First come, first serve!
With over 100 students signed up in the first seven minutes and 600 on the first day, the race for registration for Camp Innovation’s sixth year of operation was in full swing.
Camp Innovation is a four-day summer camp for fifth through 10th graders across Arlington ISD at the Dan Dipert Career and Technical Center. The camp is hosted by Arlington ISD’s technology integration and innovation department. Students learn about various forms of technology, make new friends, build innovative thinking skills, and most importantly have fun!
“For my future career I want to be a software engineer,” said Arlington College and Career High School sophomore Eduardo Orozco when asked why he was interested in Camp Innovation.
Drones, Spheros and SPIKE primes
The program is an excellent way for students to gain hands-on experience with coding and programming up to 10 new types of technology such as drones, Spheros and SPIKE primes.
Each challenge activity throughout Camp Innovation is designed as a real-world scenario.
“A lot of these kids have never had experiences like this before,” said Susan Anderson, a technology integrations specialist and Camp Innovation director.
From delivering pizza with programmed drones to maintaining a farm with robots, there is a wide range of challenges for kids to get creative and highlight their innovative technology skills.
“One of the coolest things about Camp Innovation is that what kids learn here at camp, they can take back to their classmates during the school year,” Anderson said.
Coding vocabulary was a significant focus of Camp Innovation this summer. Students learned to work together, put their new skills to the test and compete as a team.
“We came last year, and it was super fun, so we came back,” said Morton Elementary sixth grader Karol Favela. “It challenged us to make new programs and it’s a little bit difficult, but when you’re able to make good programs, you get a lot of points [which are earned during competitions].”
More than 650 students attended
The technology integration and innovation department continues to expand the program each year. With a newly written 8th-10th grade curriculum, an additional group of students and a strong partnership with special education, the camp hosted over 650 students. That’s up more than 100 from 2022. The Camp Innovation team also expanded this year by adding teaching assistants, health services and providing transportation.
Thanks to the state and federal interventions and operations department, Camp Innovation offered a FREE and exciting way for students to kick off their summer.
If your student did not get the chance to attend Camp Innovation this summer, equipment is available for check-out through the Technology Integration and Innovation Department. Arlington ISD teachers
will be able to integrate much of what was learned through Camp Innovation into their classes during the school year!
And be on the lookout in spring 2024 for next summer’s registration window!