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Exceptional Child Integrates Love for
Literature with Technology
11 Year-Old Turns the Classics Into a Video Game
Looks can be deceiving. At only 11 and a half years old, Jessica* is a home schooled child of exceptional ability from Northampton, studying at high school and university levels. She was recently awarded a national prize for her vast knowledge of Classic Literature. As an author herself, Jessica's mother, Ann*, recognized and encouraged her daughter's strengths in the Classics like Shakespeare and Greek Mythology. Jessica also displays a natural talent for cartooning and drawing. Wanting to widen her daughter's interests and believing in the value of technology, Ann began looking for a way to teach her daughter more about technology. She was thrilled when she learned about iD Tech Camps Smith College location, and immediately registered Jessica for a weeklong course in Video Game Creation. iD Tech Camps provides weeklong, hands-on technology summer programs for ages 7-17 at over 35 prestigious universities in 17 states, including Smith College, Princeton University, MIT, and Stanford University.
"Living in the world we live in, it's important for Jessica to learn technology skills," said Jessica's mother. Surprisingly, this was one area of study where Jessica wasn't yet working at high school and university levels. Knowing only the essentials of word processing, Jessica entered the Video Game Creation course at iD Tech Camps Smith location with limited computer skills, but that wouldn't last long.
Combining both her interests, cartoons and classic literature, Jessica created and developed the game "Theseus and the Minotaur,” based on Greek Mythology. Using Stagecast™ Creator, a program that builds “sims” – simulations, interactive stories, and games, Jessica learned how to design a game with multiple characters and multiple levels. The object of her “Theseus and the Minotaur” game was to chase the Minotaur through a labyrinth, pursue and collect yarn balls, then at the end watch Theseus chase the Minataur.
"When Jessica began with us, we started her at the beginner's level since she only had a basic knowledge of computers and no experience with game creation," said Camp Director Jill MacDonald. "With only a few questions after each lesson, Jessica created a game that was simply out of this world, with detailed colors and animation."
After one week in the Video Game creation course, Jessica's mother was so impressed by Jessica's newfound creative technical abilities that she asked her daughter if she wanted to attend another week of camp, this time to be counted as a home schooling credit. Her daughter's sparkling eyes and enthusiastic smile answered her question immediately. Jessica's mom loved how her daughter applied her passion and knowledge for Classic Greek Mythology to game creation.
"iD Tech Camps has opened my daughter's eyes to technology. Working in such a fun, supportive environment took away the anxiety of working with computers, boosted her confidence, and gave her a sense of possibilities," said Ann. Jessica was given the opportunity to enhance her interests, learn something fun and educational, and meet students her own age. Having attended iD Tech Camps at a prestigious university, Jessica now feels more at ease with taking classes in a college setting. Her experience at camp helped ease the transition to her first university class this past fall semester.
This talented student is looking forward to developing her tech skills in the future. Inspired by the characters she cartooned for her video game, Jessica is working on a series of comic strips. Give this little girl an inch and she'll turn it into a mile.
* In order to protect the privacy of the child, the names have been changed.
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