Digital Kids Byte Into Being Entrepreneurs
Technology Camps Across the U. S. Lead the Way
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 from the Philadelphia
area 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 prestigious
universities in 19 states. These 40 locations include Stanford,
Princeton, UCLA, Columbia, Northwestern, Vassar, and Emory.
During the week, students take courses in web design, digital
video production, 2D and 3D video game creation, and programming
& robotics. With small class sizes 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 and AutoDesk.
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."
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 article 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. In 1994, U.S. schools
spent about $3 billion on computer- and network-based
technology. Despite all this activity, however, examples of
school-wide use of technology are comparatively rare and
isolated."
iD Tech Camps addresses this pressing need and uses tech savvy
role models for instructors. As role models, these college
students and recent grads make learning fun and share first-hand
how technology is making a positive impact. "Our philosophy is
to be mentors for these Digital Kids. They are like sponges, and
love to soak up this knowledge," said Jennifer Liss, Camp
Director at the iD Tech Camps where Kyle attended. "These kids
can't get enough so it's incredibly inspiring for us to teach
them what we've learned in college and our professions."
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.
While Kyle is using his newly learned website design skills to
help his dad improve his company's website, across the country
in San Francisco ten-year-old Julian is transforming his passion
for video games into a profitable business.
Julian's mom, Ellen Finnegan, also heard of iD Tech Camps and
immediately enrolled her bright son in a Video Game Creation
course. Her hope was to inspire Julian in technology through his
passion--video games.
But Ellen never expected how far he'd go. After creating his
video game at camp, using the easy-to-use Multimedia Fusion,
Julian didn't stop there. When he returned home, he would finish
his homework quickly, and then would spend time adding more
details to his game. He then began selling his game to peers.
The demand was so large that this young entrepreneur expanded
his sales team by hiring his eight year old sister and her
friend. It worked. Now Julian is working on his third sequel due
to the pent up demand.
With these Digital Kids, the sky is the limit. With both Kyle
and Julian already enrolled in more courses on Programming &
Robotics, Web Design, and Digital Video, who knows what these
whiz kids will create next.
And what does Julian want to do in the future?
"Own several video game companies," said this confident fourth
grader. "If I'm rich, I'll own three. If not, I'll own one."