Online camp (PB@Home) is a six-hour day (for a whole week) on and off the computer 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. This is not simply an online tech course. We could have chosen to teach some new skills and be done - which would have been great if we felt our camp experience was nothing but learning - but we needed to create something that mirrored the energy and spirit of camp. This day is filled with fun! Check it out!
Unfortunately, we have made the difficult decision to limit virtual camp to students rising into 4th grade in the autumn following camp. We do not offer Grades 2-3 classes like we do in the in-person camp.
Unfortunately, iPads are not compatible with our program. Since the camp focuses on teaching specific software that is almost entirely PC or Mac-based, these are the preferred devices to use. We do have three courses (Scratch, 3D Printing, and Coding 101) that can take place on a Chromebook, but even then some elements of our camp will be missing.
Online campers can use Windows (PC) or Mac (Apple) computers from home. Our general system requirements can be found here. We do have two courses (Coding 101 with Python and Game Design with Python) that can take place on a Chromebook, but even then some elements of our camp will be missing.
We have a multi-tiered method of students accessing our camp rooms, and it all begins with their PlanetBravo-assigned login account. Before camp, parents/students sign into a special profile (simple instructions sent in advance), and we push all links and important elements to them through this profile guaranteeing we will be on the same page in the same classes together. When it comes time for camp to begin at 9am each day, we meet in a large-camp Zoom session and play some fun games. We then break into smaller Zoom classes of 8 students (max) to one teacher. The daily schedule gets them on and off the computer throughout, but campers can always find their place from the schedule posted in their Classroom profile.
We are so proud of this 6-hour camp day we created. It goes by so fast and keeps the students busy throughout. Because of our work in schools during the coronavirus school closings, we were given the awesome opportunity to test the boundaries of live online lesson delivery. You may see the schedule here. Furthermore, due to the engaging nature of our program's workload, parents can actually get things done while their children are at camp with us.
Yes! The entire day is led by our camp team (directors, teachers, and other camp officials). The only times we don't have an active presence by one of our leaders is during the "unplugged" activity times. Campers are forced to get off the device during these times and partake in a BravoPoint challege. These occur 10:30-10:45am, Lunch, 12:30-1:00pm, and 1:50-2:00pm daily. All times are Pacific Time.
Over 80% of our summer staff are actually year-round PlanetBravo employees who teach technology in local schools during the school year. They've been with PlanetBravo for years and are the faces and personalities the kids look forward to seeing at camp each year. The seasonal camp staff are also familiar faces, as they have been attending college during the school year, and are back again to work the camp. We welcome about 3-5 brand-new instructors each summer; a very low number in the summer camp ecosystem. We also send you the teachers' biographies the week of camp, so you know who your kids are with!
Zoom has built-in features for digitally raising hands to ask for help, but during class time with small class sizes, campers and instructors find it easier just to chat directly or in breakout rooms. The teachers are there the whole time and administering support is super easy. We can annotate screens, control remotely with permission, send sample files through Google Classroom, and of course illustrate our own files on the screen for a visual reference.
If we are doing this right, parents get their own thing done all hours of camp, just like they have during our other years of online camp. The only time parents might want to be present is the initial login on Monday mornings, and our 1:30pm (Pacific) Friday Showcase!
Just like a week of camp in-person, campers of PlanetBravo Online end the week with impressive projects they created, ready for display. Parents are invited to see their accomplishments and ask questions at 1:30 on Friday each week. Campers also receive personalized awards from their instructors, and of course leave camp with all of their projects AND THE SOFTWARE still ready to go on their computers. This is truly one of the advantages of online camp vs in-person camp.
