Send your kid to Apple Camp this summer

This Summer, Apple will once again be offering a summer camp of sorts for youngsters aged 8-12. Well, it’s not so much a camp as it is a series of workshops that will help kids learn how to put together and edit a wide variety of media content. The workshops are free, and last up to 3 hours per lesson. Not a bad deal at all for you parents out there. Now onto the details. The “Camp”, as Apple likes to call it, is segmented into 4 separate categories. The first is a movie workshop, where kids will learn movie fundamentals such as importing and editing video, and even more advanced editing techniques such as cropping and adding special effects. Kids have to come equipped with their own Apple laptop and video camera, though. I imagine the lessons will focus exclusively on learning how to use iMovie, but imagine if these kids got started on their Final Cut Pro training at 8 years old. Now that’s a scary thought! The second workshop category is all about music, with lessons that will teach the ins and outs of recording and playing music in GarageBand. Kids will also be able to learn how to sync their iPods with iTunes. I wonder what would happen if someone showed up with a Zune? The third workshop category will introduce to kids the wonders of photography, where they’ll learn how to import photos (didn’t Microsoft have a commercial about this?), and add music and transitions to their own slideshows. Kids will also learn how to publish their slideshows to the web via iWeb. Incidentally, whenever I show off iPhoto to my non Mac using friends, they’re astounded at how easy it is to create a professional looking slideshow in just a few clicks. The last workshop category is called the “Presentation Workshop”, where kids will be taught how to present their media creations to an audience. I’m sure this isn’t a public speaking course, so I can only imagine that the kids will be learning how to play their content creations on projectors, large monitors, and other hardware devices. Though I obviously don’t fall into the demographic Apple is reaching for with their “Summer Camp”, I would have loved to have had this as an option when I was a youngster. There is something to be said, however, for tinkering on your own, and learning how to use software through old fashioned trial and error. But make no mistake about it, Apple is clearly keen on indoctrinating the Mac faithful at an early age!