WHY GenTech?
Students beating teachers to class on a Saturday morning. Rushing to their sets and starting up their computers – even before the teacher has turned on the lights. Isn't that the kind of enthusiasm you want your child to have toward learning?
At GenTech Digital Media & Technology Center, we understand that video games and animation are more than fun and games. We know how to use these vehicles as a means to better academic performance and preparation for a successful future in the 21st century.
Since students enjoy video games, animations, and movies, why not teach them how to make them instead of just play them? At GenTech, they do just that!
Through writing (and re-writing) the stories behind their games or animations, they build a larger and stronger vocabulary, improve reading through story background research, develop logic and syllogism through the Design Document and storyboard development, develop advanced math skills through learning basic programming – essential to making their games work! And, leadership skills are emphasized as they learn and practice team work, problem-solving, and presentation skills.
GenTech has developed a tradition of marrying cutting-edge technology with a uniquely interactive student experience.
Whether through the Saturday Classes, our Adult Program, or our magnificent Summer Camp, GenTech students thrive in a supportive, interactive, stimulating environment that respects each student's individual learning style and feeds into that uniqueness aiming to develop each person into their own successful masterpiece.
GenTech is a gateway to higher grades, better scores, and the multi-million dollar industries of Video Game Creation, Animation, Web Design, Xbox Game Development, and Mobile App Development.
It is a portal to exploration in the STEM fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math leading to careers in medicine, law, architecture, and more.
GenTech focuses on helping each student develop into independent, self-directed, motivated learners with a quest for knowledge and the self-confidence to tackle challenges and solve problems.
Your child will grow, mature, change for the best through the GenTech experience.
We are committed to helping each student benefit by fulfilling our mission:
Join a GenTech program today for the experience and opportunity of a lifetime!
The GenTech environment fosters excellence in academic performance. The classes teach college-level materials in a way easy enough for a third-grader to understand. Yet, students are able to learn more advanced skills as they intuitively master the basics giving them a more solid foundation when applied to their school work.
Being on the IIT campus let students experience what it will fee like for them to go to college. They demonstrate a sense of pride at being able to do something many could only dream of doing. They see good role models in the IIT students and recognize that strong academic performance will give them the same opportunities as the college students around them.
>Learning calls for more learning. Students are allowed to choose their own project topics and research them for their animations or hands-on creations. Because they initiate the interest, they often continue to pursue more knowledge about them. Their use of logic, writing skills, and problem-solving strategies help them to look for answers and grow intellectually.
When students realize they are completing tasks that in many cases, their teachers recently learned and use professionally, their self-confidence is given a boost that tells them they can accomplish anything. This translates into more confidence in tackling school work resulting in higher academic performance.
Many of the STEM projects are done in small groups encouraging teamwork and social interaction. Students learn the value of working well with others as is required in the real-world of school and work. Development of social skills helps refine their interpersonal and intrapersonal capabilities.
Every student will create a web site to post their projects. Each week students complete a project in digital media and STEM. They will have a video game, 2- or 3-D animation, or mobile app to put on their site. They will also complete an architectural structure, green technology project, robot creature, or remote control car they built and programmed to add to their site as a demonstration of their activities in those fields.
We hire only people that have real-world experience as our Lead Instructors. We also hire our own advanced-level students to work besides our Instructors as Teacher Assistants. This shows our commitment to having only the best instructors for our students and to helping our students gain professional experience learning to give back to their communities.
We want our students to learn to be producers – not just consumers. So we ask them, "Why play someone else's games or movies when you can make your own? By teaching students the latest skills in technology, we are able to encourage them to "Explore. Discover. Build with Excellence."
We have developed a solid program because we teach these classes year-round – not just in the summer time. GenTech also offers Saturday classes throughout the year. We are constantly improving and updating our courses to teach our students the latest skills. Our courses are offered in public and private schools as part of their curricula and are highly regarded for their content excellence.
