About the Program

The Governor's Institute on Information Technology is a collaborative offering designed by GIV, the Vermont Information Technology Center (VITC) and Champlain College. This Institute, modeled along the lines of Champlain College's degree programs, will give students the opportunity to dive into a variety of venues, follow industry models such as team-based work, and combine the technical, artistic and business aspects of IT. College faculty and guest professional speakers guide teams of students in hands-on projects ranging from creating an interactive Flash-based web site to crafting your own 2D game.

Classes

Though the schedule may change from year to year, we keep very busy during our week with classroom and lab sessions and a variety of other activities. Almost every day starts with a general meeting time, instruction sessions, organized downtimes, evening events, and end of day gathering. Our course selections may vary from year to year as we update our curriculum to stay current. A sampling from last year included:

• Champlain Marketing instructor Robin Lane teaching Podcasting and Social Networking and integrating social responsibility discussions
• Champlain Game Design professor, Joe Manley, teaching Game Design using 2D and 3D game engine software.
• Champlain Emergent Media Center instructor Ken Howell teaching Web Design and 2D Animation using Flash
• VP of Videk, Jim Reda teaching Object-Oriented Programming using a Carnegie Mellon program called Alice
• Emergent Media Center project manager, Ray McCarthy-Bergeron, teaching Digital Video
• Champlain Web Development & Design faculty member, Frank Canovatchel, assistant program director, teaching Web Programming and Development
• Bob Cartelli teaching Interactive Marketing
• Chris Neuhardt teaching Photoshop, Digital Image Editing
• A round of classes taught by our Champlain College students and faculty suggested by our campers!

What other campers have said about GIV

"It was incredibly interesting and cool."
"I loved GIV when we got to work together and hang out with friends."
"I loved meeting all the great people."
"Intense, rigid, fun"
"Great fun and great experience."
"Dude, awesome roommates."
"It was educational on many different aspects."
"It was a great chance to indulge myself."
"It showed me all the technology I was missing and I had lots of fun too."
"Fun, never forgetting, learning and great experience."
"It was life changing."