Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Tech Camp

Tech Campers (and a leader) sitting with their laptops

I think I’ve finally managed to unpack everything from this year’s Tech Camp. It’s a week long summer camp organised by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, a geeky alternative to the outdoors, energetic pursuits favoured by other residential camps. (Though given the weather, we did end up walking down to the Ulster Museum for the treasure hunt.)

The short video below summarises what the sixteen campers got up to this year.

In a recent post looking at Northern Ireland’s changing communication and technological trends – triggered by the release of the Ofcom’s 2010 Communications Market Report – I commented on the noticeable year on year increase in digital media literacy. Teenage campers inseparable from their laptops is now the norm. Late night conversations up and down corridors on MSM rather than face-to-face. And a much improved working knowledge of film grammar and shooting/editing technique.

Open to 13-16 year olds, application forms appear on the pciyac.org website each spring (look under Events -> Camps). It’s a mix of hands on audio, video, photography and online, combined with behind the scenes visits to nerdy locations not normally seen, and set in a Christian context of understanding how these skills and gadgetry apply to our faith. You’d be very welcome to come along next year.

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