UCI Summer Tech Camps - very cool

socal78

Well-known member
Hey, just a head's up to the other TI parents. I thought many here would be interested in the summer coding camps offered at UCI by iD Tech Camps for ages 7-17, where I just enrolled SoCal, Jr. I spent this weekend researching 6 different summer coding camps for my kids and ended up choosing this company / location. They have an 8:1 student to teacher ratio and instructors from prestigious universities. I was also really impressed with their large selection of courses. I signed up SoCal, Jr. for the C++ Programming class but there are many more available. See them here:
https://www.idtech.com/locations/california-summer-camps/irvine/id-tech-uc-irvine/#courses-dates

I recommend signing up soon. They fill up fast! I got one of the last spots available for our selection.

It is a little pricey but a great investment, imo. Use this promo code to get $50 off: 26HACCDQKG

 
It's actually just about the same price per hour as Kids Code Academy. Except, with id Tech, there's a better course offering and no need to bring your own laptop. It is more expensive than Planet Bravo, Code Rev, etc. but not as "babyish" and offers classes they don't have. Not to mention the instructors at iD Tech are not just teenagers working for gas money in between shifts at Pieology. Transcripts / CEUs are also available with iD Tech along with certificates of completion. The $50 promo code is just a drop in the bucket but it is better than nothing. It helps to offset the lunch fee of $60. (The kids eat the UCI student dining hall food. If that's closed for any reason, they will bring in catering.) It sounds like they may give the kids college campus tours as well but not sure on that.

I hope this helps.
 
I think we are doing this, one of my kids did the IUSD code.org class this year and had fun.

Just need to make sure we don't do the same one SoCal does. :)
 
At these prices, I wonder how much money they make after costs.  Maybe I should become an instructor.

 
I think the courses are 2 week courses.  The price is per week.  They are full day courses. 

I went to one of these sorts of things when I was a kid.  Out of like 30 kids, only 2 really seemed interested to pursue it further.  It depends on the kids.  If taught right, all the kids should want to participate and have fun.

What can they learn in a week?  Enough to peek their interest.  Enough to figure out if they like it or not.  I don't think they would learn much, but it would help them start the process of learning. 

I think they would also need an environment that would be fun to code for, if they were to continue after the class. 

 
Today was the last day of camp. I think it went pretty well. A good foundation was formed to keep learning on their own. They worked on group and individual projects. My kid never gets excited about anything but when I asked if he liked it, he actually said, "yeah." (A typical response would just be "meh" or "I don't know" or just "ugghhh".)
 
One thing that happened in class which was kind of funny. Since there are a lot of asians on TI, I thought you guys would appreciate this:

The instructor (an asian girl studying E.E. at UCLA) asked the group what their parents want them to be when they grow up. She said her parents wanted her to be a doctor. An asian boy raised his hand and said, "Oh yeah, me too. They want me to be a doctor." Then another asian kid's hand went up and he said, "Same here." And another. And another. They both agreed. That was half the group. I asked mine what his answer was. He said, "The same thing as the rest of the group after those kids answered... Whatever I want to be."

:)
 
irvinehomeowner said:
I think we are doing this, one of my kids did the IUSD code.org class this year and had fun.

Just need to make sure we don't do the same one SoCal does. :)

Did you do it?
 
Did one week of javascript programming (the Minecraft Java one was full for the weeks we wanted to go).

The best part... eating at the dorm cafeteria buffet every day.

Now that's my kid.
 
Iho, did you use that promo code I gave you? It doubled as a Refer A Friend. I was not notified.
 
No, the wife signed us up, not sure if it was before or after your post.

Not sure if we will do it again next year as it's really expensive, but knowing my kid, will want to again just for the food. :)
 
Funny, I thought mine would enjoy the food. However, he said, "It's nothing special." Oh, well.
 
1 year update:

The C++ code camp last summer proved to be very useful. I'm glad we did this. Although pricey, it was money well-spent. SoCal, Jr. ended up taking a STEM Academy class this year. He is whizzing through VEX projects using Robot C in minutes that are taking the rest of the class up to 2 days. A classmate of his was struggling. So, now he's passing on the skills to that boy by tutoring him in class. The teacher is very impressed.

Last year it was my suggestion to enroll since I felt there's never a bad reason to take C++ if you plan to go into Computer Science  which is his future intended major. He didn't really like the idea (he has my frugal nature). But how he is saying he's glad he did and might want to take Python this summer.

Highly recommended.
 
FLORIDATECH17 = $100 off id Tech summer code camp

I used this code and it worked. It says you have to pay upfront in order to use it. However, I believe you pay upfront regardless. Pretty sure I did last year without the code making that distinction.

More promo codes are also here.
 
My #futureprogrammer got invited to a robotics competition next month. His STEM Academy teacher pulled me aside at Open House and said he is putting together a team from a small group of students to participate. He said SoCal, Jr. taught him some things about coding he didn't know so he thought he'd be a good fit. #NerdsShallInheritTheEarth
 
Back for more. We're getting ready for another summer at iD Tech camp @ UCI. My oldest started with C++ one summer, Python the next. Both were awesome. He took it and ran with it, continuing to develop skills on his own. It is his passion. He is programming all the time, taught himself basic neural networks. Well worth the money. Today I've just enrolled both my kids for this summer. Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning for my oldest. Level Design and Cinematics with Unreal Engine 4 for the youngest. I'm thinking of putting them both in either Java or Cybersecurity and Encryption next summer.

CELEBRATE19 = $80 off per student. The code was supposed to have expired yesterday but the system still allows it. It is the best coupon available right now if anyone wants to use it.

$50 off is automatically given if you enroll a sibling or register for more than 1 course.

www.idtech.com
 
The craziest thing happened. On a whim, I decided to post an iDTech refer-a-friend code on a coupon sharing site. I racked up $500 worth of credit. It would have been more but it maxes out at $500. Darn, I should have created a second account for my second kid to get a second code.  (The code is per account instead of per camper or per purchase, which doesn't seem fair but oh well.) This pays for half of next year's camp. I guess this means we'll have to go again next summer.
 
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