Thus, Kids and Computers = Peanut Butter and Jelly.

Sure, you can have one without the other…a little peanut butter and banana, some jelly on toast.  Still good on their own or with others, but a winning combination together.  Likewise, kids and teens can find quality ways to spend their days, away from technology or the computer, but there are plenty of indicators that say time is more valuable when spent learning new skills that will prepare their young minds for secure, lucrative STEM jobs.

Either way, whether it’s peanut butter and jelly, or kids wanting to dive deeper into tech hobbies and interests, my advice is to stay hungry.  Seek answers to questions – no matter how big or small – and push yourself to be better while still having fun.  You like playing on your phone? Learn to create iphone apps.  Intrigued by your Xbox?  Make your own game.  Whatever it is, just know that there is always opportunity to explore.

As co-activity czar (with Brylock),  I have helped shape several initiatives to make the camp experience more fun. One such program is our iDX competition, an all out battle for team supremacy in the fashion of a traditional camp colors war (iD Tech-style, of course)! Another is the popular staff incentive program, Nachos, which encourage staffers to go above and beyond in interesting and unique ways.

To highlight the feats of excellence performed by staffers across the country (and Canada!) Brylock and I host our very own weekly Vlog (video blog) called “The HiD.” Here’s our latest episode, the 2011 Year in Review, where the 2011 Nacho & iDX champions are announced – enjoy!!!

Capturing fun memories at our Columbia University summer camp.

Tech time at our UC Irvine summer camp location gets a little crazy.

An intense game of Jenga at our Stanford University last minute camps in California.

Girls learn STEM skills and meet tech-savvy role models at camp.

Young students participate in a Silly Hat Day competition at UCI.

Columbia students put engineering principles to the test.

Stanford University tech students balance lab learning with outdoor sports activities.

Ready to play at Stanford.

Can any Stanford alumni guess who this camper is dressed up as?

See you next year!

In the Fortune article entitled “Computer games as liberal arts?” David Kirkpatrick explains that “though many adults imagine the frightening Grand Theft Auto when they think of video games, kids appear to be subtler thinkers on the subject. Not only do many of them intuitively realize that games can embody any values and be on any subject, many want to make games themselves.”

It’s not uncommon for kids take apart and re-build their computers, assemble their own robots, or try their hand at creating video games and mobile apps. Soon, they’re looking for an outlet to gain more technological knowledge in their field of choice.

That’s where iD Tech Camps, iD Gaming Academy, iD Programming Academy and iD Visual Arts Academy come in, allowing kids and teens – of various levels of interest and expertise – to gain real-world experience taught by inspiring industry professionals. Kirkpatrick explains how this works:

Some educators [like iD Tech Camps] are going a step further, teaching kids to make the games themselves. It turns out to be perhaps the ultimate form of liberal arts. In order to create a computer game you have to think about the content. You have to write a script. The programming involves logic, math and science. And to understand how you distribute a game you have to get into issues of marketing, sociology, and Internet culture.

Recognizing a need for this type of creative, technology-based educational opportunity, iD Tech Camps offers young people a wide array of course options ranging from video game design to programming and robotics to video editing and photography.

It’s opportunities like this that allow students to thrive. After attending camp, kids gain valuable skills while new ideas take shape and passions are developed. Students even have the option to stay overnight on-campus at more than sixty prestigious university locations, introducing them not only to their potential college major through courses at camp, but allowing them to explore – and live on – a real university campus like Stanford, NYU or UCLA. This well-rounded experience culminates in a project that students take home on a USB drive at the conclusion of camp, giving them the opportunity to take their learning even further.

So the answer to Kirkpatrick’s question is a resounding YES! Computer games (and technology in general) have indeed become our recent generation’s creative, liberal arts movement. We’ve seen this pattern develop first-hand for years with our students. Just as writers pen novels and artists paint on canvas, video game designers, programmers, and web developers write, plan and draw out their own masterpieces. They create works of art for our digital world – and kids and teens are at the helm.

Want to cultivate crazy talent and develop serious tech skillz while having an amazing summer camp experience? You’re in the right place. We’re proud to be the world’s #1 technology camp.

Students at our UCLA summer computer camps jump around between tech classes.

Kids at our Wesleyan summer camps became BFF over the weeklong tech courses.

Teens in Connecticut relax with fun summer activities like pool.

Young students in Connecticut get goofy for a group photo.

Students in our NYU camps go on an excursion for ice cream.

Safety first during street crossings at our American University tech camps.

A young student at Columbia examines his robotics camp project.

Teens learn cool technology skills at our Princeton University summer camps.

American University camp students get a taste of life on a college campus.

iD Tech Camps…rocks!

Students in our New Jersey camps unwind with some bubbles during outdoor Tech-Reation activities.

Our instructors go the extra mile – whether it’s showing you how to create your own video game, or getting you to the goal line.

A student at our summer camp held at MIT shows off her coordination.

Students in our Massachusetts photo camp compare shots.

A young computer camp student experiences the iD Gold Standard – personalized, 1-on-1 instruction.

Students catch some waves at a beach near UCSD for their Surf & Video Production class.

UCLA photography camp students strike a pose.

Boys at our University of Wisconsin summer camp location let loose.

Teens from our Vassar summer camps take an off-site excursion to a roller rink.

A student focuses at our UCLA summer photography camps.

Students get goofy during Tech-Reation time at our Texas summer camps.

Teens in our Stanford programming camps hang out during a tour of Google.

Students in our California summer camps beat the heat with some pool time between tech classes.

A UC Santa Barbara computer camp student sits back and relaxes.

Princeton teens hang out and enjoy the college campus.

Girls engage in STEM and build robots in our computer camps held at MIT.

UCLA summer camp students practice camera technique – and balance – during their photography course.

The UCLA sculpture garden yields a cool shot for photography camp students.

A New York teen in the iD Visual Arts Academy does some sketching.

Students in the Google Android App Development class pose with a giant Android during an off-site tour.

Teens in our Texas summer camps practice some off-computer teamwork.

Students in our Vassar photography camp learn while out and about in the city.

Girls learn technology skills at our Virginia summer camps.

Students relax with fun outdoor activities between computer classes.

Students make cool projects like video games and smartphone apps at our California summer camps.

UC Santa Barbara summer camp students enjoy the beautiful Southern California weather.

Students learn photography in New York through hands-on projects.

Students get individualized attention at our computer classes for kids.

St. Edward’s University summer camp students reach for the skies.

Students make friends and have fun at our MIT summer camps.

By Shantal Parris Riley

Young minds probed deep into the world of computers Thursday at the iD Tech Camp at Vassar College. Scores of kids, ages 7-17, sat in front of computer screens, designing from scratch games, iPod and iPhone applications, and other programs. They were participants at the iD Tech Camp’s computer science summer camp, which is in its 10th year at the college. “I’m making an application that converts English into binary code,” said camper Benjamin Handel of Brooklyn. The 12-year-old held an iPad showing a blank window with a virtual keyboard underneath it. “Say you type this,” he said, keying in “My name is Ben.” He tapped a large virtual button labeled “convert to binary,” and a series of about 50 ones and zeros suddenly appeared in the window.

Click here to read full article about our summer camps in New York

• Arizona State University
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Purdue University
• Rollins College
• Southern Methodist University
• St. Edward’s University
• UC Berkeley
• Washington University
• University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
• University of Denver
• University of Houston
• University of Miami

Check out cool camp photos from our video game design camps, app development camps, web design camps and other gifted summer programs.

It’s all about the Tech at our Emory University summer camps.

Outdoor fun at Carnegie Mellon University camps.

University of Denver students serenade their instructors during a talent show.

Students play Apples to Apples at kids summer camps held at the University of Houston.

Relaxing with some air hockey at Tempe summer camps held at Arizona State University.

Hanging out at Texas summer camps held at the University of Houston.

Girls have fun with technology at Washington University summer camps.

Emory University students get ready for a fun day of kids summer camp.

Hanging out before a video game design course at the University of Miami.

Students at our University of Denver summer camps get ready, set…

And go!