Our Philosophy
Be Creative!
The world of the 21st century is in a seemingly perpetual state of change. This change can happen globally or locally, quickly or subtly, simply or complexly. Whatever the case, the citizens of the 21st century will need to rely on being flexible, creative problem solvers. The big question then becomes, “How can we give kids the chance to develop their creative problem solving powers?”
Just like when an artist begins with a blank canvas, so too does a filmmaker or video game designer. The possibilities are infinite. One of the challenges of our summer camp program is to provide kids with a framework to build their own creative kid production without getting lost in endless possibilities.
Creating a movie or designing a video game involves a great deal of pondering and tinkering. There are ideas to explore and concepts to try. This ongoing experimental thinking is one of the ways we try to tap into the natural creativity of our campers. Giving kids the chance to explore and tinker on one hand while also providing them with the tools and processes to build their projects will hopefully give them the framework to take what they learned and apply it to their everyday lives.
Collaborate!
Teamwork. It’s not a new concept. Companies and organizations have long known the value of teamwork. The concept of working with others on a common project is at the very heart and soul of life in the 21st century. Dynamic teams who are able to collaborate effectively are the ones who are “winning.” The old “industrial age model” no longer works in today’s world.
The advances in telecommunication and computer technology allow people from anywhere in the world to work on the same project. It’s nearly impossible to predict the future for our kids, let alone what lies in front of us in the next decade. One thing that will likely be true though is that our kids will be collaborating with other kids on a global scale. The people they meet and work with over the course of their career will come from all over the world. These wider networks will exist solely because of collaborative efforts of the members of the network. Giving kids the power to learn skills that will make them better at collaborating with others is an essential idea for all learning institutions.
Working together on a summer camp project can take several forms. Sometimes teams form based on ideas about what the end project will look like. At other times, peer reviews will be used to generate ideas and provide feedback. Here are some examples of the collaboration techniques we use during summer camps:
- Storyboard partners
- Storyboard pitches
- Peer Review
- Beta Testing
- Cross-Project Teaming
- Marketing Teams
Communicating effectively is at the core of any viable team environment, so we provide kids with several structured, yet flexible, opportunities to hone their group communication skills.