5 Vital Considerations when selecting
the right Tech Camp for your Child
So your child likes technology or you want them to give it a shot; Summer Camps are the best way to introduce your child to any discipline.
Technology now is something that is like Math was a couple years back. You have to know it’s ins, outs, and abouts, and you have to keep up with its ever evolving pace.
Summer is around the corner and we want to make the best of it. Despite all that there are so many options and it’s hard to determine the best place to send your child. “Where will they have a great time? Where will they learn?” It’s a tricky situation to be in, there are so many ads, and each one says something different!
Here are 5 things to consider when looking for the right Tech camp:
Ratio
The right balance of Student to teacher ratios determine how smoothly the class goes, and how much attention the instructor is able to pay to the children. If there are too many students to one teacher, the instruction time will be fine, but when it comes to individual problem solving it is important that the instructor is able to attend to your child.
Pro-tip: The adequate amount of student teacher ratio is 10:1 or 20:2, it is important that the ratio is just right. If there is too less students, there is less social interaction and children tend to get bored quickly. A class of 9/10 will be a good social atmosphere and will also challenge the child to perform.
- Equipment
All STEM fields need the students to work hands-on. It is essential that the student gets their individual parts or laptops/ desktops to work with. This will enable your child not only to learn at their own pace, but to actually come out with a sense of achievement.
Pro- tip: Does the provider have individual machines for students. Is there any hidden costs associated?
- Quality
Quality equipment is needed to ensure quality learning. For instance, if you are trying to run a graphic software on a chrome book, it simply won’t work! And what more, the student will get frustrated. Whether they have PC’s or Mac’s, the configuration of the device is important. Are the programs built around cutting edge technology and are they laying a solid foundation for advancement?
Pro Tip: What kind of machines do they use? Example: an EV3 is a newer model robot than NXT’s; A laptop should have enough RAM (min 4GB) and Hard drive space (500GB+) etc. One of the latest buzz in tech is ‘3D’ and programming languages like JAVA never get old.
- Variety
You want your child to be engaged and try out various things in the summer. Variety will enable your child to explore different aspects of the very vast technology field and determine what they like best.
Pro-Tip: If a camp has variety in their offerings, you will have more options for your child; and what more, you might even get multi-enrollment discounts!
- Age Division
For the class to run at an equal pace, it is important that the students are grouped properly. If not, the older students might end up moving faster and the younger ones. And in the end, the take away is very little.
Pro-tip: Check if the elementary and middle school ages are grouped together or separately.
Barkha Suri
CEO/ Co-founder STREM HQ
