NEW! This year iED summer camps take place in fully immersive learning spaces. In the iED Space shown here educators and students from Farmington, New Mexico, use avatars and webcams to explore DNA science together.
UPDATE:
In response to parent requests the fully immersive summer camps (see below) are now available for pre-teens (ages 9 to 12) as well as teenagers. Camps start in mid July and run, weekly, through the end of August, as noted below.
ALL NEW for 2021!
After more than a decade of in-person iED clubs and camps, the Immersive Education Initiative is proud to announce the first in a series of fully immersive online camps that may be attended by learners located anywhere in the world.
To celebrate Immersive Education's very first fully immersive camps, the inaugural camps will be taught this year by Boston College Professor and Immersive Education Initiative director Aaron E. Walsh. An award-winning educator, Prof. Walsh has transformed the following Boston College courses into immersive online camps that are specially designed for pre-teens and teenagers:
These specially designed camps, detailed below, are open to pre-teens (ages 9 to 12) and young adults between the ages of 13 to 18.
Take 1, 2, or all 3 weeks of camp this summer!
Formal Collaborations and Projects
Learners taking any fully immersive camp (see below) may participate in collaborative projects with other iED Clubs and Camps, an option that helps to establish personal and budding professional relationships across clubs and camps while fostering cultural exchange. Learners in iED Clubs and Camps may also participate in official Immersive Education Initiative projects, such as the Immersive Freedom Trail, Immersive Santa Fe Trail, and Immersive Gold Rush.
Cultural Exchanges
Meet, greet, and explore together! Every iED Club and Camp participant is eligible to participate in specially organized cultural events, where learners from different states and countries gather virtually to "share their world" with one another. Refer to the inaugural immersive cultural exchange between United States and Australian learners for just one example.
Student Ambassadors and Young Entrepreneurs
The Immersive Education Student Ambassadors program enables participants in iED Clubs and Camps to establish themselves as budding experts in the growing field of immersion, while the Young Entrepreneurs program encourages, supports and even funds new businesses started by iED Clubs and Camps participants.
Campers earn Knowledge Token® (Knowken®) incentive and reward tokens during this camp that may be used to pay for future clubs, camps, conferences, training and certification programs, Minecraft accounts & servers, Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, 360 degree VR cameras, VR and gaming computers, graphics cards (GPUs), iPhones, iPads, and more. For details see the Knowken hub®.
2021 CAMPS
Creating Immersive Virtual Worlds
Students & teachers from Australia, New Mexico, Missouri and Boston explore the Sistine Chapel together
Three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds are turning the real world upside down, and in some cases inside out.
Virtual worlds are computer-simulated environments populated by real people who are represented in the virtual space by a personal avatar. Virtual worlds vary greatly in terms of purpose and function, yet all share the common theme of enabling individuals to gather, communicate and explore computer-generated environments.
Although video games are the most popular form of virtual worlds, the technology is widely used for education, scientific visualization, medical simulation, business and entertainment.
This exciting week of camp introduces campers to the unreal world of virtual worlds from the consumer (user) perspective while starting them on the road to becoming a producer (creator) by teaching them to create their own virtual world experiences that may be "entered" and explored using desktop computers, laptops, mobile phones (iPhone, etc.), tablets (iPad, etc.), and even Virtual Reality (VR) headsets.
Campers will be guided through the process of creating their own library, museum and "memory palace" virtual worlds to help combat the very real phenomenon of summer learning loss that is especially acute due to the conditions under which students have had to attend school (typically via Zoom) during the global Covid pandemic.
Skills learned and knowledge gained during this week provide campers with an introduction to a variety of jobs and industries including: video game design and development; Virtual Reality development; medical and military simulation; scientific visualization; Hollywood movie, film, television and music video production, and more.
During this week campers will:
Learn how to design and assemble interactive 3D immersive environments (virtual worlds) using iED Spaces technology, 3D object repositories, photo and image libraries, web cameras, web pages and shared computer applications.
Create their own immersive museums, libraries and "memory palace" study spaces to prepare for the coming school year and combat summer learning loss that commonly occurs over the summer break.
Build their very own virtual worlds for personal entertainment, socialization and collaboration.
Capture, using their mobile phone or tablet, and construct their very own immersive photospheres as part of Immersive Education's "Share Your World" program.
Understand the impact of culture, personal expression, and identity in digital virtual environments.
Explore immersive 3D arts and cultural exhibits.
Examine personal expression and the perception of identity through the application of highly customizable avatars and virtual world design and construction.
Discovering two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) computer graphics in a fully immersive learning space
Discover the joy of computer graphics!
Campers in this Immersive Education camp will discover the joy of 2D and 3D computer graphics by utilizing a wide variety of computer graphics software tools and programs including a free alternative to Photoshop, Microsoft Word, Augmented Reality (AR) and immersive virtual worlds and simulators.
With a focus on graphics for the Internet and the Web, campers learn related terminology and concepts as they gain valuable hands-on skills. During this week campers are taught the fundamentals of the 3 main forms of computer graphics (Bitmap, Vector and 3D computer graphics) and how to harness the power of each.
This camp presents a variety of graphics authoring tools, viewers, and formats while exploring the fundamentals of two-dimensional (2D) graphics, three-dimensional (3D) graphics, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), animation, games, interactive graphics, streaming media, and interactive/collaborative graphics technology.
Participants of all ages will be guided through the process of developing their own critical thinking skills as they cultivate broader cultural understanding through lively and upbeat conversations that lead to the contemplation of how computer graphics and immersive technology positively impacts education and society.
During this week campers will:
Create, customize and enhance digital photos and images using a powerful and free alternative to Photoshop.
Enhance student school presentations and reports using the vector graphics tools in Microsoft Word.
Harness the power of three dimensional (3D) technology by exploring, and eventually creating, virtual worlds.
Explore the subtle but important differences between virtual worlds, video games, Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality.
Create their very own immersive virtual world using iED Spaces technology.
Explore the impact of computer graphics and immersive technologies on society and the individual.
During this week campers are taught the fundamentals of coding (programming) using HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the language that every Web site and many mobile phone apps are built with, and the industry-standard Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) language that is used to "stylize" Web pages with unique and interesting colors, fonts, images and animation.
Designed specifically for individuals who have never programmed before (or have very little prior experience), this camp teaches participants how to create their own Web pages from scratch and touches on the concept of how to bring them to life with the JavaScript programming language (note that campers are introduced to the concept of JavaScript, with plenty of code examples provided, but they are not expected to code using JavaScript).
As they progress through the design and development of their very own Web pages, campers will progressively develop logical ("programmatic") thinking skills, systematic reasoning and creative cognition skills that last a lifetime.
As the week unfolds campers will gradually develop an understanding of the impact that the information age, and programming/coding in particular, has on our modern society and culture.
By engaging in "White Hat Hackers" group discussions campers will develop ethical knowledge related to how coding skills may be used for illicit or nefarious purposes but are better applied to ethical hacking and uplifting programming projects that benefit humanity.
During this week campers will:
Develop fundamental coding (programming) skills and competencies using the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).
Understand how JavaScript is used to bring Web pages to life via "scripting".
Develop logical ("programmatic") thinking skills and also creative cognition skills as they learn the fundamentals of programming.
Think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively in fun and engaging immersive learning spaces.
Develop an understanding of the impact that the information age, and programming/coding in particular, has on our modern society and culture.
Cultivate an ethical mindset when it comes to the potential directions that programmers can take as their skills develop.
UPDATE:
In response to parent requests the fully immersive summer camps (see below) are now available for pre-teens (ages 9 to 12) as well as teenagers. Camps start in mid July and run, weekly, through the end of August, as noted below.
ALL NEW for 2021!
After more than a decade of in-person iED clubs and camps, the Immersive Education Initiative is proud to announce the first in a series of fully immersive online camps that may be attended by learners located anywhere in the world.
To celebrate Immersive Education's very first fully immersive camps, the inaugural camps will be taught this year by Boston College Professor and Immersive Education Initiative director Aaron E. Walsh. An award-winning educator, Prof. Walsh has transformed the following Boston College courses into immersive online camps that are specially designed for pre-teens and teenagers:
Prof. Walsh will personally teach the camps entirely in Immersive Education Learning Spaces (iED Spaces), applying the same immersive learning technology and techniques that he uses to teach his Boston College students.
These specially designed camps, detailed below, are open to pre-teens (ages 9 to 12) and young adults between the ages of 13 to 18.
Take 1, 2, or all 3 weeks of camp this summer!
Formal Collaborations and Projects
Learners taking any fully immersive camp (see below) may participate in collaborative projects with other iED Clubs and Camps, an option that helps to establish personal and budding professional relationships across clubs and camps while fostering cultural exchange. Learners in iED Clubs and Camps may also participate in official Immersive Education Initiative projects, such as the Immersive Freedom Trail, Immersive Santa Fe Trail, and Immersive Gold Rush.
Cultural Exchanges
Meet, greet, and explore together! Every iED Club and Camp participant is eligible to participate in specially organized cultural events, where learners from different states and countries gather virtually to "share their world" with one another. Refer to the inaugural immersive cultural exchange between United States and Australian learners for just one example.
Student Ambassadors and Young Entrepreneurs
The Immersive Education Student Ambassadors program enables participants in iED Clubs and Camps to establish themselves as budding experts in the growing field of immersion, while the Young Entrepreneurs program encourages, supports and even funds new businesses started by iED Clubs and Camps participants.
iED Spaces are Knowledge Token® enabled.
Campers earn Knowledge Token® (Knowken®) incentive and reward tokens during this camp that may be used to pay for future clubs, camps, conferences, training and certification programs, Minecraft accounts & servers, Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, 360 degree VR cameras, VR and gaming computers, graphics cards (GPUs), iPhones, iPads, and more. For details see the Knowken hub®.
2021 CAMPS
Creating Immersive Virtual Worlds
Three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds are turning the real world upside down, and in some cases inside out.
Virtual worlds are computer-simulated environments populated by real people who are represented in the virtual space by a personal avatar. Virtual worlds vary greatly in terms of purpose and function, yet all share the common theme of enabling individuals to gather, communicate and explore computer-generated environments.
Although video games are the most popular form of virtual worlds, the technology is widely used for education, scientific visualization, medical simulation, business and entertainment.
This exciting week of camp introduces campers to the unreal world of virtual worlds from the consumer (user) perspective while starting them on the road to becoming a producer (creator) by teaching them to create their own virtual world experiences that may be "entered" and explored using desktop computers, laptops, mobile phones (iPhone, etc.), tablets (iPad, etc.), and even Virtual Reality (VR) headsets.
Campers will be guided through the process of creating their own library, museum and "memory palace" virtual worlds to help combat the very real phenomenon of summer learning loss that is especially acute due to the conditions under which students have had to attend school (typically via Zoom) during the global Covid pandemic.
Skills learned and knowledge gained during this week provide campers with an introduction to a variety of jobs and industries including: video game design and development; Virtual Reality development; medical and military simulation; scientific visualization; Hollywood movie, film, television and music video production, and more.
Discovering Computer Graphics
Discover the joy of computer graphics!
Campers in this Immersive Education camp will discover the joy of 2D and 3D computer graphics by utilizing a wide variety of computer graphics software tools and programs including a free alternative to Photoshop, Microsoft Word, Augmented Reality (AR) and immersive virtual worlds and simulators.
With a focus on graphics for the Internet and the Web, campers learn related terminology and concepts as they gain valuable hands-on skills. During this week campers are taught the fundamentals of the 3 main forms of computer graphics (Bitmap, Vector and 3D computer graphics) and how to harness the power of each.
This camp presents a variety of graphics authoring tools, viewers, and formats while exploring the fundamentals of two-dimensional (2D) graphics, three-dimensional (3D) graphics, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), animation, games, interactive graphics, streaming media, and interactive/collaborative graphics technology.
Campers will develop hands-on skills and competencies using a variety of graphics tools and programs including a freely available alternative to Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Word, Google SketchUp, Google and Apple Augmented Reality, and immersive virtual worlds.
Participants of all ages will be guided through the process of developing their own critical thinking skills as they cultivate broader cultural understanding through lively and upbeat conversations that lead to the contemplation of how computer graphics and immersive technology positively impacts education and society.
Introduction to Web Page Development
Learn to code!
During this week campers are taught the fundamentals of coding (programming) using HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the language that every Web site and many mobile phone apps are built with, and the industry-standard Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) language that is used to "stylize" Web pages with unique and interesting colors, fonts, images and animation.
Designed specifically for individuals who have never programmed before (or have very little prior experience), this camp teaches participants how to create their own Web pages from scratch and touches on the concept of how to bring them to life with the JavaScript programming language (note that campers are introduced to the concept of JavaScript, with plenty of code examples provided, but they are not expected to code using JavaScript).
As they progress through the design and development of their very own Web pages, campers will progressively develop logical ("programmatic") thinking skills, systematic reasoning and creative cognition skills that last a lifetime.
As the week unfolds campers will gradually develop an understanding of the impact that the information age, and programming/coding in particular, has on our modern society and culture.
By engaging in "White Hat Hackers" group discussions campers will develop ethical knowledge related to how coding skills may be used for illicit or nefarious purposes but are better applied to ethical hacking and uplifting programming projects that benefit humanity.