User:Htshafer/Planetbravo

PlanetBravo is a privately owned and operated multimedia education company located in Los Angeles, California, offering In-school, After-school, and GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) classes, as well as its Techno-tainment Camp, a computer camp held every Summer. It currently offers services at 7 school year locations and 11 summer camp locations. It offers 16 different courses during its camps.

History
PlanetBravo was founded in 2005 by Danny Pezzotta and Yong Lee in Los Angeles, California, though Pezzotta had first started the summer camp in 2003. Beginning as a program within the Beverly Hills Unified School District, it operated only at El Rodeo School. In 2005, Pezzotta and Lee opened up an independent location for the camp in Westwood Village, where the offices are still held. In its 8 years of operation, the company expanded to new locations throughout Los Angeles County, and into Thousand Oaks of Ventura County. PlanetBravo first started teaching computer classes at local Los Angeles schools in 2005.

School Year Instruction
PlanetBravo offers computer and technology instruction at the K-8 level. The overall curriculum is based on the National Educational Technology Standards and modified by Academic Director Danny Pezzotta. The curriculum is also designed to comply with the California Content Standards relevant to each grade level. PlanetBravo also maintains a webpage with links to educational websites that support the standards.

In-School Instruction
Schools that employ PlanetBravo determine the frequency and timing of each grade level’s instruction. A PlanetBravo teacher is responsible for delivering the lessons, as well as maintaining the school’s equipment and computer lab. The PlanetBravo teacher is also responsible for delivering tech support to all of the school employees. PlanetBravo also creates a dedicated website for each school where an explanation of lessons and relevant links are posted weekly. ‘’’Thomas Edison Advanced Technology Magnet’’’ is a new location for PlanetBravo that began its classes in January, 2011. As a part of the Glendale Unified School District, it applied for and was awarded a federal grant through the United States Department of Education’s Magnet Schools Assistance Program  in late 2010. PlanetBravo was hired to create a tech plan for the school that was included in the application, and was subsequently hired to implement that plan for the school.

After-School Instruction
In conjunction with the In-school classes, PlanetBravo also offers a wide variety of After-school options. Course options include Digital Photography, Podcast Production, Journalism, Robotics, and more. The after-school time slot is also home to many of PlanetBravo’s GATE course offerings, though some schools choose to offer them prior to the start of the school day.

Techno-tainment Camp
Started in 2003, PlanetBravo’s Techno-tainment Camp combines traditional day camp games and activities with ultra-modern computer and technology courses. The camp runs in one week sessions, and offers courses from within 5 distinct course tracks. Techno-tainment camp runs during both the Spring Break and Summer Break during the school year. In 2010, 1,115 students attended Techno-tainment Summer Camp.

Multimedia Youth Track
These classes are introductory courses, teaching the basics of animation, slide show design, photography, music creation, programming using the MIT Media Lab developed Scratch programming language and more. PlanetBravo has recently added a LEGO-motion course, which uses LEGO bricks to create stop motion movies.

Video Game Design Track
Using the program Multimedia Fusion developed by Clickteam, these courses allow students to create and design their own video games. Students can make single-player, multi-player, or even self-designed games where all the sprites used are hand drawn.

Production Track
These courses cover all aspects of production: pre-production, screenwring, camera work, and post-production including video editing and special effects. Editing is done both with Pinnacle Studio and iMovie, and special effects uses Adobe After Effects. Projects created in this course have been featured on NBC Los Angeles’ Yip yap TV.

Visual Arts Track
Featuring Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, these courses cover the topics of photography, graphic design, and 3D Modeling using the program Autodesk 3ds Max. The classes concentrate on developing the artistic skills of the students in a digital medium.

Advanced Track
Designed for the older students, these classes are more challenging and complex. One class utilizes the Vex Robotics Design System to let groups of students build their own robots to compete in weekly challenges. In summer 2011, PlanetBravo will also be using Google App Inventor to teach a class on Android App Development, and introduce a new individual study format at a new location titled PB Legends.

Locations
PlanetBravo is located in elementary and middle schools throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Techno-tainment Camp has expanded the facilities range to include a Boys & Girls Club and a luxury resort hotel. Full Year Locations Techno-tainment Summer Camp Locations
 * Fairburn Avenue Elementary School (LAUSD)
 * Alta Vista Elementary School (RBUSD)
 * Webster Elementary School (SMMUSD)
 * Thomas Edison Advanced Technology Magnet (GUSD)
 * Grant Elementary School (SMMUSD)
 * Brockton Avenue School (LAUSD)
 * St. Timothy School
 * Beverly Vista School (Beverly Hills)
 * Chatsworth Hills Academy (Chatsworth)
 * Richmond Street School (El Segundo)
 * Mayfield Junior School (Pasadena)
 * Terranea Resorts (Rancho Palos Verdes)
 * Adams Middle School (Redondo Beach)
 * John Adams Middle School (Santa Monica)
 * Bridges Academy (Studio City)
 * Colina Boys & Girls Club (Thousand Oaks)