PB @ Home is truly a unique and fun social and learning experience for kids! This is not school, and it's not just a course. This online camp is an ON-and-OFF computer six-hour day (for a whole week) filled with thematic challenges, projects, games, music, laughs, prizes, and much more - just like our in-person camp, except from the comfort of your home. You pick the area of study, and awesome camp counselors entertain and educate all day!
We could have chosen to teach some new skills in traditional online courses and be done - which would have been great if we felt our camp experience was solely academics. We needed to create something that mirrored the energy and spirit of our camp. This day is filled with fun, confidence-boosting activities, and surprisingly - some feeling of normalcy while parents get things done as well.
See the camp daily schedule here.
From the comfort of home, students receive hands-on experience with a live instructor in small classes (8 or less) at a cost far lower than nationwide tech camps. Same great instructors - with a balanced curriculum that exercises the whole mind and body - for a fraction of the tech camp cost.
Even though these courses are available anywhere on the planet, you may choose which camp location will deliver your live instruction based in the Pacific time zone. This feature is available specifically to help our long-time campers transition to an online class with their favorite team of instructors. If you are new, you may select whatever location works best for your preferred course schedule.
This is really where we shine. Please allow us to gush over our team. Unlike most summer camps that come together once a year, PlanetBravo's crew is employed here year-round. You can find them as the most popular tech teachers in our partnered schools throughout California. As you can imagine, the school closings in March 2020 catapulted our platforms and methods into the world of distance learning, making the team experts in the art of coordinating fun, engaging online lesson delivery.
Our entire interface of instruction is powered by Google with Zoom as our portal for communication, while keeping the students' personal information discreet. Through their interactions with the instructor, our online campers switch between displaying their on-screen work progress and having one-on-one help time. Students do not need cameras at all, but they do need speakers/headphones and a microphone.
Campers are guided and supported in each of their four work periods with their teacher and up to 7 classmates. Teachers can remote control camper screens (with permission) to help with some challenging bugs, or annotate their screens to nudge in the right direction. The environment is perfect to make huge strides and exercise creativity with a fun and attentive tech teacher right there.
One of the downfalls of in-person tech camps is that the software configurations and perfect setup of every file is local to the devices of the camp. When the students leave at the end of the week, it is incredibly difficult to inspire continuation because the software is left behind. Not here! Since the instructors carefully guide each camper to configure their own device (BYOD: Bring Your Own Device) for the course, the students' use of their software continues well after camp ends.
"During this period of “Safer at Home,” my son was very disappointed as his Spring Break trip was cancelled. Luckily, PlanetBravo decided to hold virtual camp. My son has the best time engaging with friends while learning about programming. At the end of the week, my son was proud to show us several games he created during Coding 101. He told us that his week at virtual camp was the most fun he ever had!"
"My kid was totally engaged for a week! It was awesome thank you so much!"
"Super fun days and exceptional learning experience - A+"
"This is the best online class we have ever attended "
"This was my son's first time at PlanetBravo and it was PlanetBravo's first time offering an online camp. The experience was absoltuely amazing. Our son learned so much while having the time of life. You would never know we are at a mandatory stay at home order."
"This camp was great."
"Attending PlanetBravo tech camp is the highlight of our kids' year. The program offers a perfect balance of learning, exploration, activity, and fun. The director and counselors are phenomenal and create a really special, warm camp environment. Our kids just can't get enough."
"Great staff and program!"
"Minecraft camp was great! My son had a great time, the minimal technical problems we had were dealt with promptly and smoothly. My son was really engaged even with the off-computer activities."
"This camp was amazing and a lifesaver. My son was initially a bit reluctant before camp started, given the disappointment of spring break and everything that is going on. But from 9am the first day, he was hooked and had nothing but good things to say. Zero complaints about getting on in the morning (unlike some in-person camps where it was a battle every day). Setting up the account and software was easy. He liked his teacher:"fun, organized, knew what he was doing." There seemed to be a good mix of instruction and work-at-your-own pace. The teacher was always great at catching people up if they needed to take a break. There was a great deal of interaction with the instructor. During "network game" time, my son was having a terrific time playing. He was very impressed by how prepared everything seemed, he said he couldn't believe it was a "pioneer week." My husband knows the software and could have helped if needed, but that was never necessary. We parents were able to get a ton of work done!"
"During this period of “Safer at Home,” my son was very disappointed as his Spring Break trip was cancelled. Luckily, PlanetBravo decided to hold virtual camp. My son has the best time engaging with friends while learning about programming. At the end of the week, my son was proud to show us several games he created during Coding 101. He told us that his week at virtual camp was the most fun he ever had!"
"My kid was totally engaged for a week! It was awesome thank you so much!"
"Super fun days and exceptional learning experience - A+"
"This is the best online class we have ever attended "
"This was my son's first time at PlanetBravo and it was PlanetBravo's first time offering an online camp. The experience was absoltuely amazing. Our son learned so much while having the time of life. You would never know we are at a mandatory stay at home order."
"This camp was great."
"This camp was amazing and a lifesaver. My son was initially a bit reluctant before camp started, given the disappointment of spring break and everything that is going on. But from 9am the first day, he was hooked and had nothing but good things to say. Zero complaints about getting on in the morning (unlike some in-person camps where it was a battle every day). Setting up the account and software was easy. He liked his teacher:"fun, organized, knew what he was doing." There seemed to be a good mix of instruction and work-at-your-own pace. The teacher was always great at catching people up if they needed to take a break. There was a great deal of interaction with the instructor. During "network game" time, my son was having a terrific time playing. He was very impressed by how prepared everything seemed, he said he couldn't believe it was a "pioneer week." My husband knows the software and could have helped if needed, but that was never necessary. We parents were able to get a ton of work done!"
"Attending PlanetBravo tech camp is the highlight of our kids' year. The program offers a perfect balance of learning, exploration, activity, and fun. The director and counselors are phenomenal and create a really special, warm camp environment. Our kids just can't get enough."
"Great staff and program!"
"Minecraft camp was great! My son had a great time, the minimal technical problems we had were dealt with promptly and smoothly. My son was really engaged even with the off-computer activities."
PlanetBravo's online camp was born in March of 2020, as schools closed around the world to curb the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19. During this transition, PlanetBravo's year-round team left their posts as the technology teachers in our local schools and immediately began facilitating online instruction, honing their skills and developing best practices for their whole schools (teachers and students) to participate from home.
Since 2003, PlanetBravo has been known for a cutting-edge technology-learning experience. If you ever attended an in-person camp, you've seen how the instructors lead classes through screen-sharing technology. Students are engaged through live examples delivered right to their screens and then given time to work on their own creative take on the project.
While it's not quite like being at camp in person, the instructors are still coordinated by their fun-loving camp director who coordinates transitions between lessons. Campers are given multiple challenges on and off the computer to earn BravoPoints. These BravoPoints earn them credits for virtual prizes and special recognition by the camp.
All times are Pacific Daylight Time
Our staff of counselors and directors have diverse backgrounds ranging from computer science to filmmaking, robotics to animation, photography to engineering. But what do they have in common? A passion for teaching and empowering kids!
Year after year, our most consistent feedback from campers and parents is how amazing the staff is. See their reviews for yourself on our Testimonials page.
Because the quality of our staff is so instrumental in the quality of our camp, each PlanetBravo instructor is hired after an extensive process: an essay application, an in-person interview, reference checks, and full background clearance through the CA Department of Justice and the FBI.
PlanetBravo Online is tailored to work with a wide range of hardware, from Windows to Mac.
OS: Windows® 8 / Windows® 10 / Windows 11*
8GB RAM (4GB ok for most courses)
50GB Free Hard Drive Space
Google Chrome Browser
Headset with Microphone
Webcam Strongly Recommended
*Some courses may require the latest operating system.
OS: OS X® 10.12 or Higher*
4GB RAM (8GB Recommended)
50GB Free Hard Drive Space
Google Chrome Browser
Headset with Microphone
Webcam Strongly Recommended
*Some courses may require the latest operating system.
