking, web design, video game design, programming, robotics and more. Being located at sixty prestigious university campuses doesn’t hurt either. While students learn more about their topic of interest, they have the unique opportunity to explore the college campus of their choice by eating in dining halls, taking tours and even staying overnight in actual college dorms. Locations include such prestigious schools as Stanford University, UCLA, NYU, Berkeley, MIT, Emory & more!

No matter which summer computer camp courses or programs girls decide to enroll in, with close to 50% of iD’s staff being women-including the company’s co-founders, Alexa Ingram-Cauchi and her mother, Kathryn Ingram-girls are taught by professional staff who are leaders in their respective fields, as well as role models. This stellar team brings out the best in each student.

As many parents like Mary Ann have said, at iD Tech Camps girls are given a chance to explore their interests in technology in an open and creative environment that fosters a love of learning combined with encouragement and positive social interaction. This is one small but integral step in welcoming girls further into the world of technology.

It’s that time of the week again when we announce the photo-of-the-week winners at our summer computer camps! We have gone through all the photos posted for all the summer camps at our iD Tech locations and have found some great shots! This week’s theme for the photo contest is “Recycle!” Thanks for staying green!

And the photo-of-the-week winners are…

Stanford University Summer Computer Camps

University of Washington Summer Computer Camps

Congratulations to those camps selected for this week.

We are down to our last few camp locations of the season. We thank you all for your amazing dedication to making iD the greenest Tech Camp out there!

- Jimmy