DMA’s world-class learning experience is delivered by world-class instructors–teachers who have a level of expertise that you simply will not find at any other technology or summer camp.

Experienced Instructors & Industry Professionals

DMA invests heavily in developing and maintaining a full roster of top-notch instructors, with many staff members returning year after year.

● DMA’s lead instructors are more professional and more experienced than teachers at other tech camps–and are paid more. By paying our instructors more, we’re able to get and retain quality instructors year after year.
● Technology educators, veteran teachers and industry professionals make up DMA’s instructional staff. They all have a have a driving passion for inspiring teen learners and practically wrote the book on the subject they teach.

How Other Camps Reduce Costs…at Your Expense

To reduce operating costs, many camps hire young people as instructors–many just barely out of high school and whose qualifications can be…questionable. To save even more money, these camps work their young instructors both day and night—forcing them to teach classes by day and lead camp recreational activities by night.

Not DMA, we hire additional staff members to supervise campers taking part in our extended-day or overnight programs.

This ensures that DMA’s instructors remain fresh and exclusively focused on providing a world-class learning experience, while students receive more individualized attention.

Real-World Experience = Real Educational Value

At DMA, our goal is to inspire teens to reach their full potential, and prepare them for future creative opportunities.

● Learning from technology professionals who actually work in the subject areas that they teach, DMA’s teen campers acquire real-world experience and professional wisdom that will help guide them as they pursue future careers.
● It isn’t enough to merely show a teen camper how a software program functions. DMA’s instructors show students how that particular industry works.

Qualified, Experienced Assistants

In addition to superb instructors, DMA carefully selects energetic and personable teaching assistants who understand teenagers as well as technology.

● DMA’s TAs are responsible young adults, most are over 21 years of age and connect great with teens.
● DMA’s TA’s usually tare undergraduate college students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, arts and media-related majors. (Our TAs are typically older and more experienced than what many other tech camps consider “lead instructors”!)
● Teen campers get a better overall learning experience, overseen by both professional lead instructors and talented TAs. You won’t find it arrangement at other major tech or summer camps.

DMA’s innovative curriculum promotes an world-class interactive learning environment for teen campers. This learning experience is designed to engage students’ active participation through hands-on, project-based learning.
● DMA’s courses are structured to enable instructors to individualize the learning experience for each student.
● DMA supports this by strictly maintaining a 9:1 student-to-staff ratio in the teen program, usually it’s even smaller.
● Lots of one-on-one instructional time, which directly promotes a stimulating and successful class experience for each student.

We’re Always Improving the Experience

After each camp season concludes, DMA’s curriculum team pores over feedback collected from students, parents and staff. That input is then processed and integrated for the betterment of each program.

Led by DMA’s Director of Instruction (formerly with Apple Education), DMA uses student feedback and insight from an advisory team of leading instructors to refine and improve all programs. In addition, DMA’s curriculum assessment team reviews the latest and most relevant topics and technology trends related to each DMA course offering.

From there, DMA begins the process of selecting and developing new programs, as well as updating and strengthening existing courses. This is a year-round process of constant improvements that allows DMA to stay on the cutting edge of technology camps—and prepares DMA to offer fun, engaging and challenging learning experiences during the next summer’s camp season.

Building Student Confidence

Students arrive at DMA with a range of individual skills and ideas, but leave as full-fledged creators and designers. It’s amazing to see how much teens learn and develop in one week (or multiple weeks).

● Teen campers relish the sense of accomplishment they gain through making their own creations.
● Whether your teen is a video gamer, aspiring photographer, filmmaker or programmer (or is brand new to the field of digital media), you’ll be amazed at the satisfaction and personal growth they achieve by attending DMA and creating their own projects.

Hot Technology Topics, Field-based Projects

DMA takes pride in the wide range of courses and the learning experiences we offer. Our goal is to help students realize that technology is not only a vehicle for learning, but also for creating and bringing imaginative ideas to life.

● DMA’s curriculum team works hard to develop courses that don’t just park your teen in front of a computer all week.
● Many of DMA’s courses are field-based. Some courses even blend sports and technology, while others are focused on building physical projects (and not just digital ones).

DMA offers more than 60 weeklong camps, courses and 2-week academies designed specifically for teens. Click
here for a complete listing of what’s new.

DMA Certification Programs

To provide the widest range of educational opportunities possible, Digital Media Academy presents an array of advanced certification programs that are designed to raise student skills to the next level of achievement. For teen students, DMA offers certification programs in three primary core disciplines: film production, game design and computer programming. These programs can even generate college credit hours through the Stanford University Continuing Education Units program. To learn how your teen can develop an even greater skill set, review our DMA Teen Certification Programs.

A Balanced Day

DMA realizes that everybody—especially teens—need time away from technology.

● In addition to lunch, DMA provides campers with two breaks each day.
● Students can hang out and socialize with their new friends or take part in a wide range of recreational activities during breaks.

State-Of-The-Art Technology

What better way to excite kids than by letting them work with today’s leading technology? At DMA Teens get the opportunity to work with brand new computers, film and photography equipment and industry-standard software.

● Each student has their own Apple computer and workstation to use during class.
● Students don’t share computers (although we strongly encourage collaboration).
● DMA uses only the latest versions of cutting-edge software.
● DMA is proud to be partnered with many industry-leading technology companies (such as Apple and Canon),

Click here for a complete list of DMA’s technology partners.

When you send your teen to camp at DMA, we take our responsibility for their safety extremely seriously.

We’re parents, just like you, and we understand this sacred trust—to that end, we intensively train and each and every staff member on safety procedures to ensure they intimately understand how to perform critically important lifesaving actions during any possible emergency situations.

Trustworthy Management & Qualified Staff

Live-in residential staff are adults over the age of 21, all who have been fully trained in CPR lifesaving techniques.

● To work for DMA, all staff must complete and pass comprehensive state and federal background checks.
● All staff must complete and pass an extensive risk-management and safety-training program.

On Site Security & Medical Attention

DMA observes a strict security system to ensure our staff always know where your teen is and what they are doing.
● DMA uses a secure check-in/check-out procedure for campers.
● For campers enrolled in the overnight and weekend programs, external access to dorm building is restricted at all times, with dorm doors remaining locked for additional safety.
● In the unlikely event of a medical emergency, we have immediate access to some of the best university hospitals in the world.
● DMA’s residential staff are trained how to facilitate immediate hospital admittance should an urgent situation arise.
● If you ever need to reach your teen (for whatever reason), each of our Youth Activities Coordinators and DMA’s Camp Director is accessible at all times by cell phone.

Online Safety & Interactive Content

DMA understands parents have concerns about what their teens are exposed to online. As parents, DMA shares those same concerns and has put a number of safeguards in place to protect your child in the classroom.

● While promoting a sophisticated pre-collegiate experience for Teen campers—DMA strictly enforces a policy of “no adult-oriented content” when campers play computer and video games, or surf the Internet during free time.
● DMA uses special software to protect kids from harmful Internet content.
● DMA does not allow Adventures campers to play M-rated video games. All software and video games used in DMA’s programs carry age-appropriate ratings.
● DMA instructors encourage Adventures campers to create positive and age-appropriate projects.

Digital Media Academy is all about putting teen learners on a fast track. That’s why DMA is proud to be partnered with the prestigious Stanford University.

DMA is the only international art and technology education organization with 100 percent of its secondary courses accredited by Stanford University Continuing Studies.

DMA can help teens build a stronger college application and help them even go ahead and start earning college credit hours.

Accredited by Stanford University

One of the nation’s greatest schools, Stanford University commands respect around the world, including from other institutions of higher learning (where you may be applying for college admission).

● All DMA Teen courses are accredited by Stanford Continuing Studies, one of the most prestigious continuing education programs in the world.
● Students receive 4 units of Stanford Continuing Studies credit for each course.

Continuing Education Units

In addition to receiving outstanding technology training, teen DMA students are also eligible to receive Continuing Education Units (CEU) from Stanford University.

● A CEU is a unit of credit equal to ten hours of participation in an accredited program.
● CEUs awarded by a renowned institution of higher learning such as Stanford University can strengthen a college or post-graduate admissions application. In some cases, institutions will count the CEO credits toward high school AP or college credit.