iD Tech Camps
TypePrivate
Founded1999 in Los Gatos, California, United States
FounderAlexa Ingram-Cauchi, Kathryn Ingram
Headquarters
Campbell, California
Key people
Pete Ingram-Cauchi, CEO
Productscomputer technology education
Websitewww.idtech.com

iD Tech Camps is a summer computer camp, based in Campbell, California, that specializes in providing computer technology education to children ages 7 through 19.[1][2] iD Tech Camps are held at more than 150 U.S. college and university campuses[1] and have expanded into international locations as well.[3]

History

iD Tech Camps was founded as “internalDrive” in California in 1999.[4] In 2013, the company rebranded as iD Tech.

Enrollment and expansion

In its first season, iD Tech Camps began with 270 campers. 6,000 attended in 2004 and 8,000 were expected in 2005.[5] In 2011, 20,000 students attended iD Tech Camps[6] and in 2013, there were 28,000 students enrolled in iD Tech Camps courses across dozens of U.S. locations.[7] In 2014, iD Tech Camps, as a company, was "the largest of its kind";[8] expected enrollment that year was over 36,000 students.[9][10] 40,000 students were expected to attend iD Tech Camps in 2015;[11] and over 50,000 in 2016 and 2017;[2]  – this included international locations, GEMS Nations Academy in Dubai[12] and the University of Hong Kong.[3]

Alexa Café

Attracting girls to iD Tech Camp programs was cited as a challenge in 2002.[13] In 2014, 15% of iD Tech Camps’ 36,000 students were girls.[14][15] The company test-ran a girls-only camp program, Alexa Café, in the Bay Area in 2014 and expanded it to nine locations in 2015.[11] Susan Wojcicki (CEO of YouTube) was an early advocate for Alexa Café.[11] The mission of Alexa Café is to "fight and decrease the gender gap in the tech industry one camp at a time."[16] In Alexa Café’s second year at the University of Washington in 2016, Lynn (a UW alum) and Howard Behar (retired Starbucks president) sponsored the local program, offering scholarships to 40 girls in the Tacoma and Highline school districts.[16] In 2017, the Girl Scouts coordinated with iD Tech Camps to bring Alexa Café to Southern Nevada.[17] Girls are now 25% of iD Tech Camp attendees.[18]

Camp courses and online education

iD Tech Camps offers courses in video game design,[4][19][20][10] programming,[19] app development,[6][19][20][10] game modding, 3D modeling,[14] robotics,[21][4] graphic arts,[19] web design, digital video editing, digital photography, film production, and AI / Machine Learning.[22] Younger children may take courses in Adobe Photoshop and Multimedia Fusion, while older children may take courses in app design, such as Unreal Development Kit[7][23] and programming languages, such as Java, C++,[7] and Scratch.[10]

In a 2013 study, which analyzed existing research that spanned over a decade, nonprofit research institute SRI International found that "using digital games in teaching can enhance student learning."[24] iD Tech Camps uses popular video games, including Portal 2, TrackMania, Shootmania,[23] Dota 2, and Rocket League, in its curriculum.[2] Mojang’s Minecraft has been used[9][4] as a "teaching tool for game design, logic, and storytelling."[24] In 2013, iD Tech Camps offered four different Minecraft-related courses.[23]

Campers are given the opportunity to participate in traditional summer camp activities, like swimming,[25] kickball, frisbee,[20] and other sports as well.[26][6][19]

iD Tech 365

On November 1, 2011, iD Tech Camps began offering a year-round subscription-based service called iD Tech 365 (rebranded as TechRocket).[27][28] This subscription service offers online tutorials and video lessons in game design, programming, mobile apps, and digital art.

Locations

The company headquarters is in Campbell, California. As of 2016, the company offered summer camps at more than 150 campus locations throughout the United States,[16][21] including the University of Washington,[16] UCSD, UCLA,[9][1] UCSB,[25] Emory University, Georgia Tech,[7] Princeton, Stanford, Washington University in St. Louis,[1] University of Houston,[20] and Yale.[1]

Outside the US, iD Tech Camp programs were also offered in Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore and London.[3][29]

Alums and recognition

iD Tech alumna Rebecca Garcia co-founded the New York City chapter of CoderDojo in 2011. In 2013, Garcia was one of 11 named as a Champion of Change for tech inclusion.[30] iD Tech alum Ian Cinnamon authored “DIY Drones for The Evil Genius” and has worked for many prominent technology companies and startups.[31][32]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Kirsch, Robyn L. (3 September 2015). "Metro-east youth sharpen tech-savvy skills at STL Wash U iD Tech summer camp". Belleville News-Democrat. Belleville, Illinois. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Grubb, Jeff (7 April 2016). "How educators are using Rocket League to help kids learn engineering". VentureBeat. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Lambert, Diana (3 July 2017). "This week of summer camp costs as much as a month's rent. Why is demand so high?". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 McLaughlin, Moira E. (18 July 2014). "Kids and parents turn to coding to boost college, career prospects". The Washington Post. Washington, DC. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Sutel, Seth (31 May 2005). "Why just play games when you can create them?". NBC News. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 Lee, Ellen (11 July 2011). "Budding techies spend their summer at app camp". SFGate. San Francisco, California. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 The Associated Press (26 June 2013). "Coding camps for kids rise in popularity". Daily News. New York City, New York. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  8. ↑ Warth, Gary (19 July 2014). "Tech learning continues in summer camps". San Diego Union Tribune. San Diego, California. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 Hamilton, Walter (1 August 2014). "Kids and parents turn to coding to boost college, career prospects". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 4 McCue, Matt (8 August 2014). "What's in a tech startup name? According to kids, magic tricks and lip moisturizer". Fortune. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 McCue, Matt (3 July 2015). "Forget s'mores and friendship bracelets: This camp teaches girls to make their own apps". Fortune. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  12. ↑ "GEMS Education, iD Tech to bring summer camp to Dubai". Trade Arabia. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "Mosquito bites, data bytes greet kid campers". CNN. 12 June 2002. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  14. 1 2 Hill, Adriene (8 July 2014). "Is summer camp for coding or canoeing?". Marketplace. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  15. ↑ Weise, Elizabeth (29 May 2014). "Tech: Where the women and minorities aren't". USA Today. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Suharli, Clarissa (2 September 2016). "Retired Starbucks president supports all-girls tech cam at the UW". The Daily of the University of Washington. Seattle, Washington. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  17. ↑ Raz, Nicole (11 August 2017). "STEM summer camp for girls wraps up in Nevada". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Las Vegas, Nevada. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  18. ↑ STEM Gender Gap
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 Marcus, Stephanie (5 August 2010). "5 Innovative Tech Camps for Kids and Teens". Mashable. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Martin, Florian (11 July 2013). "Playing Computer Games Is Encouraged at This Summer Camp". Houston Public Media. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  21. 1 2 Early, David E. (21 April 2016). "Challenging High Tech camps offer the future to every Bay Area resident". East Bay Times. Walnut Creek, California. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  22. ↑ Intelligence: Technology Summer Camps for Kids
  23. 1 2 3 Grubb, Jeff (17 April 2013). "Camp Minecraft: How educators use the block-building game to inspire kids to code". VentureBeat. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  24. 1 2 Flechas, Joey (17 August 2015). "In South Florida, rethinking the computer game as a teaching tool". Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  25. 1 2 Chan, Nikki (2 August 2011). "UCSB Computer Camp Challenges Kids". Santa Barbara Independent. Santa Barbara, California. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  26. ↑ "Transcript: Computer Camp". Fox News. 31 May 2005. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  27. ↑ TechRocket
  28. ↑ STEM education: 3 of the best online engineering resources for kids
  29. ↑ "Coding crusaders see tech camps for Hong Kong kids taking off". South China Morning Post. 2018-01-29. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06.
  30. ↑ Puga, Kristina (1 August 2013). "A "Champion of Change" teaches free computer coding to youth". NBC Latino. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  31. ↑ Tech Camps Inspire Teans
  32. ↑ Watch Founder And 'Evil Genius' Ian Cinnamon Build A Drone In Minutes
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