Speach by Teodor Sandel-Konjevic: About Komp Kamp CENTRAL EUROPEAN GAMES CONFERENCE

1. Hi I'm Teodor Sandel-Konjevic and today I'll be talking a
bit about the summer Computer Camp for Kids, or
CompCamp for shorter.
As educators, our job is to leave a better future behind us. The future is in the
hands of the youngest ones, so teaching them how to tackle the world is the
smartest investment we can make. And all of us here are aware of the importance
the digital world has on the present – and that importance will only increase as
time goes on. So, what we're doing here is really putting 2 and 2 together.

2. Problem & Solution
The problem we are currently facing in Serbia, one that
needs to be solved as soon as possible, is the lack of
computer literacy in our children and youth. Nowadays, a
lot of kids spend their leisure time playing videogames,
and everyone uses computers, smartphones and tablets
in one way or another. It has become a way of life that
sometimes might look scary, because it’s all advancing
very fast. Every day new technology is coming out, new
apps for various tasks in our lives. Kids today are using
technology from a very young age, much before they
have a chance to start learning anything about them.
They often grow up thinking that the computer serves as
little more than a toy. While videogames have been
proven to be helpful in developing a child’s creativity and
critical thinking, many kids unfortunately just stop there
without ever knowing the various things they can make
using the computer. Schools are making an effort into
educating youth about computers and technology.
However, all of us here are completely aware of how fast
paced the technology world is. It changes every day. By
the time a school can implement programs into the
curriculum, those programs become outdated, and you
have the unfortunate situation that often, high schoolers
are still learning how to code in Pascal simply because
it’s hard to keep up with the pace of which technology is
coming out. This isn’t the schools fault, but when schools
can’t take up the task, and kids today often know more
than their parents and teachers about computers, whose
role is it to take on the task of solving computer literacy?
That’s where the Computer Camp for Kids come into the
story.

3. • The computer camp for kids is something completely new In our region, a summer camp in which children and youth learn
useful things on the computer. Now if you are like most parents you would be worried – “I don’t need my child to spend even
more time in front of the computer, all he does is play games and surfs the Internet”. What we do is the opposite, we not only try
to show kids how to make the most of the powerful machines they have at their disposal, and how to navigate the virtual world –
we show them the world outside the boundaries of the screen, as well.
• In camp, we learn how to make games, not just play them. This has been our motto since 2008, when we started the camp.
How the camp started is an interesting story that I’d like to share with you. It started in the summer of 2007 when my mom told
me I should spend the summer somewhere away from home, perhaps go to a summer camp. I didn’t want to go to the seaside,
I didn’t want to go to any sports camp and me and my PC were inseperable. I wanted a place to spend my summer, but a place
where I would also have my videogames. I wanted a place that was somewhere close to nature, but not far from my computer.
However, there wasn’t a “computer camp” anywhere in Serbia. I cried on about it for some time and innocently asked my
mother, who at the time had been running an IT school – I said “Mom, why can’t we make one? Why don’t we make one of those
computer camps?” It started out innocently enough. However, when my mother did some research on the computer camps in
the world, she realized it wasn’t such a bad idea. In march 2008, my mother Radoslava founded CompCamp. At the time, I was
too young for my name to appear on any legal documents, but to this day, after 8 years, she still claims that I was the one who
really helped start the camp, as well.

4. • The camp operates in shifts, four sessions during
the summer, from july to august. One shift lasts 14
days gathers up some 20-25 members, aged 8-16.
During the 14 days in camp, members learn how to
use a wide set of software we offer teaching, along
with many important practical skills, like they would
in any summer camp: How to live with 3-4 friends in
the same room, how to be independent and adapt
to a life outside of their home and away from mom
and dad. This is the biggest impact the parents see
after 14 days. We have received tons of emails
telling us we sent back a completely different child.
Everyone finds new talents they didn't know they
had, learn about diversity among people, make
loads of new friends. The friendships formed in
camp are the ones that last for years and years. We
always tell the kids to keep in touch with their camp
roommates – they might just end up starting a game
studio together. It doesn't stop at just computers
and hanging out, camp members learn how to enjoy
nature and a rural environment. Every year we
choose a location close to nature to accommodate
the camp. While computers and software are our
main priorities, sports, fields trips and outdoor
activities take up an equal portion of the day. Every
morning we have mandatory wake up excercises.
The camp counselors include 3 to 5 IT teachers, a
sports teacher, and a teacher who leads the
creative workshops.

5. • For the first few years, the IT teachers that worked with us were Computer Science and Technology students.
Later on as we grew, we decided we need a greater quality of content in our camp, so we started cooperating
with experts in the fields of game design. This year we are cooperating with Eipix and Mad Head games, and
they are sending some of their experts to our camp to teach. These are experts in various fields such as game
design, graphic design, various software for film editing, animation, as well as game testers…… Ill talk more
about them later
• In camp, for the past 8 years we have mostly been focusing on programs that are used to make videogames,
simply because videogames are the most interesting thing a gamer can learn how to make. Making videogames
is also an interdisciplinary task so kids learn a whole set of skills while learning to design a game – such as
graphic design, story writing and sound design. Everyone loves videogames. Sooner or later, someone playing
games will stop and ask themselves “Who made this? How did they make this?” A popular belief today is that
kids are less creative because of the tons of technology they’re exposed to and that eliminate the need for
thinking out of the box. Quite the opposite, however. When you look at the games kids can design and make in
12 days, you get surprised. They already have a large vocabulary, so to speak, they know what makes good
games good, and with our help they use the games they have already played as a baseline for making their own.
In the camp we give children a chance to see just how it’s all made, in a way, to live out their dreams.

6. • Some of the software we use: Fusion 2.5 by
Clickteam, an upgrade from MMF2D we have
been using for some time now – a program
used for developing games using an event
system – conditions and reactions, without
code. It serves as a great intro for new
campers as it teaches them how to think like
a programmer and makes learning
programming languages much easier in the
future. On the other hand it is a powerful
program, so many camp veterans still use it
for making their games. Next, we have Unity
3D, a very important program as you would
all know. In past years, Unity has become a
prerequisite software for anyone who wants to
be in the game industry. In camp they get a
strong basis using these powerful tools and
we point them to the right resources that can
help them later on. We teach C#, Java and
Python as programming languages, as well.
Along with them, we also offer courses in
3DMax, Photoshop, Web design, film editing,
HTML5 coding and so on. As you can see,
we try to follow the latest trends in the IT
world, and every year we make additions to
our camp program. This year the camps
program has undergone a redesign and we
have classified our courses into 5 program
packages for 2D game design, 3D game
design, Multimedia, Web Design and a Mini
program for the younger campers where they
learn how to use software like Scratch and
RPG maker, which give them a foundation for
more complex designing later on. When they
come to camp, kids are asigned to group
based on their knowledge and skill level, in
order to make the lessons more optimized.

7. • For the first half of the camp,
children spend their classes
learning how to make games and
how to use the software of their
choice. The next half is spent in
making their own games. Some
people form teams, others prefer
to work alone. We offer help,
i n s p i r a t i o n , i d e a s a n d
suggestions in developing their
own projects. On the final day of
camp, kids present their games
to other campers and get awards
for their work.
• It doesn't end there, however. We
have built a close-knit network of
comp-campers online, and we
provide year-round support,
advice and resources for
education. So kids who are
members of the camp have the
opportunity to keep in touch with
all the camps experts, all year,
between two summers.

8. • We have the honor of working with world
famous game design companies, Eipix and
Mad Head Games. We are very thankful to
Mirko Topalski and Uros Banjesevic for all their
help, we wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for
them. For several years now, representatives of
both companies have been coming to camp in
order to teach children what it’s like working in a
company making videogames together with
many other people, what it’s like being
specialized in certain areas and what jobs there
are in such a company. They teach kids about
the pipeline process of making a game from
scratch – the ways of coming up wih an idea,
fleshing it out in a storyboard and making a
game design document. Kids learn what it’s like
actually selling their games once they make
them. At the end of each session, we announce
the winners – the ones who made the best
games get a chance to go to Eipix and Mad
Head Headquarters and see the companies
from the inside. For kids this can be compared
to winning a golden ticket and touring the
chocolate factory. This year, these experts will
be staying in camp for a while, giving kids a full
course in their area of expertise. Other expers
that visit the camp each year include Sasa
Popovic, a professor that started the well-
known “learn freely” platform for learning, and
designed a way of recording and structuring
online lessons that is now applied on
lynda.com. There's also Dr. Tijana Prodanovic, a
renowned scientist in fields of Astronomy and
organizer of our major local scientific
conventions.

9. Other expers that visit
the camp each year
include Sasa Popovic,
a professor that
started the well-known
“learn freely” platform
for learning, and
designed a way of
recording and
structuring online
lessons that is now
applied on lynda.com.
There's also Dr. Tijana
Prodanovic, a
renowned scientist in
fields of Astronomy
and organizer of our
major local scientific
conventions.Also, prof.
Mirjana Nikolic from
the Adjunct Faculty at
Cogswell college, San
Francisko, who
worked on several big
projects in Pixar
animation Studios and
Disney Feature
Animations, who
shows our campers
some python features
in Maya

10. • Where do I come into all of this? I’ve been a
teacher in the camp for six years, teaching all of
our programs at some point. I started of as an
assistant for the older teachers, and began
providing more and more help to campers in
classes as I gained more experience. It turned
into me leading my own classes and now, I have
my own assistants. When kids have a teacher
close to their age transferring knowledge about
something, it’s much easier to absorb that
knowledge. Children also use this as a model,
now they can help their friends learn something.
This happens all the time. After a few classes,
I’m nearly left jobless because almost all the
questions get answered between the campers.
They learn how to find solutions for their
problems and help each other in doing so. How
to use google. Their independence and
teamwork begins showing instantly. Some kids
are coming to camp this year and it will be their
sixth time coming back. We call them veterans.
After they gain enough experience and get too
old to be in camp, we invite them back as
volunteers to help out the others in learning
software and having a good time in camp. The
goal is to make a camp that will stand the test of
time – and by leaving it to future generations,
we’re assuring just that.

11. • The model we made for our camp in Serbia can be applied anywhere
in the world. Our goal is not only to leave the camp for future
generations, but to expand it around the world. the Computer Camp
is something that can be made with nothing more than a location,
some computers and teachers willing to transfer their knowledge. The
camp we hav enow can be created in every part of Serbia and every
part of the world. It can happen and tomorrow we aim to make as
many kids from Serbia and the world to be able to learn what the
present and the future require them to know.

12. WWW. KOMPKAMP.RS