Digital Kids use Hands-On Learning
to Express Themselves Creatively
Students participate in program at Washington University
and other universities nationwide

By Kendra Lundgaard - ETC Contributor

Goodbye pencil and paper. Hello digital movies, 3D modeling and website design.

Sure, maybe the pencil and paper approach has been gone for years now; but it's not just your typical word processing program that kids are using to unleash their creativity both inside and outside of the classroom.

These days, thanks to an innovative hands on learning approach known as project-based learning, sixth-grader Sean Fox is busy producing movies for his school’s projects. Eleven-year-old Julian Finnegan is applying his logical reasoning and creative skills to designing video games, which he sells to peers. And 11th grader Jimmy McChristy spends his free time experimenting with the 3D animation software program known as Maya® to design complex 3D cars and people.

Project-based learning shifts away from traditional classroom lectures. Instead, it actively engages students by promoting understanding, empowering kids, and motivating them with energetic, lifelong investigative learning. For Sean, Julian, Jimmy and thousands of other Digital Kids nationwide, what was once a passive hobby has been transformed into a passion where they’re learning while also having fun.

According to the George Lucas Educational Foundation, with project-based learning in the classroom, there is a decline in absenteeism, an increase in cooperative learning skills and an improvement in student achievement. These benefits are heightened even further when technology is integrated into projects.

With this hands-on approach, learning becomes more relevant to kids and helps them to establish connections to the “real world.” When students are more attentive, they retain more knowledge. This knowledge can then be applied to students' current and future schoolwork, hobbies and, eventually, a career.

Every summer since 2004, Jimmy has been studying, improving, and applying this project-based learning at iD Tech Camps, a family-owned Silicon Valley- based company now its ninth season. iD Tech Camps produces and runs weeklong day and overnight summer technology programs for Digital Kids ages seven to 17 at 50 prestigious universities in 23 states. Locations include Washington University, Northwestern University, UCLA, Brown University and Stanford University.

This past summer, Jimmy, 16, attended an intensive three-week game development program called iD Gaming Academy. During this program, teens like Jimmy used powerful industry-standard applications like Maya® to learn the basics of 3D graphics production and to create a project of his own by the end of his session.

"I really liked having an outline of the project then the freedom to take off from there," Jimmy said, "There was no lesson like school, where we are told what to do and can't use our creativity."

Each student has a different style of learning. What once was difficult to articulate in a written report can now be demonstrated powerfully through digital movies and other multimedia vehicles. Learning through hands-on projects allows students to delve into the content in a more direct and meaningful way.

"We learn more this way," Jimmy said, "because we are into it and we enjoy it."

At the core of the iD Tech Camps philosophy is project-based learning. "Our teaching philosophy is 'experience-based' which means from the moment the students enter our lab, the experience is hands on,” said Karen Thurm Safran, VP of Marketing. “We challenge and guide our students, encouraging each to experiment. Students work at their own pace and prepare for the grand debut of their projects at the end of the week using industry standard products like Adobe® Photoshop®, Autodesk ® 3ds max, and Apple® Final Cut Pro®."

Jimmy wasn't alone last summer. Sean, Julian and 14,500 other Digital Kids across the nation attended one of iD Tech Camps university locations where they used this hands-on approach to learn how to turn their hobbies into future impacting skills.

During the last 10 years, the Secretary of Labor selected a commission to determine necessary 21st-Century Digital Age skills for competing in the working world. What may have worked in the past – simply focusing on the "3Rs" of reading, writing and arithmetic – doesn't hold up for today's kids. Instead, the following Digital Age skills have been identified: teamwork, planning, problem solving, critical thinking, researching and information synthesizing, using technology and communicating.

A number of those Digital Age skills are developed through project based learning, including knowing how to work well with others, making careful decisions, being proactive and solving difficult problems. Thanks to hands-on learning, students are paving the way to future careers filled with independence, critical thinking, and lifelong learning.

For Sean, Julian, Jimmy and other Digital Kids, who knows what the future holds? But one thing is certain: the expression of knowledge is no longer limited to a pencil and paper. With project-based learning, kids can now have fun in the classroom, apply their knowledge creatively, and create some pretty impressive projects along the way.

For more information, visit www.InternalDrive.com.