College Offering Virtual Summer Camps

Just because there are restrictions on large gatherings doesn't mean summer camps aren't an option this year. It just means, as with everything else, they will have a different look.

Thomas Nelson Community College has partnered with New Jersey-based Black Rocket Productions to offer 12 online summer computer camps, beginning July 13 and running through the end of August. The timing is working out quite well, said Brent Holliday, marketing coordinator for the Williamsburg Workforce Development Center.

"Even in a normal year, these folks get lots of calls from frantic parents asking how to keep their kids engaged and learning," said Holliday, who has been reaching out to youth services coordinators in the library and school systems the College serves. "Of course, we all know this is not even close to a normal year, so I think they are getting even more information requests."

When Dr. Susan English, vice president for Academic Affairs, mentioned to Franz Albertini and Workforce Development the possibility of virtual camps, he jumped at the chance.

"I said, 'Sure, why not?' I thought it would be a good idea because a lot of the folks are at home right now," said Albertini, director of career services and workforce transition for Workforce Development.

The classes will cover topics ranging from coding and programming to game and website design. All are Monday-Friday (one morning session and one afternoon session each day) designed for two age groups: 8-11 and 11-14.

Again, as with almost every other change because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are new challenges.

It's quite possible not every home will have enough computers, especially if the parents are working at home or there are multiple children interested in the same virtual summer camp. Even if they do, there could be problems, including a lack of Internet access.

"The No.1 issue is the diversity of tech specs," said Richard Ginn of Black Rocket.

In the past, Black Rocket instructors were on site - including the Historic Triangle campus last year - to teach the camps. Those sessions were set up in a computer lab, where all the computers are the same. That's not so in a virtual setting. Also, learning in a virtual setting can be tougher for some students and teachers.

"It's just a totally different animal," Ginn said. "You could be a great teacher or a great student in an in-room setting, and you could really struggle in a virtual setting. Or vice versa."

To combat that, Black Rocket provides teachers with extra training in how to be effective in an online setting.

"We spend a lot of time both doing research and also through trial-and-error on our part to perfect our version of virtual," he said.

There's also training as the class is going on, and extra technical staff is available so teachers won't have to stop the instructions if one student is having computer issues.

"When we teach the classes in room or virtually when they're on site, we control all the technology," Ginn said. "Now, we're working with parents who most likely have another job right now. They can't sit there with their child. The tech support team has been huge."

Ginn also has noticed the creativity of the teachers.

"They've come up with really creative, out-of-the-box ways to make virtual learning more personal and more individualized," he said. "That's been really exciting to watch."

There are advantages to the virtual setting, among them virtually no limit on class size (although the College might have to modify its contract with Black Rocket for bigger classes), and students can log in from anywhere to attend the class.

"We just want to be able to provide an opportunity for those kids that are at home to have a fun summer based on this virtual reality," Albertini said.

Among the traditional draws for in-person summer camps are meeting new people and working in groups. That hasn't changed for these online camps.

"Even working virtually, the students will be assigned to work in groups, and have an assigned project," Ginn said.

Black Rocket has been in business for 20 years and has contracts with colleges all across the United States, as well as Canada and other countries. It has offered online classes for a number of years. Ginn said the reaction so far has "been overwhelming great."

"We've had some of the best feedback we've gotten ever," he noted. "It's really cool to see the kids once they get into it. We play music in the beginning and during breaks, and yesterday one of the students had their dog on camera, and their dog was dancing to the music."

The cost for the classes range from $124-$134 a session, and more information is available at TNCC.edu.

"It's going to be fun. It's going to be challenging," Albertini said.